Doors Open
Show Starts
7:00 PM EDT
Ages
Where
Soundstage at the Apollo
Event Date
April 22, 2022
Event Time
7:00 PM EDT
Awards Presentation & Concert
Dinner & Dancing
Location
Soundstage at the Apollo
Buy Tickets
Download Program Booklet
Friday, April 22, 2022
How did the artists of the Harlem Renaissance respond to the historic events that shaped their time? And how are contemporary creatives dealing with the issues of the present moment in their own work? These questions lie at the heart of the Apollo commission of the New Black Fest, which has engaged 18 contemporary playwrights to explore these themes in 10-minute plays.
Over the course of three staged readings, each playwright will premiere their new work, dramatically performed by an exciting cast of actors and readers. Participating playwrights include James Ijames, Eric Micha Holmes, Dahlak Brathwaite, Donja Love, Dennis A. Allen II, Christina Anderson, and Mfoniso Udofia. This event will be taking place on the Apollo’s Soundstage.
Please note that each reading features different playwrights.
Part of Apollo New Works, the Apollo’s first major commissioning initiative launched in 2020.
Leadership support for the Apollo New Works initiative is provided by the Ford Foundation. The New Black Fest is funded by the HBO Fund for Theater, The Black Seed, and is also supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. Commissioning support for The New Black Fest is provided by the New York State Council on the Arts.
Ticket Information
Please contact the Apollo Box office at [email protected] or (212) 531-5305 if any other special assistance is required for your visit.
Additional Readings
New Black Fest: The Harlem Renaissance Then & Now
Date: April 23 at 3 PM
Robyne Walker-Murphy explores the impact and transformative power of Black artists of the past and today with contemporary artists, Zora Howard (award winning playwright and screenwriter) and Carl Hancock Rux (multidisciplinary artist and Associate Director of Harlem Stage).
Covid-19 Guidelines
For the safety of our audiences and staff, all ticketholders and attendees of this event must provide proof of vaccination in order to enter the theater. In addition, all attendees are required to wear face coverings while inside the theater. Click here for more information about our COVID safety policies.
Friday Readings Schedule
Directed by Cezar Williams Pumpkin and Juju by Liza Jessie Peterson
Color Theory by Eric Micha Holmes
Savage Art by Kareem Lucas
Directed by Goldie Patrick Untitled by Lisa Rosetta Strum
Being Light by Mfoniso Udofia
Goddess Help Us by Christina Anderson
Playwrights
Liza Jessie Peterson
Liza Jessie Peterson
Liza is an artivist; an actress, playwright, poet, author and youth advocate who has been steadfast in her commitment to incarcerated populations both professionally and artistically for over two decades. Her critically acclaimed one woman show, The Peculiar Patriot, was nominated for a Drama Desk Award and an Audelco and was featured at the 2020 Democratic National Convention. The play is now available on Audible. There is currently a documentary, Peculiar Silence, about her historic performance of The Peculiar Patriot at Louisiana State Penitentiary (aka Angola) where she performed the play in front of 700 inmates and was live streamed throughout the entire prison. During the early years of this play’s uncanny trajectory, Liza performed The Peculiar Patriot in 35 prisons across the country in a self-funded prison tour spanning the course of four years.
Liza is author of a memoir, ALL DAY; A Year of Love and Survival Teaching Incarcerated Kids at Rikers Island (Hachette publishing) and was recently commissioned by The Old Globe Theater to adapt the book into a stage play. Liza was featured in Ava DuVernay’s Emmy award winning documentary, The 13th, and was a consultant on Bill Moyers documentary Rikers (PBS).
In addition to The Peculiar Patriot Liza has written several other plays which received development support from The Lark, Syracuse Stage, The McCarter Theater, Manhattan Theater Club, New York Theater Workshop, New Black Fest, The Apollo and The Atlantic Theater. Her play, SistahGurls and the Squirrel, is in development for a stage production and is being adapted for television. Also known for her exceptional poetic skills, Liza began her poetry career at the Nuyorican Poets Café and was a vital member of the enclave of notable poets that inspired Russell Simmons to bring spoken word to HBO where Liza appeared on two episodes of Def Poetry.
As an actress Liza will appear in a new Showtime mini-series by Sacha Jenkins, (Wu-Tang Clan: Of Mics and Men, Bitchin’: The Sound and Fury of Rick James). She can be seen in A Luv Tale (BETplus), Love the Hard Way (co-starring with Pam Grier and Adrien Brody) Spike Lee’s Bamboozled, K. Shalini’s A Drop of Life and Jamie Catto’s What About Me. Liza wrote and starred in two short films, MERLINA (www.merlinaproject.com) and Black Love Manifesto, which premiered at Urban World Film Festival.
