Bob Marley's Music Soars in Three Little Birds, A New Reggae Children's Musical, Coming to San Ramon Saturday, March 21

Watch out for evil Duppy, when the Bay Area Children’s Theatre (BACT) presents Three Little Birds, A New Reggae Children’s Musical, weekends at the Front Row Theater, 17011 Bollinger Canyon Road, San Ramon, CA 94582, beginning Saturday, March 21, at 2 p.m. and running through Sunday, March 29, at 11 a.m., 2 p.m., and 4 p.m.

The sun is shining in Cattawood Springs, a small village on the Island of Jamaica, but timid, 11-year-old Ziggy prefers to stay indoors, watching TV, “just making sure that there are no hurricanes coming.” When his tricky friend Nansi lures him out of the house, the two children are in for an unexpected test of their courage and ingenuity.

A modern-day fairytale based on the story by Cedella Marley, adapted for the stage by Michael J. Bobbitt, Three Little Birds, A New Reggae Children’s Musical features the music of the legendary songwriter-singer-guitarist Bob Marley, with additional music and lyrics by John L. Cornelius, II. Marley’s music evokes the spirit of Jamaica, and the endearing story gives children and their families a glimpse into the warmth and magic of life in Ziggy’s Caribbean village. Michael Mohammed directs. Recommended for 4 and up.

TICKETS: $22 adults, $20 seniors, $18 children, $13 groups (minimum 15)

BOX OFFICE: www.bactheatre.org or (925) 973-3343

About the Artists

Michael Mohammed (Director) has received acclaim as a director, choreographer, and performer. Directing credits: Candide (Douglas Morrisson Theatre), The Full Monty (ACT, MFA program), X: The Life & Times of Malcolm X (Oakland Opera Theater), Wilde Boys (New Conservatory Theater, BACC winner: Best Musical), The Unsung Diva (NY Fringe Festival), The Marriage of Figaro (Opera On Tap) and Carmen (Mendocino Music Festival). Mohammed directs the Musical Theatre Ensemble at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where his productions have included Nine, Company, Bernarda Alba, World Goes Round, and La Boheme. He is on the faculty at San Francisco Community Music Center and Ruth Asawa School of the Arts. A classically trained singer, he performs regularly in musical theatre and opera: Mitch (The 25th Annual…Bee, Busbarn Theater), Little Truth (The Great Big Also, Mugwumpin), Sister (Marat/Sade, Thrillpeddlers), Bertarido (Rodelinda, Handel Opera Project), and the title role in Handel’s Orlando (Black Box Baroque).

Khalia Davis (Nansi), a veteran performing and teaching artist with BACT, appears weekdays in BACT’s school tour, Rock the Block: A Walk and Roll Musical. Other Bay Area credits include 42nd Street Moon (The Boyfriend); TheatreWorks (Once on this Island, Memphis, Jane Eyre); California Shakespeare Theatre (Midsummer, A Raisin in the Sun, A Winter’s Tale: Perf U/S); Willows Theatre (Once on This Island); and Broadway by the Bay (Dreamgirls, Millie, Beauty and the Beast). Davis is also a professional teaching artist and executive producer of Kids at Heart Productions, which creates entertaining, age-appropriate web content for children. She holds a BA in Theatre from the University of Southern California. www.khaliashdavis.com

Debra Harvey (Cedella/Montego) makes her BACT debut in this production. Recent credits include: A Trip Down Broadway (Effie/Gary Coleman/Ensemble) at Clayton Theatre Company, Dreamgirls (Joann/Geraldine(Jerry)) at Broadway By the Bay, The Color Purple (Church Lady) at HillBarn Theatre, and A Little Princess (Widow Zuma). She was the 2012 winner of the SFBATCC Award for Principal Female in a Musical for Nunsense (Sister Hubert) at Novato Theatre Company.

Anthony Rollins-Mullens (Duppy) last appeared with BACT as Toad in A Year with Frog and Toad. Other theatrical credits include Louis Armstrong in Ella, the Musical, Tom Collins in Rent, Fred in Smokey Joe’s Cafe, Willie in “Master Harold”. . . and the Boy, Jafar in Disney’s Alladin, Aslan in Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, The Pimp/Big Bad Wolf in Rent Boy Avenue: A Fairy’s Tale, Waymon as Hunter Priestess in the West Coast premier of Good Goods, Eddie Mackrel in the West Coast premier of LaChuisa’s The Wild Party, and Belize in the 20th Anniversary production of Angels in America. www.rollinsmullens.com

Branden Thomas (Ziggy) started training in ballet and African dance at a young age and began singing in 11th grade, after he was admitted into the Oakland School for the Arts and its award-winning concert choir. He progressed as a vocalist in high school and started to perform in musical theater, the field in which he hopes to build a career. Credits include Avenue Q (Gary Coleman), Wish upon a Star (Ursula), and Hairspray (Motormouth Maybelle).

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About the Bay Area Children’s Theatre

Established in 2004, the Bay Area Children’s Theatre, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, serves more than 68,000 children and adults throughout the Bay Area.

Our Mission: To inspire young audiences with imaginative productions, introduce children of all backgrounds to the excitement of live theatre, and create an engaging, entertaining, and educational environment in which children and their families can explore and enjoy the arts.

How We Carry Out Our Mission:

· Bring high quality, professional theatre to children and their families, with artists who create vibrant worlds that are intriguing to young audiences

· Encourage young people to explore literature, language, and the arts by producing stage adaptations of great children’s books

· Engage preschoolers in the world of theatre with productions specially designed for them

· Develop and perform exciting new work for the stage