Obie Winner John Kelly Adds Dates to Sold Out Run
Get Up And Jive:
Even More Songs of Joni Mitchell
Final 2 Shows! June 25 & 26 at Fez
"There’s drag and then there’s transformation through spiritual osmosis, and that’s what
John Kelly accomplishes with this tribute... Magnificent." -- New York Times
"Sounds like pure camp on paper, but when the willowy Kelly sings Mitchell’s songs,
his haunting, crystalline countertenor is somewhere between male and female,
human and angel."-- New York Magazine
"It is an homage that transcends" -- Daily News
Two-time Obie Award winning experimental theater artist John Kelly has added dates to his sold out show Get Up and Jive: Even More Songs of Joni Mitchell at Fez on June 25 & 26. This entirely new evening of stories and songs follows up the critically acclaimed Paved Paradise: The Songs of Joni Mitchell (1997) and Shiny Hot Nights: More Songs of Joni Mitchell (2001).
"Alive, alive, I want to Get Up and Jive, I want to wreck my stockings in some juke box dive," sings Joni Mitchell in her song All I Want. In Get Up and Jive: Even More Songs of Joni Mitchell performer John Kelly once again inhabits the persona of Joni Mitchell. Kelly’s performance is an homage, both visually and musically. His signature countertenor is uncannily like Mitchell's own smoky soprano as he sings Mitchell’s familiar songs, including Morning Morgantown, The Fiddle and the Drum, For Free, Borderline, and Cactus Tree, in their original key. Kelly, often performing with the dulcimer Mitchell herself gave him, is accompanied by musical director Zecca on piano.
"As a kid growing up in Jersey City, I would put on my headphones and be swept into Joni’s world," explains Kelly on his love for Mitchell’s music. "Hers is a world rich with travel, emotion and innuendo. Her songs have the power to transport a lonely individual into another world."
John Kelly is an author, choreographer, director, and performer. He has received numerous awards including two Bessies, two Obies, the American Choreographer Award,and a Guggenheim Fellowship. In a career that spans over a decade Kelly’s works have been staged at numerous venues worldwide, including BAM, Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall. Kelly is perhaps best known for his portrayals of historic and mythic characters including Dagmar Onassis, Egon Schiele, Orpheus, and transvestite trapeze artist Barbette. Last year, he appeared as the opening act for Natalie Merchant’s Ophelia tour. Kelly was also an original cast member of James Joyce’s The Dead on Broadway. John Kelly, an autobiography was published in 2001 by 2wice Foundation/Aperture Books.
Get Up and Jive: Even More Songs of Joni Mitchell runs June 25 & 26 at 8:00pm. Tickets are $20. Fez is located at 380 Lafayette Street (at Great Jones, accessible from the B,D,F&Q at Broadway/Lafayette). For reservations call 866-468-7619 or visit ticketweb.com.