Eric Micha Holmes
Eric Micha Holmes
Eric Micha Holmes is a playwright and audio-dramatist whose work has been heard on Audible (“Rapture Season”), the BBC (“Care Inc.”), and seen at The National Black Theatre (“Mondo Tragic,”) The New Black Fest (“Pornplay; or, Blessèd Are The Meek”), New York Theatre Workshop (“Nimpsey Pink”), and Guild Hall (“Falls For Jodie”). Residencies and fellowships include Djerassi Artist Residency, The Dramatist Guild Fellowship, Space At Ryder Farm, ‘I Am Soul’ Playwright’s Residency at The National Black Theatre, The Actor’s Studio Playwright/Director Unit, and more.
“Walking Next To Michael Brown: Confessions Of A Tragic Mulatto,” was commissioned by The New Black Fest and has toured with Kennedy Center’s Civic Artist Award winning “Hands Up: 7 Playwrights / 7 Testaments” to theaters across the country including: The Alliance Theatre, The Brooklyn Museum Of Art, Red Door Theatre, Crowded Fire Theatre, The Museum Of The Moving Image, The Hansberry Project, and Flashpoint Theatre (world premier).
Kareem M. Lucas
Kareem M. Lucas
KAREEM M. LUCAS is a Brooklyn born and Harlem based Actor/Writer/Producer/Director. His solo pieces include “The Maturation of an Inconvenient Negro (or iNEGRO)”, “Black Is Beautiful, But It Ain’t Always Pretty”, “RATED BLACK: An American Requiem”, “From Brooklyn With Love”, “A Boy & His Bow”, and “A Warm Winter”. He’s performed his work at The Public Theater, New York Theatre Workshop, American Repertory Theater, The Greene Space, Aaron Davis Hall at City College, The Town Hall, The Fire This Time Festival, Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, HERE Arts Center, Hi-ARTS, JACK, IRT Theater, The Brick Theater, Teatro Circulo, Judson Arts Wednesdays, AFO Theater, The Slipper Room, among others. He’s an inaugural Jerome Hill Artist Fellow and a Usual Suspect at NYTW, and a teaching artist with the Classical Theatre of Harlem and The 52nd Street Project. MFA: NYU Graduate Acting Program.
Lisa Strum
Lisa Strum
Lisa Strum is a director, actress, playwright, singer and wedding officiant! Most recently, the virtual film production of BALTIMORE that she directed for Ramapo College won FIVE Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival Awards. She was also one of the directors for “All Hands On Deck”, a Virtual Series with Project Y Theatre Company and will premiere her short new play, “An Actor Prepares” for the festival this year. As Resident Theatre Director at Five Towns College, she directed Flyin’ West, For Colored Girls… and SWEAT (Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival Award Winning Productions). Lisa also directed FALL by France-Luce Benson for the 2019 One Act Play Festival with Ensemble Studio Theatre. She starred as Rose in FENCES with the REP and Virginia REP. She also starred in the Michigan Premiere of PIPELINE at Detroit Public Theatre, and SWEAT at People’s Light. Her solo play, She Gon’ Learn had sold out performances at the United Solo Festival on Theatre Row, and received one of the festival’s Best Solo Show Awards. The show was also featured with The New Black Fest at the Lark. As an actor, Lisa worked at Lincoln Center Theatre with Tony Award winning director Thomas Kail, appeared at Summer Stage, Signature Theatre, New Federal Theatre and The Obie Award Winning 48 Hours in… Harlem. Lisa also had a recurring role on Law & Order: SVU, co-stared on New Amsterdam, The Blacklist, and the television pilot Citizen Baines with James Cromwell. As an arts in education theatre instructor, Lisa is a staff facilitator at Columbia University for The Literacy Unbound Summer Institute and was the Theatre Specialist for the Abrons Arts Center at Henry Street Settlement for nine seasons. Lisa was a Finalist for the Doric Wilson Independent Playwright Award and the recipient of the Playwrights Fellowship at the Djerassi Resident Artists Program. She was nominated for a New York Innovative Theatre Award for Best Outstanding Actress, and received a Broadway World Award for Best actress for the Regional production of FENCES. This year, Lisa will direct BLKS by Aziza Barnes at the University of Iowa, and will premiere her short new play, By the Way… with the Obie Award Winning Fire This Time Festival.
Mfoniso Udofia
Mfoniso Udofia
Mfoniso Udofia, a first-generation Nigerian-American storyteller and educator, attended Wellesley College, obtained her MFA from the American Conservatory Theater and, while at ACT, co-pioneered, The Nia Project, which provided artistic outlets for youth residing in Bayview/Huntspoint.
