The Nina Simone Musical
Atelier86 and our co-host Daniel Mitura were proud to have Laiona Michelle and Mark Fifer present an introduction of their new play Little Girl Blue, a one woman show based on the life of Nina Simone. Laiona brought the house down with her virtuoso interpretations of some of Miss Simone’s greatest works including “Feeling Good”. It was, in a word, stunning.
Laiona Michelle, a native of Springfield, MA, is an award-winning actress, singer and writer. Laiona made her Broadway debut as Nanna in Amazing Grace. Prior to her Broadway debut, she was featured in the first national tour of Book of Mormon.
Laiona’s long list of regional theatre
credits include Once On This Island,
Twelfth Night, Henry V, Julius
Caesar, Stonewall Jackson’s House
(IRNE nomination), Yellowman (Helen
Hayes nomination), Bootycandy,
Clementine in the Lower Nine and
Constant Star (Barrymore, Carbonell and NAACP Hollywood Awards).
Her TV credits include Lift, All My Children, Law & Order SVU, Law & Order: CI, The Blacklist and Sneaky Pete.
As a writer, Laiona wrote and conceived the book for Little Girl Blue: The Nina Simone Musical. She has also been commissioned by the Mandela estate to write the book for a new, Broadway bound musical, Mandela, based on the South African activist, imprisoned for 27-years.
Laiona is a graduate of Brandeis University (MFA), and did her undergraduate work at Alabama State University in Theatre Arts. www.laionamichelle.com
