Conceived and directed by Artist-in-Residence and Tony nominee Tina Landau, NYC's new public park Little Island announced the complete casting for The Big Mix, a series of performances celebrating Juneteenth, LGBTQIA+ Pride, and Independence Day. Performances begin June 16 and will continue through July 3.
Kicking off the event is the Juneteenth celebration, which will play June 16–19 at 8 PM, hosted by Tony and Grammy nominee Joshua Henry, last seen in New York City Center's star-studded Into the Woods production. The celebration will see performances from Tony winner Tonya Pinkins, Mykal Kilgore, singer-songwriter Chanese Elifé, and a variety of special acts including parkour artists, fire artists, dance performances, and more.
LGBTQIA+ Pride events will follow June 23–25 at 8 PM. Head Over Heels' Peppermint will host June 23 and 24 with a special guest performance by Tony nominee Beth Malone. Qween Jean takes over June 25 at 6:30 PM and 10 PM with a special guest performance by Tony winner Idina Menzel. All four dates will feature performances from Brandon Contreras, recently announced to star in the Broadway transfer of Almost Famous; Jose Llana; singer-songwriter Chanese Elifé; Carmen Castillo; Carmen Lobue & Mariyea; and special acts including poetry and spoken word, circus artists, and more.
Lastly, the Independence Day event will run June 29-July 3 at 8 PM, hosted by Tony winner Faith Prince with performances from Ty Defoe, Tony and Grammy nominee Judy Kuhn, and special acts including a Brazilian-American-style samba reggae band, poetry and spoken word, harmonicist, yoyo artist, and more.
All three weeks will feature an ensemble of Marla Louissaint, Zach McNally, Ianne Fields Stewart, and Allan K. Washington. The band is led by musical director Kimberly Grigsby, and features Jami Dauber on trumpet, Alejandro Espinosa on trombone, Abe Fogle on drums, Ann Klein on guitar, and Parker McAllister on bass. Arrangements and orchestrations by Jacinth Greywoode and Britt Bonney serves as music assistant.
The Big Mix features costume design by Ari Fulton, lighting design by Adam Honoré, props coordination and set dressing by Matt Carlin, an opening number written by Ronvé O’Daniel, and opening number choreography by Jon Rua.
To view the full schedule, visit LittleIsland.org.