Productions of her plays Sojourners, runboyrun, Her Portmanteau and In Old Age have been seen at New York Theatre Workshop, American Conservatory Theater, Playwrights Realm, Magic Theater, National Black Theatre, Strand Theater Company, and Boston Court. Zoom Productions of her modern-day PlayON! translation of Othello have been seen at the Woman’s Theater Festival and Actor’s Shakespeare Project. She’s also had a virtual viewing of her short play, Mediations on Love, with MCC. She’s the recipient of the 2021 Horton Foote Playwright Award, the 2017 Helen Merrill Playwright Award, the 2017-18 McKnight National Residency and Commission at The Playwrights’ Center and is a member of New Dramatists.
Mfoniso’s currently commissioned by Hartford Stage, Playing on Air, The New Black Fest/Apollo, Denver Center, The American Conservatory Theater, and South Coast Repertory. Her plays have been developed by Manhattan Theatre Club, McCarter Theatre, New Dramatists, PCS’s JAW Festival, Berkeley Rep’s Ground Floor, The OCC, Hedgebrook, Sundance Theatre Lab, Space on Ryder Farm, Page 73, New Black Fest, Rising Circle and more.
She has worked as a television writer on: 13 Reasons Why, Little America, Pachinko, A League of Her Own and Let the Right One In.
Christina Anderson
Christina Anderson
Christina Anderson is a playwright, screenwriter, educator, and creative. Her plays have appeared at The Goodman Theatre, OSF, The Public Theatre, Yale Repertory Theatre, Kansas City Rep, and other theaters in the United States and Canada. Awards and honors include: 2021 Prince Prize, 2020 United States Artists Fellow, MacDowell Fellowship, Lily Awards Harper Lee Prize, Herb Alpert Award nomination, Barrymore Nomination, and New Dramatists Residency. Christina’s plays include: HOW TO CATCH CREATION; THE RIPPLE, THE WAVE THAT CARRIED ME HOME; MAN IN LOVE; PEN/MAN/SHIP; THE ASHES UNDER GAIT CITY; and BLACKTOP SKY. She taught playwriting at Wesleyan University, Rutgers University, SUNY Purchase College, and served as the interim Head of Playwriting at Brown University. Current projects: an original hip hop instrumental album titled BALDWIN LANE, and an original tv pilot GAIT CITY.
1st Reading: April 22 at 7:00 PM ET
2nd Reading: April 23 at 7:00 PM ET
3rd Reading: April 25 at 7:00 PM ET
Important Information:
For the safety of our audiences and staff, all ticketholders and attendees of this event must provide proof of vaccination in order to enter the theater. In addition, all attendees are required to wear face coverings while inside the theater. Click here for more information about our COVID safety policies.
Sponsors
No items found.
Friday, April 22, 2022
How did the artists of the Harlem Renaissance respond to the historic events that shaped their time? And how are contemporary creatives dealing with the issues of the present moment in their own work? These questions lie at the heart of the Apollo commission of the New Black Fest, which has engaged 18 contemporary playwrights to explore these themes in 10-minute plays.
Over the course of three staged readings, each playwright will premiere their new work, dramatically performed by an exciting cast of actors and readers. Participating playwrights include James Ijames, Eric Micha Holmes, Dahlak Brathwaite, Donja Love, Dennis A. Allen II, Christina Anderson, and Mfoniso Udofia. This event will be taking place on the Apollo’s Soundstage.
Please note that each reading features different playwrights.
Part of Apollo New Works, the Apollo’s first major commissioning initiative launched in 2020.
Leadership support for the Apollo New Works initiative is provided by the Ford Foundation. The New Black Fest is funded by the HBO Fund for Theater, The Black Seed, and is also supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. Commissioning support for The New Black Fest is provided by the New York State Council on the Arts.
Ticket Information
Please contact the Apollo Box office at [email protected] or (212) 531-5305 if any other special assistance is required for your visit.
Additional Readings
New Black Fest: The Harlem Renaissance Then & Now
Date: April 23 at 3 PM
Robyne Walker-Murphy explores the impact and transformative power of Black artists of the past and today with contemporary artists, Zora Howard (award winning playwright and screenwriter) and Carl Hancock Rux (multidisciplinary artist and Associate Director of Harlem Stage).
Covid-19 Guidelines
For the safety of our audiences and staff, all ticketholders and attendees of this event must provide proof of vaccination in order to enter the theater. In addition, all attendees are required to wear face coverings while inside the theater. Click here for more information about our COVID safety policies.
