The concert will offer a mix of jazz, Latin-jazz, blues and other popular styles of music. The one-night-only event will feature several Rosen works specifically written for Jenkins and de Haas, including the world premiere of Dream Suite (based on poems by Langston Hughes), It Is Still Dark: Songs of Exile (featuring words by Celso Gonzales-Falla) and South Side Stories (words and music by Rosen). Alton Fitzgerald White, seen on Broadway in Ragtime, will be the evening's special guest. He and pianist Kimberly Grigsby will take part in the Dream Suite portion of the concert. James Sampliner will accompany the singers on piano during other parts of the evening. Show time is 7:30 PM.
Capathia Jenkins made her Broadway debut in The Civil War and has also been seen on Broadway in The Look of Love and Caroline, or Change. Her other theatrical credits include Godspell, Ain't Misbehavin', Dreamgirls, Bubblin' Brown Sugar and Children of Eden. On screen Jenkins has been seen in "Corn," "Marci X," "The Practice," "Law & Order," "Law & Order: SVU," "Third Watch" and "The Sopranos."
Darius de Haas has appeared on Broadway in Marie Christine, Kiss of the Spider Woman, Carousel, Rent and The Gershwins' Fascinating Rhythm. He created the title role in Running Man for which he received an Obie Award, and his other theatrical credits include The Bacchae, Saturn Returns, Children of Eden, Once On This Island and I Was Looking at the Ceiling and Then I Saw the Sky. De Haas was also part of the benefit Hair and Pippin concerts. His debut solo recording, on the PS Classics label, is titled "Day Dream: Variations on Strayhorn."
The Great Hall at Cooper Union is located at 7 East Seventh Street at Third Avenue. Tickets, priced at $30, are available by calling (212) 279-4200.