For Immediate Release: January 2, 2007
Media Contact: Chuck Reece, Bristol Riverside Theatre, 215.785.0100

Opening January 23, 2007, and continuing into Black History Month, Bristol Riverside Theatre pays tribute to Philadelphia’s own legendary African-American singer and actress in Ethel Waters, His Eye is On the Sparrow, by Larry Parr. Born the daughter of a 12-year old rape victim in Chester, Pennsylvania in 1896, Ethel Waters grew up living in poverty in Philadelphia—occasionally stealing food, milk or money, and at times sleeping on grates in the streets to keep warm in winter. But in her early teens she found music, and her singing career propelled her from seedy jazz clubs, to Broadway stages, to the silver screen and Hollywood, where she became only the second African-American actress to be nominated for an Academy Award.

Portraying Ethel Waters in this intimate, yet powerful biography will be two time Tony Award nominee Ernestine Jackson. Ms. Jackson was nominated for the award as Leading Actress in a Musical for her portrayal of “Save a Soul Mission” leader Sister Sarah Brown in the all-black cast of Guys and Dolls, and as Supporting Actress in a Musical in the world premiere production of Raisin, a musical based on Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun. Ms. Jackson revisited in Raisin to critical acclaim in the fall of 2006 in a Chicago revival of the piece.

Ethel Waters, His Eye Is On the Sparrow, premiered in October of 2005 at Florida Studio Theatre. Mr. Parr’s script places Waters in a late phase of her career, performing as a featured singer with Billy Graham’s evangelical crusades. As she recounts the hardships and successes of her life, she interjects performances of songs that she helped make classics: “Stormy Weather,” “Black and Blue,” “Taking a Chance On Love,” and of course her signature number “His Eye is On the Sparrow.” A native Floridian, Parr’s Sparrow is his third play in a series of vehicles spotlighting African-American performers, including jazz singer Alberta Hunter and the first black woman to win an Oscar, Hattie McDaniel (Mammy in Gone With the Wind).

The production is the third in BRT’s 20th Anniversary season and is directed by Founding Producing Director Susan D. Atkinson. “It’s very exciting to me to be directing the story of an important figure from our region. Our first production in 1987 was The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck, a celebrated author and long-time Bucks County resident. I'm so pleased that in our 20th Anniversary Season we can continue our tradition of telling stories of local and regional significance.”

Ethel Waters, His Eye Is On the Sparrow runs January 23 through February 11 at Bristol Riverside Theatre, 120 Radcliffe Street, in Historic Bristol Borough. Tickets to Preview performances on January 23 and 24 are $34 with a “pay what you can” option available for at-door sales beginning at 7:30pm on the day of the performance. Regular prices are $39-$42 (depending on day of performances) and are available by calling the BRT Box Office at 215-785-0100, or online at www.BRTstage.org. BRT thanks Verizon, Grand Sponsor of its 20th Anniversary Season.

ERNESTINE JACKSON (Ethel Waters) is a distinguished actress and singer with numerous credits both on and Off Broadway, in television, and in film. A winner of the prestigious Theatre World Award she has been twice nominated for the Tony Award: for Best Actress in the all-Black cast of Guys and Dolls, and for Best Supporting Actress in Raisin. In Chicago, she received a Jefferson Award nomination for her performance as Billie Holiday in Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill. Ms. Jackson has also appeared on Broadway in August Wilson’s Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, Jesus Christ Superstar, Applause, Hello, Dolly! and The Bacchae. Her television and film credits include Law & Order, A Man Called Hawk, Roots: The Next Generation, Swift Justice, Bonfire of the Vanities, Girl’s Town, and Showtime’s 10,000 Black Men Named George. Other roles include Bessie in Having Our Say: The Delaney Sisters’ First 100 Years, Elizabeth in The Old Settler and Mama Rose in Gypsy. Ms. Jackson was recently seen as Fiona on The West Wing and as Agnes Bates on NBC’s Law and Order: Criminal Intent. A native of Corpus Christi, Texas, Ernestine resides with her husband in Manhattan.

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