Fort Wayne Philharmonic Pops 2 – Aretha: A Tribute
November 6, 2021
Show Time: 7:30 pm
Caleb Young, conductor
This concert features Capathia Jenkins and three-time Grammy Award nominee Ryan Shaw performing Aretha Franklin’s greatest hits.
Capathia Jenkins – The Brooklyn-born and raised singer/actor, Capathia Jenkins, most recently released the critically acclaimed CD Phenomenal Woman the Maya Angelou Songs with her collaborator Louis Rosen and they Sold Out the world-famous Birdland Theatre in NYC for 3 nights. She starred as ‘Medda’ in the hit Disney production of Newsies on Broadway. She made her Broadway debut in The Civil War, where she created the role of Harriet Jackson. She then starred in the Off-Broadway 2000 revival of Godspell, where she wowed audiences with her stirring rendition of ‘Turn Back, O Man’which can still be heard on the original cast recording. She returned to Broadway in The Look of Love and was critically acclaimed for her performances of the Bacharach/David hits. Ms. Jenkins then created the roles of ‘The Washing Machine’ in Caroline, Or Change and ‘Frieda May’ in Martin Short Fame Becomes Me where she sang ‘Stop the Show’ and brought the house down every night. In 2007 she went back to Off-Broadway and starred in (mis) Understanding Mammy-The Hattie McDaniel Story for which she was nominated for a Drama Desk Award. She was also seen in Nora Ephron’s Love, Loss, and What I Wore.
Ryan Shaw is a three-time GRAMMY® nominated artist for his solo projects, Columbia Records’ This is Ryan Shaw, his In Between and Dynotone’s Real Love. He has shared the world stage with such artists as Van Halen, Bonnie Raitt, John Legend, B.B. King and Jill Scott. His music has been featured on FOX’s So You Think You Can Dance and ABC’s Dancing with The Stars, Grey’s Anatomy, and Lincoln Heights, and the films My Blueberry Nights and Bride Wars and the Sex and the City soundtrack. Ryan has been a featured guest on national TV talk shows and has starred as Judas in the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Olivier Award-winning London production of Jesus Christ Superstar, as the original Stevie Wonder in Motown: The Musical on Broadway, and on London’s West End as the Soul of Michael Jackson in Thriller Live. Ryan’s new album, Imagining Marvin, showcases Marvin Gaye hits alongside Ryan’s original songs and features multi-GRAMMY Award-winning co-writers and special guests.