Toni Braxton and Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds Play Their First Performances in “After Midnight”
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, PLEASE
MULTI-PLATINUM, GRAMMY AWARD-WINNING SUPERSTARS
TONI BRAXTON AND KENNY “BABYFACE” EDMONDS
TO PLAY THEIR FIRST PERFORMANCES AS “SPECIAL GUEST STARS” IN
“ A F T E R M I D N I G H T ”
TUESDAY, MARCH 18, 2014
New York, NY (Friday, March 14, 2014) – Multi-Platinum superstars Toni Braxton and Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds are the latest Grammy Award-winning artists to join the roster of “Special Guest Star” vocalists in the smash hit Broadway musical After Midnight. With an impressive 16 Grammy Awards between them, Braxton and Edmonds will play their first performance on Tuesday, March 18, 2014, marking Edmonds’ Broadway debut and Braxton’s return. The duo will continue performances at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre (256 West 47th Street) through Sunday, March 30, 2014.
Toni Braxton and Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds teamed up for their first album of duets, Love, Marriage & Divorce, which was released by Motown Records on February 4, 2014. “Hurt You” is earning critical raves and reached #1 on the Billboard charts. The duo first collaborated on a duet for Braxton’s smash 1992 debut, Give U My Heart, which was co-written and co-produced by “Babyface.”
The distinctive, sultry vocals of six-time Grammy Award-winning recording artist Toni Braxton have been celebrated internationally since the release of her self-titled debut album in 1993. The album sold over 10 million copies and garnered Toni’s first Grammy Awards for Best New Artist and Best Female R&B Vocal (“Another Sad Love Song”). Toni’s second Best Female R&B Vocal Grammy came the following year for “Breathe Again.” Her second album, Secrets, arrived in 1996 selling over 15 million copies worldwide. At the 1997 Grammy Awards, Toni became the second woman in history to win Best Female Pop Vocal and Best Female R&B Vocal in the same year for “Un-break My Heart” and “You’re Makin’ Me High,” respectively. She returned to the Grammy podium in 2001 to claim another Best Female R&B Vocal award for “He Wasn’t Man Enough” from the double-platinum album The Heat. In recent years, Toni’s acting career blossomed with roles on Broadway in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast and Aida, as well a dramatic turn in the Lifetime movie “Twist of Faith.”
10-time Grammy Award®-winning recording artist Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds has been revolutionizing the contemporary pop/Urban music landscape ever since scoring consecutive multi-platinum landmark albums with Tender Lover (1989, with R&B smashes “It’s No Crime,” “Tender Love,” “Whip Appeal,” “My Kinda Girl”); For the Cool In You (1993, with hit singles “For the Cool In You,” “Never Keeping Secrets,” “And Our Feelings,” “When Can I See You”); and The Day (1996, with “This Is For the Lover In You” and “Every Time I Close My Eyes”). Edmonds co-founded Atlanta’s LaFace Records with L.A. Reid in 1989 and nurtured the careers of megastars TLC, OutKast, Goodie Mob, Usher, and (starting in 1993) Toni Braxton. Edmonds also lent his talents to an abundance of hits with artists ranging from Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson and Boyz II Men, to Mariah Carey, Madonna, Eric Clapton, Mary J. Blige, John Mellencamp, Aretha Franklin, Fall Out Boy, P!nk, Beyoncé, Anthony Hamilton, and many others. Under Edmonds’ belt are more than 125 Top 10 R&B and pop hits, 42 R&B #1 hits, and 51 Top 10 Pop hits (including 16 #1’s), which have generated cumulative single and album sales of more than 500 million units worldwide. Most recent production work with other artists includes Barbra Streisand, Celine Dion, Keri Hilson, Ledisi and Ariana Grande. At the same time, “Babyface” is an active touring artist, performing concerts across the U.S. and around the world on a regular basis.
In its heyday, the Cotton Club featured a cavalcade of guest stars each week, known then as “Celebrity Nights.” After Midnight reintroduces this exciting tradition by presenting stars of today in limited engagement appearances throughout the musical’s run. Grammy Award-winning recording artist Fantasia began the tradition (10/18/13 – 2/9/14), followed by four-time Grammy Award-winning icon k.d. lang (2/11/14 – 3/9/14). Grammy Award-winners Toni Braxton & Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds play a two week engagement (3/18/14 – 3/30/14) followed by multi-platinum recording artist and actress Vanessa Williams (4/1/14 – 5/11/14).
Conceived by Jack Viertel, After Midnight features direction and choreography by Warren Carlyle, musical direction by Wynton Marsalis and musical supervision by Daryl Waters.
The design team for After Midnight includes prolific design couple Isabel Toledo (costumes) and Ruben Toledo, Tony Award-winners John Lee Beatty (set design) and Howell Binkley (lighting design) and Peter Hylenski (sound).
After Midnight is produced by Scott Sanders Productions, and Wynton Marsalis, in association with Marks-Moore-Turnbull Group; Stephen and Ruth Hendel; Tom Kirdahy.
The performance schedule for After Midnight is as follows: Tuesdays – Thursdays at 7:30 pm, Friday and Saturday nights at 8 pm, and matinee performances on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 2:00 pm and Sundays at 3 pm. Tickets range from $60.00 to $142.00 (premium tickets are $199) and are available via TicketMaster and in persona at the Brooks Atkinson box office. Tickets for groups of 12 or more can be purchased by calling 212-239-6262 or 800-432-7780 or by visiting http://www.ticketmaster.com/.
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