How Mary Bridget Davies Became Janis Joplin

Former Clevelander Mary Bridget Davies, now starring in "One Night With Janis Joplin," is headed to Broadway. The show is set to begin previews at the Lyceum Theater in New York on Sept. 20, with opening night scheduled for Oct. 10.

(Lonnie Timmons III, The Plain Dealer)

-- the Cleveland blues singer who has gone on to national fame channeling Janis Joplin on tours with Big Brother and the Holding Company and in theatrical productions of "Love, Janis" and

-- is headed to Broadway. The

that "A Night With Janis Joplin" will open on Broadway this fall with Davies in the title role.

The Broadway plans were announced Wednesday by the show's producers, Todd Gershwin and Daniel Chilewich. "A Night With Janis Joplin," which is being staged in association with the late Rock and Roll Hall of Famer's estate, will begin previews Sept. 20 at the Lyceum Theater. It is slated to open Oct. 20.

Davies stepped into the title role of "One Night With Janis Joplin" in August 2012, when actress Cat Stephani left the show during a Cleveland Play House production of the musical at the Allen Theatre. Davies has never looked back, creating buzz and earning rave reviews for her performances,

A Fairview High School graduate, Davies was a regular on the Cleveland blues scene in the early 2000s, jamming with the likes of Robert Lockwood Jr. and Austin Walkin' Cane and in various groups of her own and with collaborator Kristine Jackson. Her current band -- The Mary Bridget Davies Group -- continues to record and tour when its leader isn't busy with theatrical duties. The group's latest album, "Wanna Feel Somethin' " was released in early 2012.

You can read more about the 34-year-old Davies, her Ohio upbringing, her Cleveland musical connections and how she came to be playing Janis