Friday Readings Schedule
Directed by Cezar Williams Pumpkin and Juju by Liza Jessie Peterson
Color Theory by Eric Micha Holmes
Savage Art by Kareem Lucas
Directed by Goldie Patrick Untitled by Lisa Rosetta Strum
Being Light by Mfoniso Udofia
Goddess Help Us by Christina Anderson
Playwrights
Liza Jessie Peterson
Liza Jessie Peterson
Liza is an artivist; an actress, playwright, poet, author and youth advocate who has been steadfast in her commitment to incarcerated populations both professionally and artistically for over two decades. Her critically acclaimed one woman show, The Peculiar Patriot, was nominated for a Drama Desk Award and an Audelco and was featured at the 2020 Democratic National Convention. The play is now available on Audible. There is currently a documentary, Peculiar Silence, about her historic performance of The Peculiar Patriot at Louisiana State Penitentiary (aka Angola) where she performed the play in front of 700 inmates and was live streamed throughout the entire prison. During the early years of this play’s uncanny trajectory, Liza performed The Peculiar Patriot in 35 prisons across the country in a self-funded prison tour spanning the course of four years.
Liza is author of a memoir, ALL DAY; A Year of Love and Survival Teaching Incarcerated Kids at Rikers Island (Hachette publishing) and was recently commissioned by The Old Globe Theater to adapt the book into a stage play. Liza was featured in Ava DuVernay’s Emmy award winning documentary, The 13th, and was a consultant on Bill Moyers documentary Rikers (PBS).
In addition to The Peculiar Patriot Liza has written several other plays which received development support from The Lark, Syracuse Stage, The McCarter Theater, Manhattan Theater Club, New York Theater Workshop, New Black Fest, The Apollo and The Atlantic Theater. Her play, SistahGurls and the Squirrel, is in development for a stage production and is being adapted for television. Also known for her exceptional poetic skills, Liza began her poetry career at the Nuyorican Poets Café and was a vital member of the enclave of notable poets that inspired Russell Simmons to bring spoken word to HBO where Liza appeared on two episodes of Def Poetry.
As an actress Liza will appear in a new Showtime mini-series by Sacha Jenkins, (Wu-Tang Clan: Of Mics and Men, Bitchin’: The Sound and Fury of Rick James). She can be seen in A Luv Tale (BETplus), Love the Hard Way (co-starring with Pam Grier and Adrien Brody) Spike Lee’s Bamboozled, K. Shalini’s A Drop of Life and Jamie Catto’s What About Me. Liza wrote and starred in two short films, MERLINA (www.merlinaproject.com) and Black Love Manifesto, which premiered at Urban World Film Festival.
Eric Micha Holmes
Eric Micha Holmes
Eric Micha Holmes is a playwright and audio-dramatist whose work has been heard on Audible (“Rapture Season”), the BBC (“Care Inc.”), and seen at The National Black Theatre (“Mondo Tragic,”) The New Black Fest (“Pornplay; or, Blessèd Are The Meek”), New York Theatre Workshop (“Nimpsey Pink”), and Guild Hall (“Falls For Jodie”). Residencies and fellowships include Djerassi Artist Residency, The Dramatist Guild Fellowship, Space At Ryder Farm, ‘I Am Soul’ Playwright’s Residency at The National Black Theatre, The Actor’s Studio Playwright/Director Unit, and more.
“Walking Next To Michael Brown: Confessions Of A Tragic Mulatto,” was commissioned by The New Black Fest and has toured with Kennedy Center’s Civic Artist Award winning “Hands Up: 7 Playwrights / 7 Testaments” to theaters across the country including: The Alliance Theatre, The Brooklyn Museum Of Art, Red Door Theatre, Crowded Fire Theatre, The Museum Of The Moving Image, The Hansberry Project, and Flashpoint Theatre (world premier).
Kareem M. Lucas
Kareem M. Lucas
KAREEM M. LUCAS is a Brooklyn born and Harlem based Actor/Writer/Producer/Director. His solo pieces include “The Maturation of an Inconvenient Negro (or iNEGRO)”, “Black Is Beautiful, But It Ain’t Always Pretty”, “RATED BLACK: An American Requiem”, “From Brooklyn With Love”, “A Boy & His Bow”, and “A Warm Winter”. He’s performed his work at The Public Theater, New York Theatre Workshop, American Repertory Theater, The Greene Space, Aaron Davis Hall at City College, The Town Hall, The Fire This Time Festival, Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, HERE Arts Center, Hi-ARTS, JACK, IRT Theater, The Brick Theater, Teatro Circulo, Judson Arts Wednesdays, AFO Theater, The Slipper Room, among others. He’s an inaugural Jerome Hill Artist Fellow and a Usual Suspect at NYTW, and a teaching artist with the Classical Theatre of Harlem and The 52nd Street Project. MFA: NYU Graduate Acting Program.
