Ben Vereen official website

Where’s Ben? 2009

admin — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 20:05:57 +0000

January

January 12th – 14th- Sanofi Aventis – Los Angeles

January 18th-20th – Inauguration – Washington DC.

January 21st – Atlanta – 40th Anniversary of J.C.S

January 23rd- Birmingham, AL Symphony Date

January 25th – Los Angeles - Pippin

February

February 7 – Long Beach Symphony

February 11th – Washington DC Fords Theatre

February 12th – Los Angeles – NAACP Awards

February 14th- Sarasota, FL Concert

February 20th – Chicago Lecture

March

March 2nd – NY Tribute to Ben

March 13th, 14th- Jacksonville Symphony

March 28th- Napperville, IL

April

April 16 ,17, 18 – Nashville Symphony

April 20th- Naples, Florida- Concert

May

May 3rd- 4th –Indianapolis Lecture

May 5th-10th – San Francisco Concert

November

November 14th - Tropicana - Laughlin, Nevada

2010

January

January 9th – Cucamonga Lewis Family Playhouse

March

March 13th – Spokane Symphony

Ben Vereen turns out for opening night of ‘Pippin’

admin — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 21:32:21 +0000

The entertainer outside the Mark Taper Forum wearing a black fedora and a black Barack Obama T-shirt Sunday night beamed, simultaneously celebrating the country’s future while embracing his own past.

“Can’t you feel it?” said Ben Vereen, fingering the white scarf draped around his Obama shirt. “It’s like an out-of-body experience. You can feel the universe shift. I’m just so proud of President Obama and this country.”

While Vereen was still ebullient after attending Obama’s inauguration, it was nostalgia that brought him to the Taper for the opening of a new production of “Pippin,” one of the musicals that helped launched his multifaceted career almost 40 years ago.

Vereen, 62, who had first scored on Broadway in 1972 as Judas in Tom O’Horgan’s controversial staging of “Jesus Christ Superstar,” won a Tony Award a year later for best actor in a musical for his role as Leading Player in the Stephen Schwartz musical. That show was also one of the hallmarks for choreographer Bob Fosse. Vereen was also one of the principal dancers for Fosse’s intricate moves in such shows as “Sweet Charity” and in the film “All That Jazz.”

He would move on to a varied career that included more Broadway (“Jelly’s Last Jam”), film (“Funny Lady” and “Why Do Fools Fall in Love”), and television (earning an Emmy nomination for his role as the irrepressible Chicken George in the landmark 1977 miniseries “Roots”).

And he still performs, touring now in a tribute to the music of one of his role models, Sammy Davis Jr., that is scheduled to hit Long Beach next month.

But “Pippin” holds an undeniably central spot in Vereen’s heart. “Well, first of all, it got me a Tony,” he said with a loud laugh that echoed outside the theater minutes before the opening night curtain. “It was also an honor to work with Bob Fosse. There was nothing more rewarding.”

As Leading Player, Vereen was a volcanic force of nature, relentlessly dancing and prowling the stage as he joked and berated other characters while carrying out Fosse’s sensual mix of traditional dance and lyrical limb twists. Commanding attention in a black tuxedo-like outfit, Vereen would be drenched in sweat within minutes of hitting the stage, and his performance overshadowed those of his cast mates.

“Fosse was a perfectionist, and I really wanted to do him proud,” he said. Vereen was particularly fond of John Rubinstein, who played “Pippin” in the original cast: “We were like two sides of the same coin. We were in such harmony. Working with John was a complete joy.”

Thinking back on his “Pippin” appeared to heighten Vereen’s anticipation about seeing the new Taper version. But as he would later discover, he couldn’t quite go home again.

The new production — a partnership between the Center Theatre Group and Deaf West Theater — bore little resemblance to the Fosse version. This was a reinvention, with an intimate staging and a combination of speaking and deaf performers. The Fosse influence was limited. And though the muscular Ty Taylor had his share of showy moments as the Leading Player — he wore no shirt and a long red-and-black striped vest — he took a more low-profile, less commanding approach than Vereen once did.

None of that kept Vereen from smiling throughout the performance. He was one of the first to leap to his feet during the curtain call.

Afterward, he heaped praise on the production and cast. “This is a fabulous new vision, and Ty is amazing.” He avoided comparison.

“There’s nothing to say about that,” he said. “It’s not my show. It’s not my ‘Pippin.’ ” He then excused himself to greet fans who saw him as Leading Player and wanted to share their memories.
Vereen smiled as he quietly told them, “You’re so kind, you’re so kind.”

– Greg Braxton

Top photo: Ben Vereen outside the Mark Taper Forum. Credit: Barbara Davidson/Los Angeles Times.
link: LA Times

Ben Vereen Nominated for NAACP Image Award

admin — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 18:28:08 +0000

Ben Vereen is nominated for Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special at the 40th ANNUAL NAACP IMAGE AWARDS for his captivating performance in the Hallmark Channel’s Accidental Friendship. Actors nominated include: Andre Braugher for A&E’s Andromeda Strain, Charles S. Dutton for Lifetime’s Racing for Time and Sean “Puffy” Combs and Sean Patrick Thomas for Raisin in the Sun.

