Josephine

  Saturday February 8, 2025  7:30pm
  Festival Theatre, Wolfville

Starring Tymisha Harris, Josephine, a Burlesque Cabaret Dream Play is an international award-winning one-woman biographical musical that combines cabaret, theatre and dance to tell the story of the iconic Josephine Baker, the first African-American international superstar and one of the most remarkable figures of the 20th Century.

About Josephine Baker - Born in St. Louis in 1906, Josephine Baker achieved only moderate success in the United States, but became an international superstar after moving to France in the early 20’s. She starred alongside white romantic leading men in films in the 30’s, had multiple interracial marriages and homosexual relationships, and performed in men’s clothing before the term “drag” existed in the lexicon. She was also a spy for the French Resistance, a civil rights activist, and the mother of 12 adopted children from 4 continents. Her success in France and Europe often gave her the opportunity to live freely without the racial oppression of her home nation, though she never stopped yearning for acceptance in America.

After debuting at the 2016 San Diego Fringe Festival and winning the distinctions of "Outstanding Solo Performance" and "Best Show", Josephine toured throughout North America in 2017, picking up awards and 5 star reviews at every stop. From there, the show was selected by The Soho Playhouse in New York City to be part of the 2017 Fringe Encore series in October, 2017. Josephine was then awarded the honor of the encore series “Outstanding Production” award, and in early 2018 was offered a limited 8-week off-Broadway run at Soho Playhouse, where it sold out performances and received high critical acclaim. For the off-Broadway run, Tymisha Harris was nominated for a 2018 Vivian Robinson AUDELCO Award for Outstanding Solo Performance.

In the summer of 2018, the show traveled across Canada to five festivals, and was the top selling show at every one of them, earning another dozen awards. In the Summer of 2019, Josephine went to the Edinburgh Fringe for the first time, where it was a critical and box office hit. In February of 2020, the show played in Australia for the first time. At the Adelaide Fringe Festival (the second largest in the world), Josephine received rave reviews, sold out and extended its run, and received a coveted “Critics Circle Award”.

About Tymisha Harris - Performer/Costume Designer/Choreographer. Tymisha Harris has been performing professionally for over 25 years. Her early credits include assistant choreographer and backup dancing for the 90’s pop group N*SYNC, backup dancer for LFO, multiple roles at Universal Studios Orlando, and a featured role in the hit movie series Bring It On. More recent endeavors include the national tour of Rock of Ages, a European tour with the innovative and world-renowned Pilobulus Dance Theater Company, and founding member and Assistant Director/Choreographer of the successful Orlando based troupe, VarieTease.

josephinetheplay.com