The neoclassical theater known today as The Apollo’s Historic Theater was designed by George Keister and first owned by Sidney Cohen. In 1914, Benjamin Hurtig and Harry Seamon obtained a thirty-year lease on the newly constructed theater, calling it Hurtig and Seamon’s New Burlesque Theater. Like many American theaters during this time, African-Americans were not allowed to attend as patrons or to perform.
In 1933, Fiorello La Guardia, who would later become New York City’s Mayor, began a campaign against burlesque, and Hurtig & Seamon’s was one of many theaters that would close down. Cohen reopened the building as the 125th Street Apollo Theatre in 1934 with his partner, Morris Sussman, serving as manager. Cohen and Sussman changed the format of the shows from burlesque to variety revues and redirected their marketing attention to the growing African-American community in Harlem.
Frank Schiffman and Leo Brecher took over The Apollo in 1935. The Schiffman and Brecher families would operate the Theater until the late 1970s. The Apollo reopened briefly in 1978 under new management then closed again in November 1979. In 1981, it was purchased by Percy Sutton, a prominent lawyer, politician, media and technology executive, and a group of private investors. Under Sutton’s ownership, the Theater was equipped with a recording and television studio.
In 1983, The Apollo received state and city landmark status and in 1992, Apollo Theater Foundation, Inc., was established as a private, nonprofit organization to manage, fund, and oversee programming for The Apollo Theater. Today, The Apollo, which functions under the guidance of a Board of Directors, presents concerts, performing arts, education and community outreach programs. In 2024, The Apollo expanded its physical footprint, becoming the operator and manager for the cultural space located a few doors down within The Victoria Theater Redevelopment Project. The Apollo Stages at The Victoria provides vibrant, year-round artistic, educational, and community programs that build on the cultural heritage of Harlem and celebrate the enormous well of creativity found in our neighborhood.
A HISTORY OF EXCELLENCE
- On January 26, 1934, the 125th Street Apollo Theater opens with the show “Jazz a la Carte” headlined by Benny Carter and his Orchestra, Ralph Cooper and Aida Ward.
- The Apollo becomes the premiere showplace for live, theatrical entertainment in Harlem.
- Dewey “Pigmeat” Markham, Jackie “Moms” Mabley and Dusty Fletcher are among the comedians who appear regularly on stage.
- Tap dancers like the Nicholas Brothers, Berry Brothers, Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, Buck and Bubbles are the top dance acts.
- Amateur Night winners include Ella Fitzgerald and Pearl Bailey.
- In 1935, Bessie Smith’s four weeks at The Apollo are her sole live performances that year.
- By 1937, The Apollo is the largest employer of Black theatrical workers in the US, according to Frank Schiffman, and the only theater in NYC hiring Black people in backstage positions.
- Billie Holiday, Lena Horne, and the Count Basie Orchestra make their debut.
- The Apollo Chorus Girls are considered to be the best line in NYC. In 2005, their story is recounted in the documentary “Been Rich All My Life.”
- Lionel Hampton’s 16-piece band appears at The Apollo. Hampton’s hit, “Flyin’ Home,” becomes an Apollo favorite.
- Teddy Hale, Babe Laurence, and Bunny Briggs are the top dance attractions.
- During World War II, The Apollo sets aside 35 tickets daily for soldiers. Tuesdays at the USO were “Apollo Night.”
- Dinah Washington and Sammy Davis, Jr. make their first Apollo appearance.
- Amateur Night winners during the 1940s include Sarah Vaughn and Ruth Brown.
- Apollo comics stop using blackface makeup.
- The Johnny Otis Rhythm & Blues Caravan come to The Apollo featuring 13-year old Little Esther Phillips.
- The week before Christmas 1951, Josephine Baker makes her Apollo debut.
- “Mambo Shows” are a big Apollo attraction with stars like Tito Puente, Mongo Santamaria, and the Mambo Aces.
- Comedy acts like “Harlem’s Son of Fun,” Nipsey Russell, Timmie Rogers & James “Stump” Cross, and Harold “Stumpy” Cromer are a major draw.
- “The Detective Story,” with Sidney Poitier, is the first dramatic play to be shown on the stage.