Lisa Strum
Lisa Strum
Lisa Strum is a director, actress, playwright, singer and wedding officiant! Most recently, the virtual film production of BALTIMORE that she directed for Ramapo College won FIVE Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival Awards. She was also one of the directors for “All Hands On Deck”, a Virtual Series with Project Y Theatre Company and will premiere her short new play, “An Actor Prepares” for the festival this year. As Resident Theatre Director at Five Towns College, she directed Flyin’ West, For Colored Girls… and SWEAT (Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival Award Winning Productions). Lisa also directed FALL by France-Luce Benson for the 2019 One Act Play Festival with Ensemble Studio Theatre. She starred as Rose in FENCES with the REP and Virginia REP. She also starred in the Michigan Premiere of PIPELINE at Detroit Public Theatre, and SWEAT at People’s Light. Her solo play, She Gon’ Learn had sold out performances at the United Solo Festival on Theatre Row, and received one of the festival’s Best Solo Show Awards. The show was also featured with The New Black Fest at the Lark. As an actor, Lisa worked at Lincoln Center Theatre with Tony Award winning director Thomas Kail, appeared at Summer Stage, Signature Theatre, New Federal Theatre and The Obie Award Winning 48 Hours in… Harlem. Lisa also had a recurring role on Law & Order: SVU, co-stared on New Amsterdam, The Blacklist, and the television pilot Citizen Baines with James Cromwell. As an arts in education theatre instructor, Lisa is a staff facilitator at Columbia University for The Literacy Unbound Summer Institute and was the Theatre Specialist for the Abrons Arts Center at Henry Street Settlement for nine seasons. Lisa was a Finalist for the Doric Wilson Independent Playwright Award and the recipient of the Playwrights Fellowship at the Djerassi Resident Artists Program. She was nominated for a New York Innovative Theatre Award for Best Outstanding Actress, and received a Broadway World Award for Best actress for the Regional production of FENCES. This year, Lisa will direct BLKS by Aziza Barnes at the University of Iowa, and will premiere her short new play, By the Way… with the Obie Award Winning Fire This Time Festival.
Mfoniso Udofia
Mfoniso Udofia
Mfoniso Udofia, a first-generation Nigerian-American storyteller and educator, attended Wellesley College, obtained her MFA from the American Conservatory Theater and, while at ACT, co-pioneered, The Nia Project, which provided artistic outlets for youth residing in Bayview/Huntspoint.
Productions of her plays Sojourners, runboyrun, Her Portmanteau and In Old Age have been seen at New York Theatre Workshop, American Conservatory Theater, Playwrights Realm, Magic Theater, National Black Theatre, Strand Theater Company, and Boston Court. Zoom Productions of her modern-day PlayON! translation of Othello have been seen at the Woman’s Theater Festival and Actor’s Shakespeare Project. She’s also had a virtual viewing of her short play, Mediations on Love, with MCC. She’s the recipient of the 2021 Horton Foote Playwright Award, the 2017 Helen Merrill Playwright Award, the 2017-18 McKnight National Residency and Commission at The Playwrights’ Center and is a member of New Dramatists.
Mfoniso’s currently commissioned by Hartford Stage, Playing on Air, The New Black Fest/Apollo, Denver Center, The American Conservatory Theater, and South Coast Repertory. Her plays have been developed by Manhattan Theatre Club, McCarter Theatre, New Dramatists, PCS’s JAW Festival, Berkeley Rep’s Ground Floor, The OCC, Hedgebrook, Sundance Theatre Lab, Space on Ryder Farm, Page 73, New Black Fest, Rising Circle and more.
She has worked as a television writer on: 13 Reasons Why, Little America, Pachinko, A League of Her Own and Let the Right One In.
Christina Anderson
Christina Anderson
Christina Anderson is a playwright, screenwriter, educator, and creative. Her plays have appeared at The Goodman Theatre, OSF, The Public Theatre, Yale Repertory Theatre, Kansas City Rep, and other theaters in the United States and Canada. Awards and honors include: 2021 Prince Prize, 2020 United States Artists Fellow, MacDowell Fellowship, Lily Awards Harper Lee Prize, Herb Alpert Award nomination, Barrymore Nomination, and New Dramatists Residency. Christina’s plays include: HOW TO CATCH CREATION; THE RIPPLE, THE WAVE THAT CARRIED ME HOME; MAN IN LOVE; PEN/MAN/SHIP; THE ASHES UNDER GAIT CITY; and BLACKTOP SKY. She taught playwriting at Wesleyan University, Rutgers University, SUNY Purchase College, and served as the interim Head of Playwriting at Brown University. Current projects: an original hip hop instrumental album titled BALDWIN LANE, and an original tv pilot GAIT CITY.
Doors Open
Show Starts
7:00 PM EDT
Ages
Where
Soundstage at the Apollo
Event Date
April 22, 2022
Event Time
7:00 PM EDT
Awards Presentation & Concert
Dinner & Dancing
Location
Soundstage at the Apollo
Buy Tickets
Download Program Booklet
Sponsors
No items found.
