Anika Noni Rose, voice of Disney’s first Black princess, to sing at SCAD concert

When SCAD’s artistic director of executive ensembles Mike Evariste and his wife, choreographer and Savannah College of Art and Design professor Tiffany Evariste, first envisioned the Black Artists in Music showcase featuring the school’s elite student performance group the Bee Sharps, they imagined something small and intimate. But for a couple who spent their early 20s acting in national and international Broadway shows and later became co-producers of live music events for W Hotels, small isn’t first nature.

“Us being who we are, it just turned into a bigger, more exciting event,” Mike Evariste said. “The response was so overwhelming (the first year in 2021) … It was undeniable what our team had created.”

Now in its fourth year, BAM has grown into two nights of performances in Savannah and one in Atlanta that include guest appearances by Broadway stars. This year’s guest artists include Anika Noni Rose, the Tony Award-winning actor who starred in “Dreamgirls” and was the voice of Princess Tiana — the first African American Disney princess — in “The Princess and the Frog,” and Avery Wilson, a former contestant on NBC’s “The Voice” and the scarecrow in Broadway’s revival of “The Wiz.”

Credit: Samuel Paul

Credit: Samuel Paul

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BAM’s theme this year is the music of film. The concert will focus on Black musical artists who contributed to soaring soundtracks. Performances, of course, will include the songs Rose and Wilson made famous in “Dreamgirls,” “The Princess and the Frog” and “The Wiz.” Additional numbers include songs from the 1992 classic “Sister Act,” “The Lion King” and the biographical dramas about Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles and Harriet Tubman, respectively “Respect,” “Ray” and “Harriet.”

The show will be elevated by lighting effects, Oscar-style costumes, video projections and dance numbers choreographed by Tiffany Evariste.

“I heard this music and I was like, you can’t not have dance or movement to these epic songs,” she said. “What I love about dance and musical theater is that dance also tells a story. It’s part of the vehicle, the storytelling, for what the show is trying to say.”

The concert is a “celebration of Black artistry” designed for all audiences to enjoy together, Tiffany said. BAM “feels more urgent at this moment in history. There’s a different sense of urgency and a preciousness … we’ve created this beautiful space with all of these Black and brown bodies. It is really powerful.”

Credit: Colin Douglas Gray

Travis Lucas, a SCAD sophomore from Warner Robins and a member of the Bee Sharps who will perform in BAM, agreed.

“At this time, celebration is needed,” he said. “We need joy, we need the smiles, we need the laughter. We need to know we have each other.”

Performing with stars such as Rose and Wilson is also cause for celebration, Lucas said. When he first learned in an email that Wilson would be sharing the stage with him, he and a fellow performer were thrilled.

“We just looked at each other and we were like, ‘Oh, my God,’ because he has a golden voice. He’s so good at what he does,” he said.

When Lucas later found out that Rose, too, would be a guest performer, he was even more jazzed.

“I used to watch ‘Dreamgirls’ with my mom (as a kid) and we had the CD of it and I know it by heart,” he said. “It was a pivotal moment for me. Having them join us for this performance will be like a front-row seat master class for us, and we can’t wait to see them.”