Love Productions Records presents

CROSS THAT RIVER

Composed by Allan Harris
Book by Allan & Pat Harris
Directed by Regge Life
With Maya Azucena, Jeffery Lewis, Carolyn Leonhart, Alan Grubner, Shirazette Tinnin, Jay White, Seth Johnson, Miki Hayama, and Allan Harris
The unsettled West of the 1860s provides a new life and new dreams for Blue, a run-away slave, who escapes to Texas to become one of America’s first Black Cowboys. This compelling tale of freedom integrates fiction with historical fact, and each song presents a different page in this complicated chapter of American History.

The “smooth-voiced and charismatic” (The New York Times) renowned jazz composer, musician, and singer Allan Harris (Café Society Swing) returns to 59E59 to star as Blue.

The incredible story of a slave turned cowboy comes to life in Cross That River, a musical composed by jazz artist Allan Harris, with a book by Mr. Harris and Pat Harris, and directed by Regge Life. The show, performed concert-style at 59E59 Theaters, features a mix of jazz, blues, country and R&B, making it a true paragon of the American musical. Cross That River is narrated by a man named Blue (Harris), born on the McLaughlin Plantation in Louisiana around 1845, close to the river that separates Louisiana from Texas. Young Blue (Jeffery Lewis) works in the stables, where he becomes close to the master’s daughter, Courtney (Carolyn Leonhart), despite warnings from the overprotective Mama Lila (Maya Azucena). But his love affair with Courtney can’t keep him from his true dream: to cross that river into Texas, where he could become a free man. As he travels west, Blue’s story is tied up with the various characters of the American frontier–the cowboys responsible for dozens of cattle; the saloon hall girls offering a good time and respite from hard labor; the Mexican prostitute (Leonhart), who spends a passionate night with Young Blue–all painted with a bright and cheery brushstrok …Read more