1st Reading: April 22 at 7:00 PM ET
2nd Reading: April 23 at 7:00 PM ET
3rd Reading: April 25 at 7:00 PM ET
Important Information:
For the safety of our audiences and staff, all ticketholders and attendees of this event must provide proof of vaccination in order to enter the theater. In addition, all attendees are required to wear face coverings while inside the theater. Click here for more information about our COVID safety policies.
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The Apollo mainstage
Accessible Seating
The Apollo’s Historic Theater has 12 wheelchair seating locations available for every show, all on the Orchestra seating level. Tickets for wheelchair seating locations can be purchased at The Apollo Theater box office or on Ticketmaster.
Four wheelchair seating locations will be reserved until the day of each performance.Each seating level is accessible via the elevator inside The Apollo’s Historic Theater. Guests should be aware of the small steps leading toward the Mezzanine and Balcony seating levels. Depending on the guest’s ticket location for these two levels, additional walking may be required. If guests are not able to travel up and down steps, tickets for events should be purchased for the Orchestra level.
Four wheelchair seating locations will be reserved until the day of each performance.Each seating level is accessible via the elevator inside The Apollo’s Historic Theater. Guests should be aware of the small steps leading toward the Mezzanine and Balcony seating levels. Depending on the guest’s ticket location for these two levels, additional walking may be required. If guests are not able to travel up and down steps, tickets for events should be purchased for the Orchestra level.
VICTORIA THEATER 1
Accessible Seating
Victoria Theater 1 is a 199-seat flexible black box theater that can be transformed into a myriad of configurations and styles. It features an intimate lounge-like space that is ideal for stage productions, concerts, panel discussions, commercial shoots and private functions.
JONELLE PROCOPE THEATER
Accessible Seating
The Jonelle Procope Theater, named in honor of the former Apollo President/CEO, is a 99-seat flexible black box theater that can be transformed into a myriad of configurations and styles. It features an intimate lounge-like space that is ideal for intimate concerts, panel conversations, commercial shoots, private functions, exhibits, or installations.
The Apollo mainstage
Accessible Seating
The Apollo’s Historic Theater has 12 wheelchair seating locations available for every show, all on the Orchestra seating level. Tickets for wheelchair seating locations can be purchased at The Apollo Theater box office or on Ticketmaster.
Four wheelchair seating locations will be reserved until the day of each performance.Each seating level is accessible via the elevator inside The Apollo’s Historic Theater. Guests should be aware of the small steps leading toward the Mezzanine and Balcony seating levels. Depending on the guest’s ticket location for these two levels, additional walking may be required. If guests are not able to travel up and down steps, tickets for events should be purchased for the Orchestra level.
Four wheelchair seating locations will be reserved until the day of each performance.Each seating level is accessible via the elevator inside The Apollo’s Historic Theater. Guests should be aware of the small steps leading toward the Mezzanine and Balcony seating levels. Depending on the guest’s ticket location for these two levels, additional walking may be required. If guests are not able to travel up and down steps, tickets for events should be purchased for the Orchestra level.
Upcoming Events
Nov 20
Through Dec 18
The Apollo Stages at The Victoria
Got The Power Boomboxes: SUGARCANE AND COTTON
Experience a powerful exploration of music, art and cultural liberation with Got The Power Boomboxes: Sugarcane and Cotton by renowned installation artist Bayeté Ross Smith.
Engage with a dynamic soundscape featuring freedom songs cherished by Harlem residents, their stories, and historical insights about the impact of the sugar and cotton industries on our present and future. These two sculptures continue the conversation about preserving our nation’s history and its broader significance.
Got The Power Boomboxes: Sugarcane and Cotton will be on view at The Laura and Frank Baker Gallery at The Apollo Stages at The Victoria through December 18, 2024. Don’t miss your chance to be part of this impactful exhibition.
Nov 22
Apollo's Historic Theater
MUSICIANS ON MUSICIANS
The Apollo is pleased to partner with Rolling Stone for the sixth installment of their Musicians on Musicians series. Busta Rhymes, GloRilla, Brittany Howard and Doechii will take our stage for an evening of engaging discussions and power-packed live performances that will showcase the dynamic talent of the featured artists as well as celebrating the intersection of genres and exploring the power of music and culture. For the first time, this series comes to life on the legendary Apollo stage to present stars from the worlds of hip-hop, rock, R&B, and pop for an unforgettable night of music and conversation.
Longtime Rolling Stone contributor Touré will moderate both conversations, with musical direction by Louis Cato.
Talent subject to change.
In partnership with Rolling Stone.
