Brian Stokes Mitchell to Play Beaumont on Piazza Dark Nights

Brian Stokes Mitchell is coming to the Vivian Beaumont Theatre this spring. Broadway.com has learned that the Tony winner is expected to perform his own concert at the Broadway house on Sunday and Monday nights, the same setup Patti LuPone and Barbara Cook have had in years past.

Mitchell last appeared on the Great White Way as Don Quixote in Man of La Mancha, for which he received a Tony Award nomination. He won the Tony Award for his performance as Fred Graham/Petruchio in Kiss Me Kate. His other Broadway credits include Ragtime for which he received his first Tony Award nomination, King Hedley II for which he received a Tony Award nomination, Kiss of the Spider Woman, Jelly's Last Jam, Oh, Kay! and Mail.

Mitchell has performed concerts all across the country. In February he made his nightclub debut with Love/Life at Feinstein's at the Regency. Robert L. Daniels of Variety wrote of the show: "In his nightclub debut at Feinstein's at the Regency, Tony-winning baritone Brian Stokes Mitchell is clearly having a good time." His voice is a richly tailored, warm and resonant instrument, capable of caressing the kind of melody that has staying power. Mitchell's hour is enhanced by his ruddy good looks and assured stage presence.”

Lincoln Center is presenting The Light in the Piazza at the Beaumont from March 17, 2005 to June 12, 2005. However on Sundays that musical only has a 3pm performance and it has no performance at all on Monday, leaving the theater dark on Sunday and Monday evenings.

Mitchell's show may be eligible for a 2005 Special Theatrical Event Tony Award. While Patti LuPone's Matters of the Heart and Barbara Cook's Broadway were deemed ineligible, Barbara Cook did receive a 2002 nomination for her show, Mostly Sondheim.