Sammy Davis, Jr: singer, dancer, child star, fixture of the Rat Pack… but at what cost? Virtuosic Broadway performer Eric Jordan Young investigates his own obsession with Sammy—and his questions take audiences on a whirlwind journey through Sammy’s life and his music. But when you ask: who was the man behind the perfect cool smile? the answers that unravel are as powerful as the new questions they raise. Part self-portrait, part celebrity investigation, this insightful show features songs from Sammy Davis, Jr’s vast catalogue including Where Or When, That Old Black Magic, Mr. Bojangles, and The Candy Man.
Eric Jordan Young is an accomplished Producer, Director, Choreographer, Entertainer, Playwright and Songwriter with television, Broadway (Ragtime, Chicago, Seussical, Look Of Love); Off-Broadway; Regional (NYSF, Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, Alliance Theater); National Tour (Chicago, Ragtime, Dreamgirls); and Commercial credits. Las Vegas performances include Cocktail Cabaret (Caesars Palace), Rock Of Ages (Venetian/Rio), Shakin’—Vegas Remixed with a Twist (Planet Hollywood), Chicago (Mandalay Bay), Starlight Express, (Las Vegas Hilton) and Vegas! The Show. Eric has performed with several symphonies throughout the country including the Atlanta Symphony, Buffalo Philharmonic, Phoenix Symphony Orchestra and the New York Pops at Carnegie Hall. His solo album, Once In A Lifetime, was produced by his company EnJoY! Productions, and his one-man musical Sammy & Me is the winner of the ArtVoice and Salt Awards. Mr. Young served as the Resident Director of Baz (Venetian/Palazzo) and loves working as a Creative Director for original projects including Renegades at Caesars Palace and Drag Supper Club. Eric is currently the Associate Director for the Norwegian Cruise Line production of Footloose and the recent immersive production of Rock Of Ages in Hollywood, CA.
Wendy Dann’s regional directing work includes the Dallas Theatre Center (The Wolves, Constellations, To Kill a Mockingbird); The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis (Buyer and Cellar); The Alliance (Sammy & Me); Syracuse Stage (Chesapeake); The Kitchen Theatre Company (Every Brilliant Thing, Buyer and Cellar, Nora, The Unexpected Man, Cripple of Inishmaan, Chesapeake, Three Days of Rain, the world premieres of The Soup Comes Last and Francis Bacon); and the Capitol Repertory Theatre (No Child…). She served for seven seasons as Associate Artistic Director with Kevin Moriarty at the Hangar Theatre (The 39 Steps, Betrayal, No Child…, Beauty and the Beast, Sammy & Me, I Am My Own Wife, The Blue Room, Cats, Stones in His Pockets). Wendy’s original play, Birds of East Africa, premiered at the Kitchen Theatre Company. She has been a finalist for the O’Neill National Playwrights Conference and a recipient of the New York Foundation for the Arts fellowship in playwriting and screenwriting. Her work for the screen has twice been a second-rounder at the Austin Film Festival and she was invited to participate in The Writers Lab 2021 (founded by Meryl Streep). Member, SDC.
The 2023 Mainstage Season is made possible, in part, by The Shubert Foundation and New York State Council on the Arts.
