NEW YORK, NY – September 13, 2023 – Critically acclaimed performing artist turned author, Donna Marie Hayes, makes her debut at The Cutting Room with a brand new show in celebration of the launch of her new book, These Broken Roads, on Friday, October 6, 2023 at 7pm. Copies of the These Broken Roads will be included in ticket price, and a book signing with Donna will immediately follow the performance. The show of the same title is based on Hayes’ stunning and intimate memoir and will take her audience on a musical journey from Jamaica to New York City with songs spanning the catalogs of Bob Marley, to the Great American Songbook, to a bit of Nancy Sinatra for good measure. These Broken Roads is Donna’s story and every woman’s nightmare. Hers us a story of redemption and hope in the midst of abandonment and scandal, as she recounts her rise out of the poverty of Jamaica and her immigration to New York City, the despair of her poor choices in men, culminating in answering the wrong stranger on her dating app leading to being swindled out of her life savings by a man she thought was the love of her life. That watershed moment led to the writing of her memoir These Broken Roads, and, now to this unique combination of book launch and cabaret show. Donna will deliver uplifting music, humorous banter, along with readings by a woman who refuses to be a victim and who is here to celebrate life.
“These Broken Roads” (cabaret) is directed by multi-award-winning cabaret artist and director, Gretchen Reinhagen, with Julliard accompanist and well-known cabaret music director, David Gaines. Reinhagen will also provide backing vocals, along with singer Candice Corbin. Filling out the band is Tim Matishek on guitar, Jonathan Michel on bass, and Don Kelly on drums. Reinhagen and Hayes last paired for Donna’s show “Ordinary Miracles” of which BroadwayWorld.com said, “Hayes welcomes her audience in such an island friendly kind of way, you instantly feel you’re in good hands as she takes you on this fascinating journey…Hayes is a consummate storyteller.”
Donna Marie Hayes is the author of These Broken Roads: Scammed and Vindicated, One Woman’s Story (Sibylline Press, October 3, 2023). New York City resident, writer and performer Donna can be found on a stage or in front of a camera, and is a SAG-AFTRA actress and cabaret singer. She has been featured on the Dr. Oz Show (Defy Your Age), Orange Is the New Black (Netflix), Black Girls Rock (BET), Celebrity Ghost Stories (Biography Channel) as well as in several other New York City Off-Broadway and TV productions. Most recently, she was cast in her first regular role in a TV series, Miss Education, set to debut soon. Her corporate life includes serving as a senior human resources professional in the financial services industry. She is an ICF-certified coach and owner of a coaching practice company. Hayes immigrated to the United States from Jamaica at age 14.
Donna Marie Hayes in “These Broken Roads” plays Friday, October 6, 2023 at The Cutting Room (44 East 32nd Street, NYC between Park and Madison; https://www.thecuttingroom.com). Tickets are $40, includes a copy of These Broken Roads. There is a $25 food & drink minimum. Doors open at 6pm, with the show at 7pm followed by a book signing with Ms. Hayes. Tickets may be purchased online at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/donna-hayes-these-broken-roads-scammed-and-vindicated-one-womans-story-tickets-686710217747?aff=ebdsoporgprofile.
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