Watch the 40th Annual NAACP Image Awards at 8pm on FOX February 12th.
Find more info at:
http://www.naacpimageawards.net

Watch Accidental Friendship on the Hallmark Channel at 9p/8c on Wed, January 21st.
You can check local times and air dates at:
http://www.hallmarkchannel.com/publish/consumer/home/shows/accidental_friendship.html

Ben’s Diabetes Story

admin — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 21:12:59 +0000

Tony Award-winning actor and Broadway star Ben Vereen is partnering with sanofi-aventis, a world leader in diabetes care, to launch Take the Stage for Diabetes Awareness, a national awareness campaign designed to educate people living with diabetes about their condition. Check out Ben’s story here.

Faerie Tale Theater’s Puss in Boots

admin — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 20:58:36 +0000

1982. Shelley Duvall called my office about a series of shows she was putting together called Shelly Duvall Faerie Tale Theater. The show she wanted me for, Puss in Boots, starred Gregory Hines, Alfrie Woodard, George Kirbie, Brock Peters and yours truly as Puss. I recall the first day of rehearsal the stylish gentleman Gregory Hines, a dancer extraordinaire in his cuffed pleated baggy pants and a heavy silk cream over sized shirt. We embraced as kindred spirits and it was the beginning of a lasting friendship. As I stood there and watched him rehearse I flashed back to watching him and his father and brother on the Ed Sullivan Show. They were called Hines Hines and Dad and they were good. Over the years I watched the two boys grow into masterful artists and there I was, working with Gregory. He made it so easy to get into character and I became Puss, the cat. I would purr and he would stoke me. I nuzzled up to him and he would pet me. And when he dressed me in my stylish boots I became a fine cat indeed.

The March for the Atlanta Child Murders with Coretta Scott King

admin — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 20:53:01 +0000

1981. Headlines of the papers from Atlanta were grim. Children were being killed at random, mostly African American children. The country seemed paralyzed to do anything about it. As I read these headlines my mind wondered where were our leaders in this time, to confront this injustice and it dawned on me that they had all been assassinated. John Kennedy, Bobby Kennedy and our Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr. So when I got the news that Coretta Scott King was leading a protest in March of that year I knew I had to be there marching beside her with a sounding voice for justice. I’ll never forget that day because that was the first day I spoke as more than an entertainer. Mrs. King turned to me and asked if I would like to say a few words. Nervousness swelled up inside of me but I said yes. Eventually they found and arrested a young black man they claimed was the murderer. Since then there have been many protests against his conviction, many believing Wayne Williams is not guilty.

My first recital at Brooklyn Academy of Music

admin — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 20:46:50 +0000

It was Wednesday in Brooklyn, must have been the fall of 1968. I was hanging out on the street the way any eight year kid does after school when along came a gentleman down the block, a talent scout. I noticed him coming from quite a distance because he kept stopping and watching the kids play, then going up to parents and talking to them. I watched this keen looking gentleman, dressed in a herringbone jacket, black slacks and a white shirt and tie. His silver grey hair seemed to glitter in the sun. I especially noticed his classic shoes with white stitching, polished to perfection and wondered if he had gone to the shoe shine parlor known as Tip Tap and Toe right across the street from where I lived on Fulton St. at Troy Ave. This shoe shine parlor was a very important stop for the community, especially on Sunday for the Deacons of local churches. In those days we had something called the Blue Law in Brooklyn which meant there was no alcohol to be sold on that day. But from my window on practically every Sunday morning you could watch the lines of men leading into Tip Tap and Toe, I thought to have their shoes shined. But Tip Tap and Toe, the owners, who were once a Vaudeville act by the same name, would play jazz on Sunday, pop their shoe shine rags to the rhythm and do a time step as they sold Dixie cups of booze to their patrons. But on this particular Wednesday there were few patrons and a man in the herringbone coat approached me and asked “young man, are your parents at home?” I, in my eight year old voice said “Yeah, she’s up there” and pointed to the third floor. With that he turned on his heels and headed up to the top floor of our building to meet my mother Pauline Vereen. My father, James Vereen was at work. He worked in the day at a paint factory and my mother worked at night cleaning theaters. Fifteen minutes after he arrived my mother leaned out the window and summoned me upstairs. Walking into the kitchen of our four room Pullman, or railroad, apartment I heard the gentleman telling my mother about this dance school. With that, he reached down, took my leg and tested my flexibility, telling my mother how talented I was and how I could be a big star on TV by enrolling in the Star Time Dance School, which he represented. All she had to do was buy me a pair of tap shoes and pay the large tuition which we could not afford. But Pauline had a dream for this little boy that even his little eyes couldn’t see at the time. Somehow she afforded those tap shoes and the tuition and off I went to Star Time Dance Studio, my introduction to the arts and the beginning of a marvelous journey. I never learned much about dance at this school but I did learn the passion which touched my heart and is instilled in me to this day.

Ben Vereen Tour Dates

admin — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 23:28:06 +0000

2008

September 30th - October 5th - London Concerts
October 8th - Rochester, NY Lecture
Nov 1st - Hartford Lecture
Nov 7th – Newark, Ohio Concert

2009

January 23rd - Birmingham, AL Symphony Date
February 7th – Long Beach Symphony
February 14th - Concert in Sarasota, FL
March 13th, 14th - Jacksonville Symphony
March 28th - Napperville, IL Concert
April 16, 17, 18 – Nashville Symphony
April 20th - Concert in Naples, Florida

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www.Benvereen.com

admin — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 04:26:06 +0000

We are pleased to announce that our new site is up! We are still in the stages of fine-tuning the site so be sure to check back for further updates.