Wanda's Picks

San Francisco jazz vocalist Kim Nalley stars in the world premiere of her new musical "Ella: The American Dream." Nalley penned this Ella Fitzgerald tribute, a quintessential rags to riches story that takes audiences back to 1930’s Harlem, the Savoy Ballroom and birth of the swing era which paved the way for musical greats including Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday and a Savoy Ballroom dancer named Frankie Manning who popularized a new dance called the Lindy Hop. Based on new historical findings about Ella Fitzgerald's humble beginnings, this production will have audiences snappin’ their fingers, feeling optimistic and yearning for more with its original music, jazz standards and Lindy Hop dancing. Directed by Elly Lichenstein. The show opens: Dec. 31, 2009 to Jan. 17, 2010. Times are: 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 31 New Years Eve; 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, Jan. 2, 8, 9, 15 & 16; 2 p.m. Sundays, Jan. 3, 10 & 17; and 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 13.