ASHLI ST. ARMANT & ISAIAH JOHNSON: Creative Collab

Playwright and lead singer for Jazzy Ash & The Leaping Lizards collaborates with the star of The Color Purple, Hamilton and Peter and the Starcatcher as they develop the new juke joint centered production Yellow Root.  Ashli St. Armant is a prolific songwriter and musical treasure hunter, highlighting traditional songs, rhythms and rhymes that have been handed down by African-Americans for generations.  She is known for her award-winning work in children's education and entertainment, including the creation of North The Musical. North follows the journey of a precocious teenage boy named Lawrence and his young mother, Minnie, as they escape the Deep South and travel North through the Underground Railroad, to seek their freedom. She is also a celebrated author and well known for her Audible mystery series, Viva Durant, which includes New York Times bestselling story, Viva Durant and the Secret of the Silver Buttons. Her latest album, Good Foot, pays homage to the solid gold sounds of Black American music in the 1950s and 1960s. From Motown to doo-wop, rock-and-roll and touching on the early days of funk, Jazzy Ash has tapped into the soul of these music genres. Isaiah Johnson is an American actor and singer who portrayed Georg Washington in the 2014 final lab of Hamilton as well as in the National Tour.  Johnson has appeared on and off Broadway, working with Al Pacino and Daniel Sullivan inThe Merchant of Venice, Kevin Spacey and Sam Mendes in Richard III, Kelli O'Hara and Michael Greif in Far From Heaven, Roger Rees and Alex Timbers in Peter and the Starcatcher, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Thomas Kail in Hamilton (Vassar Workshop Cast 2013), and on various projects with Norm Lewis, Bill Condon and Randy Newman.  He has also been a guest star on CBS' Person of Interest and the Cinemax series The Knick. Isaiah received a BFA from Howard University and an MFA from NYU's Tisch Grad Acting.