Stand up and cheer! Jevares C. Myrick and Ronvé O’Daniel are here for the newest edition of Playbill's Songwriter Series. Presented by Audible Theater, the series is dedicated to spotlighting emerging composers and features a new video every month.
Jevares C. Myrick and Ronvé O’Daniel visited Playbill to perform four songs from their musical Greenwood, a musical about the Greenwood district in Tulsa, Oklahoma that became known as Black Wall Street in the early 20th century. The district was destroyed by the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, when a local white mob burned the vibrant African American municipality to the ground.
Featured songs include "Light the Fire" performed by Avionce Hoyles, "Up, Up and Away" performed by Morgan J. Smart and Jevares Myrick, "20" performed by Ronvé O'Daniel, and "American Way" performed by Tymothee Harrell, with Avionce Hoyles, Morgan J. Smart, and Jevares Myrick.
Accompanying are Andrea Levinsky on cajon, Lou Garrett on guitar, and Ian LeRoy, who is playing the Playbill piano provided by the nonprofit Sing for Hope.
"Greenwood explores the events that led to the massacre from the perspective of many vastly different characters," shares Ronvé O'Daniel. The musical explores real life figures in addition to fictionalized characters, including Greenwood founder O.W. Gurley, the son of slaves who became one of the wealthiest Black men in the Oklahoma territory.
Jevares Myrick is a Broadway actor, composer, and orchestrator, currently appearing in The Book of Mormon on Broadway. Ronvé O’Daniel is a songwriter, lyricist, composer and hip hop enthusiast. Their other collaborations include Once Upon a Rhyme, The Earth Remembers, Beautiful Hair, Superhero, Hippest Wizard of Oz, and Six Triple Eight, currently in development. Their works have been produced Off-Broadway, as well as in the TheatreWorks Silicon Valley New Works Festival, Eugene O’Neill National Music Theater Conference, Johnny Mercer Writers Colony Residency at Goodspeed Theater, at the NYU Tisch School for the Arts, and more.
To learn more about their various collaborations, visit RonveAndJevares.com.
Audible Theater is a proud sponsor of Playbill’s Songwriter Series. Audible Theater makes outstanding performances and powerful storytelling available to millions of people all over the world. As part of this initiative, Audible has produced Girls & Boys with Carey Mulligan, The Half-Life of Marie Curie with Kate Mulgrew, Harry Clarke starring Billy Crudup, and many others at the Minetta Lane Theatre in New York City. Audible was also a co-producer for the Broadway transfer of the Tony Award-nominated Latin History for Morons written by and starring John Leguizamo and for the Tony Award-nominated Sea Wall/A Life starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Tom Sturridge. Since June 2017, Audible has commissioned 40 theater playwrights to receive support from its $5 million Emerging Playwrights Fund dedicated to developing innovative English-language works from around the globe and keeping with Audible’s core commitment to elevating listening experiences through powerful performances and extraordinary vocal storytelling.
Sing for Hope harnesses the power of the arts to create a better world. Our creative programs bring hope, healing, and connection to millions of people in hospitals, schools, care facilities, refugee camps, transit hubs, and community spaces worldwide. A non-profit organization founded in New York City in response to the events of 9/11, Sing for Hope partners with hundreds of community-based organizations, mobilizes thousands of artists in creative service, and produces artist-created Sing for Hope Pianos across the US and around the world. The official Cultural Partner of the World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates, Sing for Hope champions art for all because we believe the arts have an unmatched capacity to uplift, unite, and heal. Learn more at SingForHope.org.
