Leslie Uggams performs January 23 at the Victoria Theatre

The Musical Theatre Initiative at Wright State University and Victoria Theatre Association are collaborating to present Emmy and Tony Award–winning concert, recording, television, and Broadway star Leslie Uggams.

All Wright State alumni are invited to attend this special performance on Friday, January 23, 2015, 8 p.m. at the Victoria Theatre in downtown Dayton. Uggams will sing classic and contemporary standards and then welcome Wright State students to the stage. Tickets may be ordered online at ticketcenterstage.com or by phone at (937) 228-3630.

In addition, Wright State alumni are invited to two sessions with Ms. Uggams on Wright State University’s Dayton campus. Uggams will hold a master class for acting and musical theatre students on Thursday, January 22, 2015, 10 a.m. to noon at the Herbst Theatre, Creative Arts Center. The master class will be followed by an interview and question-and-answer session led by Joe Deer, director of Wright State’s newly launched Musical Theatre Initiative.

ThinkTV, the Dayton region’s public television station, will also be filming and producing a 30-minute program highlighting Uggams’ performance and interactive sessions with Wright State students.

Deer said that Uggams’ talent “runs the gamut from silly, variety show entertainment to very serious drama. For the university community and our students to get to know what her career represents and get a sense of what an artist like Leslie does is amazing. It’s a great generational torch-passing, and I love that. Her performance at the Victoria Theatre and personal interaction with our students represents what’s so good about Wright State University. The best thing we do through the Musical Theatre Initiative is bring our students into contact with world-class artists, thinkers, and teachers, which gives our students a chance to really apply what they learn from masters like Leslie Uggams.”