Grammy-nominated singer, Broadway actor Melba Moore performing at Stark Urban League event

CANTON ? Melba Moore will tell her inspiring life story through song when she performs Thursday in Stark County.

The 78-year-old Grammy nominee, Broadway actor and renowned vocalist will present "Still Standing," featuring musical medleys and some of her most famous songs, at the Cultural Center for the Arts as part of a Greater Stark County Urban League event.

"It's definitely going to be fun," she said Wednesday during a telephone interview.

The performance will touch on different aspects of her life, including her music, career, childhood memories, Hollywood, stardom, breaking barriers, and love and triumph.

"I know what it was like to have a broken family and then to have a good family and to have a family with musicians," Moore said.

Songs will include her Aretha Franklin cover, "Lean On Me," Whitney Houston's, "You Give Good Love" and "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now" by R&B duo McFadden & Whitehead.

The performance, split into two acts with an intermission, will be about 90 minutes.

"It's a one-woman play with music," she explained. "'Still Standing' is my autobiography with music, so it's basically a short version of my life story.

"I think you'll enjoy it," Moore added. "You'll be informed by it."

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The dinner theater event is 5 to 10 p.m. on the Main Stage of the Cultural Center for the Arts 1001 Market Ave. N.

Tickets cost $79.50 and include food from A Difference In Dining and Sweet Lemon Creations. Tickets can be purchased at https://culturalcenterforthearts.com/theater/ or https://starkurbanleague.org/.

The special event supports the Margaret "Joan" Gillespie Endowment Fund.

Songs include 'Lean On Me,' 'Falling' and 'Love's Comin' at Ya'

As a recording artist known for her stratospheric range and soulful delivery, Moore has released a range of music over the decades, including R&B, contemporary soul, pop, jazz and gospel.

Grammy nominations include "Lean On Me."

She charted R&B hits in the '70s and '80s, including "Love's Comin' at Ya" and "Love the One I'm With (A Lot of Love)." Other popular songs of hers include the chart topper "Falling," as well as "A Little Bit More" and "This Is It."

In 2023, the powerhouse singer released the R&B and soul album, "Imagine," featuring "So In Love," "Can't Stop The Rain" and "It Seems To Hang On." Earlier this year, she released the beat heavy hip-hop number, "Not Too Late (Big Herb Remix)," featuring Michael Dearing, Sparky D and T-Huny."

Asked what drives her to still perform today, Moore said it's a calling.

"It basically means God is inspiring you to do this, and that's the perspective," she said. "I approach it from God is first in my life. He's like a person coaching me."

Moore starred on Broadway in 'Hair' and 'Purlie'

Crossing mediums and genres, Moore emerged in the 1960s with a Broadway role in "Hair." Her vocals also shined in the production, including on the songs, "Good Morning Starshine," "Ain't Got No" and "I Believe in Love."

Standout stage work also includes her Tony Award-winning performance in the musical "Purlie." She also was the first African-American woman to perform the role of Fantine in "Les Misérables."

Moore also had a role on the the popular television show "Falcon Crest" from 1981-1990

Moore gets a star on the Walk of Fame: 'All I could is cry'

Those achievements and breakthroughs led to her receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2023.

"I'm not used to having these kinds of experiences," Moore said. "That means it's permanent, it's there as long as Hollywood is. All I could do is cry."

Moore is a fan of Celine Dion and Beyoncé

Moore said her singing voice has been refined as she's aged.

"What I realize is the whole mechanisms change as you get older," she said. "So you have to make changes, so I'm making them, but I think I'm getting better. The technique, the quality of my performance, it's getting better."

Whether decades past or today, female vocalists continue to inspire, she said.

Moore is a fan of modern vocalists such as Celine Dion and Beyoncé .

"Celine Dion is ridiculous," Moore raved. "She can sing anything. She can sing that song from the movie, 'Titanic,' and then she'll get up and sing an Aretha Franklin song."

"Another one I'm a really great fan of is Beyoncé ," she said. "She's cute and everything, (but) that's the ridiculous thing as an artist. She's a great entertainer and entrepreneur and businessperson. So I really admire her."

"They're off the chain," she said of modern female singers. There are "really, really, really good quality singers and musicians. It's a wonderful time to be a teenager and to get into new artists."

If you go

Who Melba Moore, a Tony-winning Broadway actress and Grammy-nominated singer

What "Still Standing," a one-person play to music performed by Melba Moore

Where Cultural Center for the Arts, 1001 Market Ave. N in downtown Canton

When 5-10 p.m. Thursday

Tickets $79.50, including dinner. Tickets can be purchased online at https://starkurbanleague.org/home/events/juneteenth-community-festival--it-takes-a-village

Reach Ed at [email protected]

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This article originally appeared on The Repository: Singer Melba Moore performing at Stark Urban League event in Canton