Nov 27
Apollo Historic Theater
Amateur Night at The Apollo
Known as one of New York’s most popular live entertainment experiences, Amateur Night at The Apollo attracts performers and audiences from around the world in a classic talent competition that has launched the careers of countless legendary artists, from Ella Fitzgerald, Luther Vandross, Lauryn Hill, H.E.R, Machine Gun Kelly, Jazmine Sullivan and more.
Join the fun with the weekly classic competition that sheds light on the careers of a whole new roster of stars. Be a part of the notoriously “tough” audience in an interactive evening unlike any other and lend your voice to decide who will “Be Good or Be Gone!” to win the triumphant grand prize.
Amateur Night at The Apollo sponsored by Coca-Cola, is hosted by the comedian Capone. Each show begins with a festive pre-party featuring video and music by DJ Jess and Set It Off Man Greginald Spencer. Keep a lookout for C.P. Lacey, the resident Executioner who sweeps bad talent off the stage!
Nov 28
The Apollo's Historic Theater
Gobble Gobble Give
This year, we’re thrilled to welcome volunteers of all ages to The Apollo to celebrate a full Gobble Gobble Give NYC event!
Join us on Thanksgiving, with shifts starting at 8am, for an inspiring day of giving back to people in need in Harlem and across the city. After focusing on a toy and donation drive in recent years due to the pandemic, we’re bringing back meal preparation, donation sorting, toy distribution, and our special Children’s Holiday Workshop, where kids can create holiday crafts for the families we help. This is a family-friendly event, so bring the kids; children are not only welcome but encouraged to help!
- Meal Assembly Station: Volunteers will prepare individual meals to be delivered to local shelters, families, and individuals in need.
- Meal and Donation Deployment Area: This is where volunteers will organize meals, donations, and supplies for pickup and delivery by the different organizations we’re helping.
- Kids Holiday Workshop: A creative space where children can make holiday crafts, such as cards, ornaments, and friendship bracelets for children in need.
- Toy, Food, Clothing, and Toiletry Sorting: Volunteers will help organize the donations of toys, non-perishable food, clothing, and toiletries we receive, ensuring that every item gets to the right place.
- Family Portrait Corner: As a thank-you for their participation, volunteers will receive a professional portrait to commemorate the meaningful day.
Join us on Thanksgiving Day to make a lasting impact—because your time and kindness could be the reason someone feels the warmth of the holiday season.
Nov 30
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Apollo's Historic Theater
poetry me, please
Rashan Brown presents poetry me, please at The Apollo—Back by Popular Demand!
After selling out in 2023, we're bringing PMP back to the iconic theater for an unforgettable night of poetry in 2024. Join us on Saturday, November 30th as we continue to put spoken word on the main stage.
Hosted by the dynamic duo Young Prince & The Comedian, with sounds by DJ Complete, this night promises to be the LARGEST and most electrifying pure poetry show in New York and the greater Eastern Region. Expect performances from some of the world's most acclaimed poets, surprise guest appearances, and musical talents that will inspire you. Experience poetry like never before—the PMP way.
poetry me, please isn’t just an event series; it's a movement. We are a content production studio dedicated to giving artists a platform, providing access to a community of over 2,500 creatives, and offering high-quality video content to enhance their portfolios. We are your one-stop shop for expression and creativity, always putting poets first. This is more than a night out; it’s a chance to be part of history.
no expectations, just a night at ease; but only one request; poetry me, please
Dec 4
Apollo Historic Theater
Amateur Night at The Apollo
Known as one of New York’s most popular live entertainment experiences, Amateur Night at The Apollo attracts performers and audiences from around the world in a classic talent competition that has launched the careers of countless legendary artists, from Ella Fitzgerald, Luther Vandross, Lauryn Hill, H.E.R, Machine Gun Kelly, Jazmine Sullivan and more.
Join the fun with the weekly classic competition that sheds light on the careers of a whole new roster of stars. Be a part of the notoriously “tough” audience in an interactive evening unlike any other and lend your voice to decide who will “Be Good or Be Gone!” to win the triumphant grand prize.
Amateur Night at The Apollo sponsored by Coca-Cola, is hosted by the comedian Capone. Each show begins with a festive pre-party featuring video and music by DJ Jess and Set It Off Man Greginald Spencer. Keep a lookout for C.P. Lacey, the resident Executioner who sweeps bad talent off the stage!
Dec 5
The Apollo Stages at The Victoria
Apollo Comedy Club
Presented in partnership with Bob Sumner (producer of Def Comedy Jam, creator of Laff Mobb on Aspire), the Apollo Comedy Club celebrates these rich comedic roots with an evening of comedy on the Apollo’s Stages at the Victoria to serve as a late-night hotspot featuring the best emerging talent in comedy today.
