EARTHA… I’M STILL HERE! is both an intimate theatrical tour-de-force or riveting supper club concert that embodies the life, legend, linguistics, loves and legend of Eartha Kitt, depending on the venue it’s booked to play in; and it’s playing the prestigious CATALINA JAZZ CLUB & GRILL, 6725 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90028 323.466.2210 this Friday, July 31st (doors open @ 7pm / showtime @ 8;30pm). www.CatalinaJazzClub.com
The production, created and performed by acclaimed Broadway triple threat, Thomasina Gross (Mamma Mia!), is directed by Nohely Quiroz (Odie’s World), with music direction by Eli Baumgarten. The show is produced by Tony Award nominee Tye Blue (Titanique) and Produced and Executive Produced by Eric Floyd & Wanda Dee of Goddess Empire Entertainment.
Next stop of the show is the prestigious 54 BELOW (254 W 54th Street, New York, NY 10019 – 646.476.3551) on Aug 26th @ 9:30pm. Tickets are on sale at www.54Below.org
“Broadway star Thomasina Gross more than plays Eartha Kitt,
she summons her like a conjuring, a magic trick.” – BroadwayWorld
Through song, dance, storytelling, multiple languages and an unforgettable, breathaking performance, Eartha: I’m Still Here! explores the resilience, wit, glamour, courage, and uncompromising spirit that defined one of entertainment’s most iconic artists. Gross embodies Kitt’s essence with authenticity, elegance, humor, and emotional truth, inviting audiences to discover (if they’re first timers) or rediscover (if they’re longtime fans) the extraordinary glamazon behind the legend.
The 54 Below engagement marks a milestone summer for Gross, who makes her debut at Hollywood’s historic Catalina Jazz Club on July 31 before bringing Eartha: I’m Still Here! to New York on August 26. She returns to the Catalina stage on September 26 as the featured opening performer for Grammy-nominated recording artist Freda Payne (“Band of Gold”), a long-time friend and collaborator of Kitts.
Gross’s sold-out cabaret, previously titled An Evening With Eartha Kitt Live!, has earned enthusiasic reviews and growing, glowing industry recognition with Broadway World and People’s World, both praising her performance. Eartha: I’m Still Here! arrives @ Catalina Jazz Club & Grill and 54 Below as a more refined and vibrant evolution of that acclaimed show, following it’s sold-out multi-night engagements in Studio City @ Vitello’s.
Tickets to the July 31 Catalina Jazz Club & Grill show can be purchased at www.CatalinaJazzClub.com.
Tickets to the August 26 54 Below show can be purchased at www.54Below.org.
BIOGRAPHIES:
THOMASINA GROSS (Creator & Performer)is a television, film, and Broadway actress, vocalist, and dancer celebrated for her exquisite attention to Eartha Kitt’s vocal nuance, physicality, wit, and emotional complexity. Her credits include Mamma Mia! on Broadway (Winter Garden and Broadhurst Theatres), the European tour of Hair, and appearances on ABC’s “The Rookie” and “The Goldbergs”, NBC’s “Hairspray Live!”, and “Glee”, as well as projects for BET, Nickelodeon, Lifetime, and theaters nationwide.
NOHELY QUIROZ (Director) is an actress, stunt performer, director, and producer for stage and screen, and the creator of Odie’s World (3 million views). A veteran of Disneyland Parks Entertainment and a company member of Quick & Funny Musicals at Upright Citizens Brigade, her television credits include “Better Call Saul”, “NCIS”, and “Monsters at Work”. This fall, she joins Q&F: Heated Rivalry – The Musical Parody at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival before making her 54 Below directorial debut with this production.
ELI BAUMGARTEN (Music Director)is a New York-based music director, pianist, arranger, and composer originally from Denver, Colorado. Equally at home in jazz, classical, and musical theatre, he released his debut album, Into Nowhere, in 2023 for jazz trio and strings, and is a member of the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop (Class of 2026).
TYE BLUE (Producer) is the two-time Tony Award nominated director, co-writer, and co-producer of the internationally acclaimed Broadway musical Titanique. He directed Titanique on the West End (Olivier Award for Best New Comedy), Off Broadway (Lortel Award for Best Musical), Paris, Australia, Chicago, and Canada (in both English and French). Other directing credits include the new play Joan (Cape Playhouse), Rocky Horror Picture Show, Spring Awakening, The Drowsy Chaperone, Little Shop of Horrors, Altar Boyz. Musical Parodies of: Mean Girls, The Devil Wears Prada, Troop Beverly Hills, The Big Lebowski, Hocus Pocus. He is the former Artistic Director of the LGBT Short+Sweet Theatre Festival in LA, where he also worked on a myriad of hit TV shows, most notably including his 4 seasons on the Emmy Award-winning casting team of RuPaul’s Drag Race. Stay up to date on his many upcoming projects: @tyeblue1 on IG and www.tyebluepresents.com
GODDESS EMPIRE ENTERTAINMENT (Executive Producer / Producer / Promoter) is a full-service multimedia production company established in 1985 and co-owned by the native New Yorker power (40+ year married) couple, 40 million record selling Hip Hop pioneer, Hip Hop 1st Female DJ, EDM empress & ‘The Voice of The KLF’ Wanda Dee (The Bronx) and international impresario Eric Floyd (Brooklyn). With over 5 million nightclub, theater, arena, festival and/or stadium tickets sold in some 150 cities in 90 countries on 6 continents all under the prestigious auspices of Mr. Floyd some of the legendary luminaries include but are not limited to the likes of Eartha Kitt, Dionne Warwick, Dame Shirley Bassey, Freda Payne, Connie Francis, Grace Jones, Sister Sledge, Gloria Gaynor, Vanilla Ice, Teddy Riley, Doug E. Fresh, Big Daddy Kane, KRS-1, Kurtis Blow, Montell Jordan, Sisqó, Meli’sa Morgan, Thelma Houston, 2 Unlimited, SNAP, C & C Music Factory, The KLF, Loleatta Holloway, Linda Clifford, CeCe Peniston, Crystal Waters, Carol Douglas, Iris Chacón, Chita Rivera & The Goddess Wanda Dee. https://youtu.be/bLgd046OisY?si=pwBbfGLUDcfAjB4i
NOTES:
Eric Floyd & Wanda Dee are the only 2 members of the company & crew who were not only life-long friends of Eartha’s, but Mr. Floyd actually credits her as the first artist he ever worked and/or toured with, starting at just 15 years old (
**Eartha: I’m Still Here! is an independent production created with deep respect for Eartha Kitt’s legacy & the values her daughter, Kitt Shapiro, continues to preserve, project & personify. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, and/or produced in association with the Eartha Kitt Estate or Kitt Shapiro.**
Media Contact: Vivacity Media Group
Leslie Papa, leslie@vivacityny.com
Whitney Holden Gore, whitney@vivacityny.com