Grammy Hopeful Macy Gray Hits Theater Circuit

Ohio native Macy Gray, whose much-hyped debut album "How Life Is" (Epic) has earned a pair of Grammy nominations, impressive sales, and generally friendly reviews, is in the midst of a month-long tour of U.S. theaters that will run through Feb. 20. "How Life Is" climbed from No. 66 to No. 54 on The Billboard 200 album chart last week, and is likely to make another leap thanks to her Jan. 15 appearance on Saturday Night Live.

Gray's stage show features a dozen players, including a horn section and a DJ. Following her month-long U.S. tour, she's scheduled to make appearances on the Rosie O'Donnell show (2/14) and the Grammy telecast (2/23), before going overseas for a series of U.K. shows.

Since the July release of "How Life Is," Gray has scored an R&B hit with the track "Do Something." The follow-up single, "I Try," is receiving heavy airplay on Adult Contemporary radio formats. Epic claims that more than 2 million copies of the album have been sold; the bulk of the sales have been in Great Britain.

Gray picked up a Grammy nomination in the Best New Artist category (where she faces competition from Christina Aguilera, Kid Rock, Britney Spears and Susan Tedeschi). She also got a nod in the Best R&B Female Vocal Performance category for "Do Something."