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Thomas W Jones II

THOMAS W JONES II

  
Nationality:    African American
email:    n/a     Website:    n/a

Literary Agent:    n/a

Thomas W. Jones II has directed, written, and performed in more than 200 plays worldwide. In 1978, Tom founded Jomandi Productions, where, as Co-artistic Director and Producing Director, Tom led Jomandi to become the third largest African-American Theatre company in the United States. His work as a writer, director, and actor has been acclaimed nationally and internationally. His work has received 42 Washington DC Helen Hayes award nominations and won 12 awards, including Best Director for Samm art Williams' Home and his own Bessie's Blues. He has also received 3 New York audelco award nominations, the Dramalogue award, the San Diego Critics award, and the NaaCP Phoenix award, among others. In 2000, Tom and his co-founders left Jomandi to create the entertainment company VIa International artists, Inc. and subsequently VIa theatrical. His most recent works includeThree Sistahs, Point of Revue, Two Queens One Castle, and Cool Papa's Party, and he is currently working on an after hours cabaret series based on Delores Bundy's Brown Sugar Diaries.

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below is a list of Thomas W Jones II's plays - click on a Play Title for more information

         Bessie Blues         Billie's Blues         Cool Drink A Water, A         Cool Papa's Party         Ladies Swing the Blues         Pearl Bailey By Request         Point Of Revue         Sheddin'         Three Sistahs         Two Queens One Castle         Wizard Of Hip

Bessie Blues

Synopsis:
Winner of a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and a member of the Blues, Jazz, and Rock and Roll Halls of Fame, Bessie Smith is one of the most influential musicians of the twentieth century. With songs like "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out," "The St. Louis Blues" "Careless Love Blues" and many more, Smith helped define the blues in the '20s and '30s.

Notes:
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1st Produced:
Studio, Washington Dc    1995

Organisations:
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1st Published:
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Music:
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To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Musical

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Billie's Blues

Synopsis:
The company tells the story of Billie Holiday through song.

Notes:
Page-to-Stage Festival 2014. The three-day, Center-wide Page-to- Stage event offers a series of free readings and open rehearsals of plays and musicals being developed by local, regional, and national playwrights, librettists, and composers.

1st Produced:

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1st Published:
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Music:
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To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Cool Drink A Water, A

Synopsis:
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Notes:
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1st Produced:
Horizon Theatre, Atlanta    2009

Organisations:
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1st Published:
-   -

Music:
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To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
musical comedy

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Cool Papa's Party

Synopsis:
Cool Papa's Party is a breathless tribute to the lives of black performers who lived life to the fullest through devastating hardship and unjust treatment

Notes:
Composer And music director William Knowles

1st Produced:
Metrostage, Alexandria, Va    2009

Organisations:
MetroStage

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Musical

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Ladies Swing the Blues

Synopsis:
Ladies Swing the Blues, a world premiere with book and lyrics by Thomas W. Jones II and original music and arrangements by William Knowles will be in performance Jan. 24-Mar. 17 at MetroStage. the production explores the jazz folklore, mythologies and backstage stories of the 40's and 50's with four legendary jazz divas as they gather to commemorate the passing of jazz legend Charlie Parker. the year is 1955. the place is New York City's 52nd Street, the cultural mecca of jazz in the universe. It is a place where music and mythology mingle in one unforgettable evening. Four jazz divas in the tradition of Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughn, Ella Fitzgerald, and Peggy Lee gather in a dressing room waiting to go on. From their lips we hear the tapestry of bebop, blues, and jazz in music, and the collective storytelling that gave rise to the mythic folklore of jazz mythology about Miles, Monk, Bird, Basie, ellington and others including the one mysteriously known as the Jazz Baroness. experience the many colorful personalities that define one of the most pivotal music periods of the twentieth century.

Notes:
Composer And music director William Knowles

1st Produced:
Metrostage, Alexandria, Va    24 Jan 2013

Organisations:
MetroStage

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Musical

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Pearl Bailey By Request

Synopsis:
Pearl Bailey . . . By Request is set in a nightclub and is based upon a 1950's album of Pearl Bailey's most requested songs from her Columbia Records era. as a cabaret performance, the show is an unqualified success. Roz White is a terrific performer. area theatre fans who have seen her in shows like Two Queens One Castle and Three Sistahs know that the lady can sing. earlier in her career she performed as effie in a national tour of Dreamgirls, a role that help you appreciate the fact that she has seriously powerful pipes. the show features fifteen songs that were Pearl Bailey classics. Most of the songs were those that let Pearl Bailey demonstrate her memorable personality, including the song Personality, as well as other highlights like a Woman's Prerogative and Takes Two to Tango. the show is nicely balanced with some more powerful ballads as well, such as Here You Come With Love and her signature hit Tired.
- Steven McKnight, DC theatre Scene

Notes:
Story Concept by Roz White; Book by Roz White And Thomas W. Jones II

1st Produced:
Metrostage, Alexandria, Va    2008

Organisations:
MetroStage

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
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To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Musical

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Point Of Revue

Synopsis:
a composite shot of African America. . .with attitude. Through a riveting series of short plays and songs, this vaudeville defies stereotype as it explores a myriad of topics and places, from Northern Uganda to the American South, HIV to Condoleeza Rice. Swinging from the serious to the absurd, there's plenty to laugh and cry about in this powerful piece.

Notes:
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1st Produced:
Mixed Blood Theatre Company (Minneapolis, Mn, United States)    2006

Organisations:
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1st Published:
Playscripts, Inc - New York   -

Music:
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To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
90-115 min Dramatic/Comedic vaudeville

Parts:
Male:  6            Female:  6            Other:  6 males, 6 females, 3 either (12-60 actors possible: 6-40 males, 6-20 females)

Further Reference:
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Sheddin'

Synopsis:
This raucous comedy set in an Atlanta backyard follows up on Horizons 2009 hit A Cool Drink A Water. Empty nesters Walt and Ruthie are throwing a homecoming party for son Trane, a rising hip hop star. But Walt and his buddies arent just celebrating  theyre hatching a plan to ride Tranes wave of success and recapture their own musical dreams. Bebop and hip hop take it to the woodshed, as the jazzmen say, to sharpen their music, friendship, and futures. A comic reuniting of generations and those who hunger to still have a place.

Notes:
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1st Produced:
Horizon Theatre, Atlanta    13 Jul 2012

Organisations:
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1st Published:
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Music:
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To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
musical comedy

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Three Sistahs

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
Book & Lyrics by Thomas W. Jones II, Music by William Hubbard

1st Produced:
Horizon Theatre, Atlanta    -

Organisations:
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1st Published:
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Music:
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To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
musical

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Two Queens One Castle

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
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1st Produced:
Horizon Theatre, Atlanta    -

Organisations:
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1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Wizard Of Hip

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
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1st Produced:
-    -

Organisations:
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1st Published:
in Black Comedy Nine Plays, Applause Books,    -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Comedy

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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