Jabu Graybeal. Photo courtesy of the artist
On Friday, November 1, Wortham Center for the Performing Arts presents Some Enchanted Evening, a multidisciplinary performance blending the magic of musical theater with the rich sounds of jazz. The performance will be a collaboration among Emmy-nominated trumpeter and vocalist Benny Benack III, vocalist Stella Cole and award-winning tap-dancer Jabu Graybeal.
“I hope audiences have a new appreciation for Broadway and Jazz, two of America’s greatest art forms, and they realize there are crazy talented young artists keeping these traditions alive and thriving,” Bennack says. “I want audiences to realize how interactive and fun jazz can be. The more audiences sing and clap along, the better.”
The show will feature a mix of Broadway staples from musicals like Hamilton, The Sound of Music and Guys & Dolls. “I hope everyone is able to soak in the nostalgia of these old Broadway classics, but I think they’ll also be able to hear these songs in ways they’ve never heard them before,” says Cole. “This music never gets old; it’s so cathartic for people and everyone still relates to it today.”
Graybeal, a tap dancer from Pittsboro who will appear in the next season of America’s Got Talent, says the collaboration has deepened his understanding of and love for jazz and tap. “This performance seeks to challenge, inspire and engage,” he says. “It’s not just entertainment—it’s an invitation to look deeper, to question assumptions and to explore the complexities of the human experience through art.”
The Wortham Center for the Performing Arts is located at 18 Biltmore Avenue in downtown Asheville. To learn more and purchase tickets, visit WorthamArts.org or call 828.257.4530.
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