After Midnight: Fantasia Returns 13 May to 08 Jun 2014

Grammy Award Winner Fantasia will return as a 'special guest star vocalist' in the new Broadway musical After Midnight on 13 May 2014 for a limited engagement until 08 Jun 2014. She previously appeared in the show from 18 Oct 2013 though to 09 Feb 2014.

A portion of each ticket sold for Fantasia's first performance on 13 May 2014 will be donated to the Harlem School of the Arts.

In a Statement, Fantasia said: "Life on tour is really great, but I miss my Broadway family at After Midnight. I am very excited to have the opportunity to rejoin this incredible company while also supporting the Harlem School of the Arts, whose mission is close to my heart."

Fantasia rose to fame as the winner of the third season of 'American Idol' in 2004. She made her Broadway debut in 2007 when she starred as Celie in the musical 'The Color Purple'. As a recording artist, Fantasia has sold nearly three million records and 1.5 million digital tracks to date. She won the 2011 Grammy Award for 'Best Female R&B Vocal Performance' for 'Bittersweet', the lead single from her third solo album, 'Back to Me'. In April 2013, Fantasia released her fourth album, 'Side Effects of You'.

Fantasia's return engagement will follow Broadway outings by K. D. Lang, Toni Braxton & Babyface (who are currently guest starring until 30 Mar 2014) and Vanessa Williams (01 Apr until 11 May 2014).

After Midnight - a new production of Cotton Club Parade - opened at Broadway's Brooks Atkinson Theatre on 03 Nov 2013, following previews from 18 Oct 2013.

The regular cast of After Midnight features Dulé Hill, who will lead the audience through the Harlem Renaissance as 'The Host'; Tony Award-winner Adriane Lenox ('Doubt') reprising her role as the blues singer with a sense of humor; Julius "Iglide" Chisholm from the dance crew RemoteKontrol, reimagining Harlem's popular 1920's "snakehips" dance; hip hop performer Virgil J. Gadson; Tony Award-nominated modern dancer Karine Plantadit ('Come Fly Away'); Michael Jackson's tap coach Dormeshia Sumbry-Edwards and tap-dancing choreographer Jared Grimes.

The cast will also include a male quartet comprised of Grammy Award-nominee and member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band Everett Bradley, Cedric Neal, T. Oliver Reid and Monroe Kent; a female trio of Broadway vets including Carmen Ruby Floyd, Rosena M. Hill Jackson and Bryonha Marie Parham;and dancers Marija Abney, Phillip Attmore, Christopher Broughton, Taeler Elyse Cyrus, C.K. Edwards, Danielle Herbert, Bahiyah Hibah, David Jennings, Erin Moore, Justin Prescott, Tony Award nominee Desmond Richardson ('Fosse'), Monique Smith and Daniel Watts.

After Midnight, is conceived by Jack Viertel, with direction and choreography by Warren Carlyle and music direction by Jazz at Lincoln Center Managing and Artistic Director Wynton Marsalis.

After Midnight celebrates Duke Ellington's years at the famed Harlem nightclub in the 1920s and '30s, when the joint was jumping with shows featuring big band swing and blues music.

The production features singers, dancers, and the Jazz at Lincoln Center All Stars, under the direction of Wynton Marsalis. The score includes songs by jazz composers of the time, including Jimmy McHugh and Dorothy Fields ("I Can't Give You Anything But Love" and "Digga Digga Doo"), a young Harold Arlen ("Stormy Weather," "I've Got the World on a String," "Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea,"), and the legendary Duke Ellington ("Rockin' in Rhythm," "Cotton Club Stomp," "Black and Tan Fantasy," and "Creole Love Call").

The timeless tunes set against a narrative of Langston Hughes poetry will provide a backdrop for an array of performances by 25 vocalists and dancers, including special guest stars.

The creative team will include costumes by Isabel and Ruben Toledo, sets by John Lee Beatty, lighting by Howell Binkley and sound by Peter Hylenski.

Encores! Special event production of the jazz musical 'Cotton Club Parade,' now named After Midnight, played two runs at New York City Center in 2011 and 2012.

After Midnight is produced by Scott Sanders Productions, and Wynton Marsalis, in association with Marks-Moore-Turnbull Group; Stephen and Ruth Hendel; and Tom Kirdahy.

- by Tom Millward