From Brooklyn to Broadway

Tony and Emmy Award-Winner Lillias White in Concert!

Music Director Abdul Hamid Royal 

Star of 16 (count ‘em, 16!) Broadway shows, including her recent triumph in Hadestown, divine diva Lillias White brings her special blend of charisma and star-power to the Rubicon stage to perform some of Broadway’s best-loved songs. Lillias is internationally recognized for her work on both the stage and screen. Her performance in Cy Coleman’s Broadway musical The Life won her the TONY® Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. She was nominated for a second TONY® Award for her brilliant work in Fela! Additional Broadway credits include Barnum, Dreamgirls, Cats, Carrie, Once on This Island, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, and Chicago. Rubicon audiences will remember Lillias for her ovation-winning roles in The Best is Yet to Come (also Off-Broadway, Drama Desk Award), and for Gem of the Ocean. In addition to several Broadway cast albums, Lillias has recorded the critically acclaimed albums “Get Yourself Some Happy!” and “From Brooklyn to Broadway.” Make your brunch or dinner reservations and bring your mama to this concert for the best Mother’s Day ever!

Meet the Artists

LILLIAS WHITE 
Fresh from her starring role on Broadway in Hadestown, divine diva Lillias White returns to the Rubicon stage where she received standing ovations nightly for her roles in The Best is Yet to Come and Gem of the Ocean. Lillias is internationally recognized for her work on both the stage and screen. Her performance in Cy Coleman’s Broadway musical The Life won her the TONY® Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. She was nominated for a second TONY® Award for her brilliant work in Fela! Additional Broadway credits include Barnum, Dreamgirls, Cats, Carrie, Once on This Island, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, and Chicago. Her most recent Off-Broaway role was in Tariq Trotter’s Black No More. Lillias can be heard on several Broadway cast albums, in addition to her critically acclaimed albums “Get Yourself Some Happy!” and “From Brooklyn to Broadway.” Lillias received the DAYTIME EMMY® Award for her role as Lillian Edwards on “Sesame Street” and is beloved by audiences around the world for voicing the lead muse Calliope in Disney’s animated feature “Hercules.” Lillias received unanimous acclaim for her work in the Carnegie Hall Concert version of South Pacific, starring Reba McEntire, which was broadcast on PBS’ “Great Performances.” Recent TV credits include the Baz Luhrmann-directed NETFLIX series “The Get Down,” as well as “Russian Doll” and “Search Party.” She has appeared in cabarets and concert halls around the world, including The Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, The Sydney Opera House, and Lincoln Center. Lillias can be heard on several Broadway cast albums, in addition to her critically acclaimed albums “Get Yourself Some Happy!” and “From Brooklyn to Broadway.” 

ABDUL HAMID ROYAL 
From conducting the hit Broadway musical Five Guys Named Moe (NAACP Image Award) to arranging and conducting vocals for Country Recording Artist Ty Herndon, to working with the incomparable Chaka Khan, audiences and critics world-wide have applauded the work of music-man Abdul Hamid Royal. Abdul Hamid won an Ovation Award and L.A. Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Music Direction and a second NAACP Image Award for his work on the L.A. production of The Gospel at Colonus. Other Broadway, national and international tour credits include Smokey Joe’s Café, Twist, Sophisticated Ladies, Ain’t Misbehavin’, Jelly’s Last Jam, The Wiz, Truly Blessed, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Fiddler on the Roof, Betsy Brown, Concerts for the Earth, Colors of Christmas and Sound of Music! Abdul was handpicked by Broadway producer Lou Spisto to MD the commercial premiere of his latest project Recorded in Hollywood at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in L.A. Abdul Hamid recently Musical Conducted and played the role of Jimmy in Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill for The Milwaukee Rep and the Actors Theatre of Louisville. Abdul Hamid has worked with some of the music industry’s greatest, including Natalie Cole, Stevie Wonder, David Foster, Roberta Flack, Peabo Bryson, Melissa Manchester, Cy Coleman, Al Jarreau, The Pointer Sisters, Liza Minelli, Ashford & Simpson, Martha Wash, Jennifer Holliday, Jeffrey Osborne, Maurice Hines, Melba Moore, Patti Austin, Grover Washington Jr., Masashi Sada, Patti LaBelle, Jason Mraz, LA Philharmonic, Brenda Russell, and Phil Collins. Born in Wisconsin, Abdul Hamid was raised in the Midwest and began piano lessons at the age of 4 at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music as a student of Toba Kramer. As a child prodigy, he performed with the Florentine Opera Company, and by the age of 8 had written and publicly performed his first compositions. He studied with acclaimed Polish pianist, Andrzej Wasowski, and completed a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance/Jazz Studies at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music. Abdul Hamid was honored to become the first African American to receive a Masters of Music in Choral Conducting from the prestigious Northwestern University. He earned a Master of Theological Studies with an emphasis in Comparative Religion and Philosophy from Claremont School of Theology and is currently working on his Ph.D.

Know Before You Go