The Apollo has a long history of launching the careers of countless legendary artists and performers in a variety of genres, including comedy. Comedic legends Richard Pryor, Redd Foxx, Monique, Jamie Foxx and Jackie Mabley (a.k.a. Moms) have all delighted audiences from the Apollo stage.
Dec 5
Apollo's Historic Theater
The Root 100 2024
For one legendary night, The Root—the foremost digital media publisher covering Black news and Black views—is taking over the mainstage of The Apollo for a star-studded evening of comedy, music, and inspiring speeches celebrating the brilliance and beauty of Blackness.
Hosted by acclaimed comedian and Emmy® Award nominee Roy Wood Jr, the night will honor influencers on The Root 100 list — an annual newsroom ranking of African Americans who are breaking down barriers and paving the way for the next generation. In addition, there will be a number of high-profile musical performances, including singer-songwriter Ledisi, among others.
The night will also spotlight The Root’s talented editorial staff, with the site’s Editor-in-Chief Tatsha Robertson introducing a select few surprise guest honorees to accept the distinction live.
Dec 6
The Apollo Stages at The Victoria
Apollo Music Café: Luedji Luna
Herald as one of the most powerful new voices in Brazil, Luedji Luna makes The Apollo the first stop on her U.S. tour. In this rare, intimate setting, the Grammy-nominated vocalist performs music from the albums Bom Mesmo É Estar Debaixo D'água and Um Corpo no Mundo. Her versatile repertoire flows like water and includes piano-led ballads, jazz fusion, candomblé-inspired Brazilian pop and African polyrhythms backed by West African spinning guitars. Luedji Luna closes out the year with the global message of peace, unity, hope and love.
Dec 7
The Apollo Stages at The Victoria
Apollo Music Café: Josiah Bell
As we close out the year, singer, songwriter and DJ Josiah Bell rings in a night of music for you to dust-off, reset and remix! This spirit-lifting evening opens with Josiah performing songs from his new release Give It To God Go To Sleep. Then put on your dancing shoes as Josiah gets behind the DJ booth and shifts the room to a house party that blends music from Aretha to Marvin. It’s a night of renewal and release with the aim to take you higher!
Dec 7
Apollo's Historic Theater
Double Dutch Holiday Classic
In 1973, David A. Walker, then a New York City Police Community Affairs Detective, developed the street game of Double Dutch into the World Class Sport that it is today. Since that initial tournament in 1974, competitive Double Dutch has expanded with citywide and national championships. Nearly 100,000 girls and boys representing schools and community centers throughout the United States and the world compete for team positions at the national and international events. The NDDL 33rd Annual, David A. Walker Memorial, Double Dutch Holiday Classic makes possible speed and music fusion events for the best Double Dutch teams in the world. Each year, since 1991, the Double Dutch Holiday Classic has sold out to parent supported, standing room only audiences.
Dec 10
The Apollo Stages at The Victoria
Luther: Never Too Much
Step into the world of Apollo Legend Luther Vandross like never before with Luther: Never Too Much, a sneak-peek documentary screening at The Apollo Stages at The Victoria. Featuring rare and never-before-seen archival footage, this intimate film allows the icon to tell his own story, with insights from his closest friends and legendary musical collaborators including Mariah Carey, Dionne Warwick, and Roberta Flack. Following the film, stay for a talkback with filmmaker, Dawn Porter.
Be one of the first to experience this powerful documentary before its on-air premiere.
box office
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VISITOR INFORMATION
WEEKDAYS
10AM - 6PM
SATURDAY
12PM - 5PM
SUNDAY
Closed
*Tickets: Get tickets online through Ticketmaster.com or in person at both Box Office locations
*Group Sales: To book your group of 10 or more, contact group.sales@apollotheater.org
(212) 531-5305
The Apollo’s Historic Theater
253 W 125th St,
New York, NY 10027
New York, NY 10027
The Apollo Stages at The Victoria
233 W 125th St, Third Floor
New York, NY 10027
New York, NY 10027
*Tickets: Get tickets online through Ticketmaster.com or in person at both Box Office locations
*Group Sales: To book your group of 10 or more, contact group.sales@apollotheater.org
WEEKDAYS
10AM - 6PM
SATURDAY
12PM - 5PM
SUNDAY
Closed
Accessibility
The Apollo is here for everyone. Artists, audiences, and all supporters should be able to experience The Apollo fully and in a way that is comfortable for them.
The Apollo has taken comprehensive steps to ensure that entrances, seating, restrooms, and more are as accessible and compliant as possible. Learn more about accessibility options and support services that might be right for you.
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All persons and bags are subject to search. Bags that have passed inspection must fit comfortably under your seat. Oversized bags are prohibited.
No outside food or beverage. Accommodations are made for patrons with medical needs. Please email access@apollotheater.org or call the box office at (212) 531-5305 for assistance.
