Melissa Manchester teams with best-selling author Jill Conner Browne for Broadway's 'Sweet Potato Queens'!

NEW YORK (Koch Records) - Following her special cross-country club tour - in support of her WHEN I LOOK DOWN THAT ROAD album - MELISSA MANCHESTER is set to collaborate with Jill Conner Browne on the musical adaptation of the Southern belles immortalized in her collection of books "The Sweet Potato Queens."
"Jill is such a sharp, funny and strong woman, such a survivor. I really wanted us to work together," MELISSA says. "When I first heard Jill reading one of her stories on NPR radio, I pulled into my driveway and couldn't get out of the car until she finished. I knew that if the rest of the books were like that story, I had to pursue it as a musical - and they were. One of my agents got us together at her home in Jackson, and we talked, laughed and ate for three days. I mostly laughed and ate. The connection was immediate. And I am beyond thrilled that I can be a part of getting 'The Sweet Potato Queens' on to the stage."

Browne - the New York Times No 1 best-selling author - says: "When Melissa called me, I tried to be cool. Inside I was turning cartwheels. As soon as she said, 'I never let professionalism get in the way of having a good time,' I knew she was my kinda girl. I have always loved her work, and we had such a damn good time together. Melissa and her husband came down to Jackson, and we introduced them to all the 'QUEENS.'
They both passed the test and received the official 'lick of approval.' I have been so blessed with the success of my books... film offers... TV offers etc. But I had always hoped that one day, it would be a musical. So now we're gonna eat, laugh, and write a little bit... in that order until we get to Broadway."

This marks MELISSA's second foray into the world of musicals. Her first was "I Sent A Letter to My Love" for which she wrote all the music and co-wrote the lyrics with Jeffrey Sweet. "I Sent a Letter to My Love" debuted off-Broadway at Primary Stages in January 1995 and was subsequently recorded as a radio special for LA Theatre Works starring Melissa and Stephen Bogardus in January 1998.
"The Sweet Potato Queens" will hit the Broadway stage as a new musical in 2005.