- In 1955, Thurman Ruth’s Gospel Caravan debuts at The Apollo featuring acts such as The Dixie Hummingbirds, Shirley Caesar, Alex Bradford, Clara Ward, and the Soul Stirrers.
- Amateur Night contestants include the Esquires, Dionne Warwick, Joe Tex, and James Brown.
- In 1955, Disc jockey Tommy “Dr. Jive” Smalls brings the idea of the Rhythm and Blues Revue to Apollo manager Bobby Schiffman. The shows feature as many as a dozen vocal acts on one bill.
- “Showtime at The Apollo” is first broadcast in 1955, taped before a live studio audience. Performers include Sarah Vaughn, “Big” Joe Turner, Herb Jeffries, the Count Basie Orchestra, comedian Nipsey Russell, and the dancer Bill Bailey. Willie Bryant is the host.
- Jazz greats like Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and Thelonius Monk appear at The Apollo.
- Nancy Wilson makes her Apollo debut. The Miracles, with Smokey Robinson, appear on Ray Charles’ show.
- A Scepter Records show package includes the Shirelles, Chuck Jackson, Tommy Hunt, Maxine Brown, and the Isley Brothers.
- Amateur Night winners include Gladys Knight, King Curtis, Ronnie Spector, Billy Stewart, Jimi Hendrix, and Charlie and Inez Foxx.
- The Jewel Box Revue, “25 Men and 1 Girl”, is one of the most popular shows and features performances by people in drag.
- Sam and Dave, Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding, Joe Tex, and especially Aretha Franklin, present the grittier side of soul at The Apollo.
- James Brown records live shows at the Apollo in 1962.
- The “Motortown” Revue debuts with the Supremes, Marvin Gaye, the Temptations, the Four Tops, Gladys Knight and the Pips, the Commodores, and “Little” Stevie Wonder.
- “Blues Nights” features B.B. King, Bobby “Blue” Bland, T-Bone Walker, Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee, Jimmy Witherspoon, and Odetta.
- Aretha Franklin’s Apollo shows are major events. The Apollo marquee reads, “She’s Home.”
- Stars of the Philadelphia International record label, including the Delfonics, the O'Jays, the Stylistics, the Spinners, the Three Degrees and Harold Melvin, and the Blue Notes, are presented.
- John Lennon and Yoko Ono appear at a 1971 benefit concert for Attica.
- B.B. King plays an early morning blues concert for Harlem schoolchildren.
- By the mid-1970s, The Apollo is presenting only 22 weeks of shows per year as recordings eclipse live performances as an important source of income for artists.
- Bobby Schiffman reluctantly closes The Apollo in January 1976.
- The Theater briefly reopens in 1978 under new management with shows by Ralph McDonald, War, the T-Connection and Sister Sledge, James Brown, Bob Marley, and Parliament Funkadelic.
- In 1981, Percy Sutton’s Inner City Broadcasting Corporation and a group of private investors purchase The Apollo Theater. The Apollo receives state and city landmark status as Harlem’s oldest functioning theater in 1983.
- On May 5th, 1985, The Apollo’s renovation is celebrated with a 50th Anniversary grand reopening and television special, “Motown Salutes The Apollo.” Amateur Night is re-launched on Christmas Eve that same year.
- “Showtime at The Apollo” is revived and launched as a television show.
- The Apollo Theater Foundation, Inc., a not-for-profit organization, is established to manage, fund, and program The Apollo Theater.
- The Artist Formerly Known as Prince plays The Apollo in an exclusive VH1 Concert.
- The Apollo Theater Foundation launches its first performance series with a tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Other performances follow including Alvin Ailey Dance Theater, Boys Choir of Harlem, and Betty Carter – Jazz Ahead ’95.
- Tony Bennett plays a sold-out engagement honoring Billie Holiday.
- In 2002, George C. Wolfe’s new musical “Harlem Song” opens to enthusiastic reception.
- The Apollo hosts its inaugural Spring Benefit Gala in 2005 with a special tribute to Ossie Davis.
- The first phase of renovation is completed and includes the installation of over 1,500 house seats, restoration of the 125th-Street façade, a state-of-the-art marquee, new stage, and greenroom.
