Be Our Guest with Jewelle Blackman (Rooted: A Musical Poem)

Jewelle Blackman is a Dora nominated Canadian actor, violinist, singer/songwriter and playwright.  Born and bred in Toronto, Jewelle has worked extensively in theatre, television and film across North America.  She was most recently seen on Broadway starring as “Persephone” in the Tony and Grammy winning Best Musical HADESTOWN.  The same show where she made her Broadway debut and was part of the OBC originating the role of “Contralto Fate”. While in New York Jewelle performed two sold-out Cabarets at the iconic 54 Below and was the anthem singer at Madison Square Gardens. Canadian credits include the Companies of HADESTOWN, WE WILL ROCK YOU; THE LION KING; CAROLINE OR CHANGE; DREAMGIRLS; CROWNS, and three seasons at The Stratford Festival. She was also the headliner for the Toronto Symphony’s 2023 Canada Day Celebration. Jewelle’s other show ROOTED: A Musical Poem is also debuting at the Toronto Fringe this year and will be presented Off-Broadway later this summer. Rooted: A Musical Poem "Rooted what does it mean to me? To be stuck in the ground like this tree." A contemporary fable for the ages, ROOTED begs the question what does it mean to be rooted and how does our idea of being rooted change as we grow? With R'n'B, soul, and soaring strings, this musical poem is brought to life in the heart of Central Park.