Africa: Ladysmith U.S. Tour Will End With Boston Premiere

13 February 1998
Africa News Service (Durham)

Durham, NC — At the end of their current concert tour [see below for schedule] across the United States, South Africa's Ladysmith Black Mambazo will perform the play Nomathemba at Boston's Shubert Theater from April 18 to May 10.

Written by Ntozake Shange, Eric Simonson and Ladysmith's lead singer, Joseph Shabala, the play was originally performed in 1995 with the Chicago theater group Steppenwolf and had a successful four-week run at Washington, D.C.'s Kennedy Center the following year. Based on the first song ever written by Shabalala, Nomathemba is a joyful South African love story.

The prize-winning singing group from South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal province was introduced to a broad American audience through Paul Simon's Graceland recording. The group's Shaka Zulu album won a Grammy in 1987, and Ladysmith's appearance with Paul Simon on Sesame Street is one of the three most-requested "Sesame Street" segments in the history of the children's program. A 1993 Broadway production of The Song of Jacob Zulu, a collaboration between Steppenwolf and Ladysmith, was nominated for six Tony Awards and Joseph Shabala and the group won a Drama Desk Award for Best Original Score. For information on tickets for the Boston performances of Nomathemba, phone 617-266-0800.

REMAINING CONCERT DATES

Feb. 13, Durham, NC, Carolina Theater, 8 pm

Feb. 14, Akron, OH, Univ. of Akron, 8 pm

Feb. 15, Peoria, Il, Civic Center, 7 pm

Feb. 17, Stevens Point, WI, Univ. Of Wisconsin, 8 pm

Feb. 19, Platteville, WI, Univ. of Wisconsin, 8 pm

Feb. 20, Fish Creek, WI, Door Comm. Auditorium, 8 pm

Feb. 21, Glen Ellyn, IL, DuPage Coliseum, 5:30 and 8:30 pm

Feb. 22, University Park, IL, Governor's St. Univ., 5 pm

Feb. 24, St. Paul, MN, Ordway Music Theater, 7 pm

Feb. 25, Iowa City, IA, Univ. of Iowa, 8 pm

Feb. 26, Topeka, KS, Topeka Performing Art Center, 8 pm

Feb. 28, Skokie, IL, North Shore Art Center, 8 pm

Mar. 1, DeKalb, IL, Northern Ill. Univ., 8 pm

Mar. 2, Oberlin, OH, Oberlin College, 8pm

Mar. 3, Grand Rapids, MI, Calvin College, 7 pm

Mar. 4, Morganton, WV, West Virginia Univ., 7:30 pm

Mar. 7, Eugene, OR, Hult Center, 8 pm

Mar. 8, Port Angeles, WA, Juan De Fuca Festival, 7:30 pm

Mar. 9, Seattle, WA, King Cat Theater, 8 pm

Mar. 10, Portland, OR, Roseland Theater, 8 pm

Mar. 12, San Francisco, CA, Great American, 8 pm

Mar. 13, Solana Beach, CA, Belly Up Tavern, 7:30 pm

Mar. 14, Irvine, CA, Irvine Barclay Theater, 8 pm

Mar. 15, Irvine, CA, Irvine Barclay Theater, 3 pm

Mar. 16, Las Vegas, NV, Ham Concert Hall, 8 pm

Mar. 17, Tucson, AZ, Tucson Convention Center, 8 pm

Mar. 18, Albuquerque, NM, Kiva Auditorium, 8 pm

Mar. 19, Boulder, CO, Boulder Theater, 7:30 pm

Mar. 22, Alexandria, VA, The Birchmere, 8 pm

Mar. 23, Harrisonburg, VA, James Madison Univ., 8 pm

Mar. 24, Frederick, Weinberg Center, 8 pm

* An Africa News Service Interview with Joseph Shabalala can be found at http://www.africanews.org/interviews/joseph.html

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