Jon Secada, Debbie Gravitte, Kiril Kulish, Liz Callaway Star in Premiere of Loving the Silent Tears Musical Oct. 27

By Andrew Gans
27 Oct 2012

Liz Callaway
Liz Callaway

A one-night-only presentation of Loving the Silent Tears: A New Musical plays the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles Oct. 27 at 5 PM PT.

The evening features the talents of Grammy winner Jon Secada, Grammy winner Jody Watley, Tony winner Debbie Gravitte, Tony winner Kiril Kulish, Emmy winner Liz Callaway, Tony nominee Patti Cohenour as well as Grammy-winning reggae legends Black Uhuru, Grammy-nominated Persian artist Siavash Shams, Arab singer Camellia Abou-Odah, Italian tenor Mark Janicello, Vietnamese superstar Hồ Quỳnh Hương, award-winning Israeli singer Liel Kolet, Irish soprano Katie McMahon, Korean singer Heather Park and award-winning Brazilian singer Fabiana Passoni.

The show was inspired by the poetry anthology "Silent Tears," written by spiritual teacher, humanitarian and artist Supreme Master Ching Hai. A host of composers came together to set the soulful verses to music: Jorge Calandrelli, Al Kasha, Doug Katsaros, Henry Krieger, Don Pippin, Nan Schwartz and David Shire.

Loving the Silent Tears, press notes state, "will take the audience on a cultural journey across six continents and 16 countries, to tell a story about humanity’s search for inner peace and happiness."

Award-winning playwright Cynthia Ferrell said in an earlier statement, "What interested me most in Loving the Silent Tears honestly was the poetry. The poetry is so beautiful and the message of the poetry, it’s so consistent throughout the piece, and the nuances of it are gorgeous and it’s just so inspiring. It just makes you come to the project with a happy heart."

The evening, which also features a 30-member dancing ensemble, is directed by Tony nominee Vincent Paterson with choreography by Bonnie Story, set design by John Iacovelli and costume design by Sharell Martin.

The performance commemorates the 19th anniversary of Supreme Master Ching Hai Day honoring the values of philanthropy and peace. A free pre-show art exhibition at the venue will feature Supreme Master Ching Hai’s creative works.

Shrine Auditorium is located at 665 West Jefferson Blvd., Los Angeles, CA. For tickets visit ticketmaster.com. For more information visit SilentTearsMusical.com.