- In 2006, Apollo legend James Brown lays in state on The Apollo stage. Tens of thousands of people gather to pay their respects.
- Then-Senator and Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama hosts a campaign fundraiser at The Apollo in 2007.
- Thousands of Michael Jackson fans flock to The Apollo Theater to pay tribute to the pop icon, celebrate his life, and mourn his death in 2009.
Apollo Historic Tours
WALK of Fame
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts has selected the 47th Honorees for lifetime artistic achievements: acclaimed director and filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola; legendary American rock band the Grateful Dead (Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, Phil Lesh, Bobby Weir); blues rock singer-songwriter and guitarist Bonnie Raitt; jazz trumpeter, pianist, and composer Arturo Sandoval; and The Apollo, which will receive a special Honors as an iconic American institution.
“Ian Kamau spins sadness into the sublime” - CBC Arts
The Apollo is proud to present Loss, produced by The Theatre Centre, at the Under The Radar Festival.
Loss brings an intergenerational family story to life through a stunning blend of live music, video, and powerful storytelling. Created by the Canadian visionary Ian Kamau and his father, famed documentarian Roger McTair, this multimedia performance dives deep into grief, healing, and the strength of community.
This isn’t just a show—it’s a journey that will move your spirit and spark conversations. Don’t miss your chance to witness the future of theater, where every moment pulls you deeper into an immersive, emotional experience.
The Apollo celebrates the 40th anniversary of the Black women-led theatrical dance company and social activism ensemble, Urban Bush Women with a stunning visual exhibition in the Laura and Frank Baker Gallery. With special pop-up performances on select dates, Lineage Legacy and Liberation: An Examination of Urban Bush Women’s Art-Making and Community Organizing Praxis contains rare photographs, performance footage, manuscripts, costumes and memorabilia from the groundbreaking ensemble’s 40-year history.
Curators:
UBW Co-Artistic Directors Mame Diarra Spies & Chanon Judson and Pia Monique Murray
Curatorial Consultant:
Laura Steward
Producers:
Jonathan D. Secor & Pia Monique Murray
Presented in Partnership with Urban Bush Women
ABOUT URBAN BUSH WOMEN:
Urban Bush Women is a groundbreaking Black women-led theatrical dance company and social activism ensemble, founded in 1984 by visionary choreographer Jawole Willa Jo Zollar as an engine and an amplifier for the unheard stories of Black Women+. Today, under the artistic leadership of Chanon Judson and Mame Diarra Speis, UBW combines revolutionary performance, deep-healing community engagement, and ancestral knowledge from the African diaspora into a cultural force that is urgent, forward-looking, and essential.
UBW embraces the power of radical storytelling to activate social change. Whether creating genre-defying work for the stage, guiding the development of Black Women+ choreographers and producers, organizing for justice through art-making, or inspiring leaders across generations, UBW is an innovator, operating at the vanguard.
Celebrate the 50th anniversary of the 1974 classic film Claudine and the life of the late James Earl Jones at The Apollo Stages at The Victoria, in partnership with the Harlem Festival of Culture Foundation.
Experience the powerful performances of Diahann Carroll and James Earl Jones in this timeless story of resilience, love, and community. Claudine tells the tale of a strong-willed single mother raising six children in Harlem, whose budding romance with a charismatic garbage collector is tested by the struggles of life within an oppressive system.
Join Apollo Education for a full-day Professional Learning Workshop to explore the digital learning hub, Apollo Stories. This online resource of educator-created materials sparks critical thinking in students and ignites thought-provoking discussions on justice, culture, and identity.
Led by The Apollo Stories team, educators will receive expert guidance on integrating and adapting the free lessons featured on the platform into their classroom curricula. Gain hands-on facilitation experience, feedback, and dive into engaging, practical, classroom-ready activities.
Falling on the heels of Valentine’s Day, the singer, songwriter and poet known as sahn has taken pen to paper to create an introspective musical love letter that covers the elements of loss, renewal and everlasting love. sahn delivers a powerful evening of smokey, jazz-infused, songs and stories from her debut album “the mornings”.