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DIRECTOR TERRY MANIGAULT
Windy City Productions is thrilled to bring on board TERRY MANIGAULT to direct JIVE the Musical at the Abbeville Opera House in South Carolina, October 10-12, 2025. Terry teams up with music director TJ Edwardz, leader of Jazzy Trinity, voted “Best Jazz Band of Upstate” by the Greenville News, to bring the show to life. Terry had great success with his original show H.A.T.S. The Musical - "Heads Adorned Tastefully Sistas" (one special gem among the 20+ plays and musicals he has written) and numerous other musicals he staged at the Greenville, SC. theater he founded, Upstate Live Theater. Terry serves as Director of Music Ministry at Springfield Baptist Church in Greenville. He obtained degrees from Furman University and Central Wesleyan College and pursued studies at Clemson, Winthrop, and USC. He was an award-winning high school band director and prominently directed The Star Academy. Some of his favorite shows include Carousel, Oklahoma, James Baldwin’s The Amen Corner, Annie Get Your Gun, The Wiz, Purlie Victorious by Ossie Davis, and Neil Simon’s I Ought to Be in Pictures. We are fortunate that JIVE the Musical cast and crew will have the benefit of Terry’s dynamic directorial experience and his skills and talents as a musician. |
Jive the Musical at the Abbeville Opera House in Abbeville, South Carolina, October 10-12, 2025
JIVE the Musical rehearsals.
HEAR THE MUSIC
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WINDY CITY PRODUCTIONS RECEIVES 2 GRANT AWARDS!
We are proud to announce that Windy City Productions® was recently honored with two separate grants to support a premiere production of Susan Rabin’s new work, JIVE the Musical. |
On June 14, 2022, TBA (Theatre Bay Area) awarded the company a CA$H PERFORMS grant.
On June 23, 2022, the California Arts Council awarded the company a CULTURAL PATHWAYS grant.
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CAST of CHARACTERS for JIVE the Musical
We invite actors and singers of all races and ethnicities for our production
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Reverend Preston Taylor (M, Black, 50), Radio Station Owner. Preacher. Widower. Dapper dresser.
Darlene Roosevelt (F, Black, 25-35), Radio DJ. Ambitious but will not work at her parents’ hedge fund. Raoul Jackson (M, Black/Puerto-Rican/20s), Studio Engineer. Innocent. Savant in residence. Chet Taylor (M, White, young-ish), ‘Shock-jock.” Needy.Like an untrained puppy. Kaneesha Penniman (F, Black, 40-50s), Church choir member. Has her eye on “the First Lady” prize. |
ENSEMBLE - all races, ethnicities
Officers Murphy and Corolla (M or F, any race), Law enforcement friends of the Reverend’s. John Chang (M, Asian) Mayoral candidate, Businessman, narcissist. Juanita Garcia (F, Latina) Mayoral candidate, Businesswoman, narcissist Ravi Kapoor (M, South Asian) Mayoral candidate, Businessman, narcissist. Dwayne (M, Black) Caller, bodybuilder. Shaquille (M, any race) Caller. Jimmy (M, any race) Caller Melba (F, Black) Caller. Candace (F, any race) Caller |
JIVE THE MUSICAL
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Pictured to the left is Bay area favorite, bass-baritone James Creer, as Reverend Preston Taylor, owner of the fictional K-JIVE radio station in Jive the Musical. Struggling to stay afloat, the station hires an outrageous white 'shock jock' and all bets are off. Jive the Musical is a multi-racial and multi-ethnic musical comedy that is timely and uplifting.
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JIVE the Musical brings to life a fictional black radio station in San Francisco’s Tenderloin district as it struggles to stay afloat. They hire a white 'shock jock' and everyone's mind explodes. It is a multi-racial and multi-ethnic musical comedy that is timely and uplifting.
INNOVATIVE WORK JIVE the Musical takes risks with subject matter. With humor, it confronts ethnic and racial alliances, the ‘glass ceiling,’ sexism, “fake news,” and dishonesty. Despite the hazards of offending someone’s feelings, JIVE charges ahead with sardonic humor in mocking each character for foolishness and “jive-talk.” The songs’ lyrics aim for the gut and skewer hypocrisy with wit and humor. Audiences will be able to identify with the battle between the disgraced white male talk show host and the young, |
ambitious black female deejay. Each is hopeful as they awkwardly attempt to connect. There will be a comical debate for mayor among a racially mixed array of candidates which will strain boundaries of propriety. Playwright and composer lyricist, Susan Rabin, has set her songs in the style of blues, R&B, and pop. The music is upbeat and fun and reflects the characters represented on stage.
A production of the non-musical version of the comedy Jive ran at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts - Second Stage and as part of Dragon Theatre's Second Stage in 2016. Reviving the role in the musical version of Reverend Preston Taylor, owner of K-JIVE radio station, candidate for mayor of San Francisco, and heart-throb of women in his church choir, is Bay area favorite, bass-baritone James Creer. |
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