Tribute brings Nat “King” Cole’s life to stage

Release Date: 9/11/2001. Expired: 10/5/2001

The velvet voice of Nat “King” Cole comes to life in Unforgettable, a theatrical and musical tribute coming to the Performance Hall of The Renaissance Center Oct. 5. Tickets for the 7 p.m. show are $15.

Written by Clarke Peters, the creator of Five Guys Named Moe, this rousing new musical was a smash hit on the London stage and in major engagements throughout the United Kingdom, Japan and the Far East. Now Unforgettable embarks on its first North American tour in the 2001-02 season.

Unforgettable is Nat “King” Cole’s phenomenal life story. The son of an Alabama preacher, Cole was the soft-spoken jazz pianist who became a worldwide singing sensation and the first African-American to star in his own national TV program. Cole was a beloved superstar whose appeal transcended the boundaries of race, culture and geography.

He won the love of millions with the ease of his down-to-earth personality and the most recognizable American voice since Sinatra. The whole story is here: his piano-playing days in low-down dives and honky-tonks; his breakthrough contract with Capital Records; his fight against racism at the studio and in his own Hollywood neighborhood; his television triumphs and worldwide tours.

And the songs are here, too, incredible hits like Mona Lisa, Route 66, Stardust and the classic Unforgettable, the trademark song that became a second hit in a magical duet with Cole’s daughter Natalie years after his death. They are all caressed in the rich, warm style that is indelibly Nat “King” Cole.

Cole is portrayed by Monroe Kent III, star of London’s Five Guys Named Moe and North American tours of Dreamgirls and Ain’t Misbehavin’. Internationally recognized, Kent has already won wide-ranging praise for this portrayal of Cole in the United Kingdom and the Far East. Perhaps the critic for The Independent said it best when he wrote, “Nat ‘King’ Cole is perfectly performed by the velvet-voiced Monroe Kent... he is irresistible.”

Kent also has been featured prominently in Hey, Mr. Producer at the Lyceum Theatre in London and reprised the role of Nomax in Five Guys Named Moe at Boston’s Wilbur Theatre and at Ford’s Theatre in Washington D.C.

In New York he appeared as Aaron in the off-Broadway production of Black Nativity, as Joe in Showboat, as Caiphas in Jesus Christ Superstar and the Leading Player in Pippin. His television work ranges from Dead Air, an NBC Movie of the Week, the PBS presentation of Hey, Mr. Producer, and a number of tapings for the BBC in London.

Kent’s recordings include a duet with Stephanie Lawrence on her Tim Rice Compilation and the Original Cast Album for Hey, Mr. Producer. His solo debut album Black to Broadway was released in 1998.

“Nat ‘King’ Cole is played by Monroe Kent III in a dazzling representation of Nat’s stature,” reported National Public Radio. “Kent looks quite a bit like Cole and even sings in the entertainer’s style. The songs flow effortlessly and practically had the audience swooning over the proceedings, so true were they to the unforgettable Cole approach.”

Tickets for Unforgettable can be purchased at The Renaissance Center, 855 Highway 46 South in Dickson, or by phone at (615)740-5600. The Renaissance Center is a not-for-profit arts and education center located just two miles north of Interstate 40 at exit 172.

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