Doors Open
Show Starts
7:00 PM EDT
Ages
Where
Soundstage at the Apollo
Event Date
April 23, 2022
Event Time
7:00 PM EDT
Awards Presentation & Concert
Dinner & Dancing
Location
Soundstage at the Apollo
Buy Tickets
Download Program Booklet
Saturday, April 23, 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.
Saturday Readings Schedule
Directed by Cezar Williams It’s Complicated by Michael Bradford
Untitled by Dennis A. Allen II
Cliff & Clara & Her Baby by Lauren Whitehead
Directed by Goldie Patrick Cousins by France-luce Benson
Rampjaar by James Ijames
Dayz by Dahlak Brathwaite
Playwrights
Michael Bradford
Michael Bradford
Michael Bradford is currently Vice Provost for Faculty, Staff and Student Development at the University of Connecticut. Prior to this position he was the Department Head of Drama and Artistic Director of the Connecticut Repertory Theatre. As a playwright, his work has been produced at various theatres, to include The American Place Theatre, the LARK Play Developmental Center, the Ensemble Studio Theatre, the HERE Art Center and regionally at eta Creative Arts Foundation, Inc., Chicago, Il., the Playhouse on Park, Hartford, CT., ACT, Seattle, WA. internationally at Teatro Rita Montaner, Havana, Cuba and Brixton East Theatre, London, UK. His workshops and readings include The Negro Ensemble Company, Urban Stages and Liminal Studios (London, UK). His residencies and fellowships include the Manhattan Theatre Club Fellowship, Connecticut Office of the Arts Fellowship, and various residencies with the LARK Developmental Theatre, NY. He is a 2010 Fulbright Research Scholar (OLIVES AND BLOOD, Granada, Spain) and his work is published by Broadway Play Publishing, Inc., Smith and Krause and Dr. Cicero Press.
Dennis A. Allen II
Dennis A. Allen II
Dennis A. Allen II is from Hempstead, New York. His play The Mud is Thicker in Mississippi won the 35th annual Off Off Broadway Samuel French festival. Dennis’ full length play, When We Wake Up Dead and his monologue contribution to The New Black Fest’s Hands Up : 7 Playwrights 7- Testaments (How I Feel) are also published through Samuel French (Concord Theatricals). He is a recipient of Atlantic Theater Company’s inaugural Launch Commission; National Black Theatre’s, I Am Soul Playwright Residency and Clubbed Thumb’s Early Career Writer’s Group. He has developed and produced plays with; The Lark Play Development Center, the Classical Theatre of Harlem, The Fire This Time Festival, The Naked Expedition Project, 48 Hours in Harlem, TBTB and The New Black Fest.. He is faculty member of the Theatre Departments at Montclair State University, Laguardia Community College, Primary Stages ESPA and serves as a Co-Vice Chair for the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (region 1) National Playwriting Program. Dennis received his MFA from Brooklyn College Playwriting program and and will be taking over as its Program Coordinator this spring 2022.
Lauren A. Whitehead
Lauren A. Whitehead
Lauren A. Whitehead is a writer, performer and dramaturg. In 2018, Whitehead adapted “Between the World and Me,” for staging at the Apollo Theater and for the TV adaptation on HBO (2020). In her most recent performance, she originated the lead role of “Un/Sung” in the 2017 opera “We Shall Not Be Moved” (Dir. Bill T. Jones). Whitehead has been a Sundance Theater Lab Fellow and a Sundance Talent Forum Fellow. She has worked as a dramaturg at Hedgebrook and at The Denver Center for Performing Arts. Currently, she is a Professor of Drama at NYU Tisch School of the Arts.
France-Luce Benson
France-Luce Benson
Named “Someone to Watch” by American Theatre magazine, France-Luce Benson is the 2021 winner of the Lily’s Lorraine Hansberry Award, and was just awarded a new play commission from the Atlantic Theater Company, supported by NYSCA’s Individual Artist Award. Additional honors include Sony Pictures Television Diverse Writers Fellow, Zoetrope Grand Prize for her screenplay Caroline’s Wedding; Miranda Family Foundation grant recipient for her play Detained, Alfred P. Sloan New Play Commission for The Devil’s Salt, Princess Grace Award runner up for Boat People, Dramatists Guild Fellow 2016-17, Sam French OOB Festival Winner, NNPN Award for Risen from the Dough, and her play Talking Peace topped the list of most impactful plays in the Together L.A.: ATLA 2020 Virtual Theatre Festival. She has been a playwright in residence at The Camargo Foundation in France, Sacatar Institute in Brazil, Djerassi Foundation, and Space on Ryder Farm. Her plays have been produced and/or developed in by The Ensemble Studio Theatre where she is a company member, The Billy Holiday Theatre, The New Black Fest, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Crossroads Theatre Company, City Theatre of Miami, Juggernaut Theatre, and Loyola Marymount University, among others. Tigress of San Domingue, the second in her trilogy about the Haitian Revolution, was featured at the Atlantic Theatre Company Afro-Caribbean Mixfest 2021, was named a finalist of the Bay Area Playwrights Festival in 2020, and was selected for The Playwrights Center’s Afro Atlantic Playwrights Festival in 2019. Her work has also been staged internationally at the Afropea Festival in Marseilles, France and Global Voices Theatre in London. She’s been published by Dramatists Play Service, Samuel French, and Routledge Press. Her play Detained will have its world premiere at The Fountain Theatre in Los Angeles in February 2022. She is currently a television staff writer for Viacom/CBS and 101 Studios.
James Ijames
James Ijames
JAMES IJAMES is a playwright, director and educator. He has appeared regionally in productions at The Arden Theatre Company, The Philadelphia Theatre Company, The Wilma Theatre, Baltimore Center Stage, Mauckingbird Theatre Company, and People’s Light and Theatre.
James’ plays have been produced by Flashpoint Theater Company, Orbiter 3, Theatre Horizon, Wilma Theatre (Philadelphia, PA), The National Black Theatre (NYC), Steppenwolf Theatre, Definition Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre (Chicago IL) Shotgun Players (Berkeley, CA) and have received development with PlayPenn New Play Conference, The Lark, Playwright’s Horizon, Clubbed Thumb, Villanova Theater, Wilma Theater, Azuka Theatre and Victory Garden.
James is the 2011 F. Otto Haas Award for an Emerging Artist recipient, and he has two Barrymore Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Play for Superior Donuts and Angels in America and two Barrymore Awards for Outstanding Direction of a Play for The Brothers Size with Simpatico Theatre Company and Gem of the Ocean with Arden Theatre. James is a 2015 Pew Fellow for Playwriting, the 2015 winner of the Terrance McNally New Play Award for WHITE, the 2015 Kesselring Honorable Mention Prize winner for ….Miz Martha, a 2017 recipient of the Whiting Award, a 2019 Kesselring Prize for Kill Move Paradise and a 2020 Steinberg Prize.
James was a founding member of Orbiter 3, Philadelphia’s first playwright producing collective. He received a B.A. in Drama from Morehouse College in Atlanta, GA and a M.F.A. in Acting from Temple University in Philadelphia, PA. James an Associate Professor of Theatre at Villanova University and a co-artistic of the Wilma Theater. He resides in South Philadelphia.
Dahlak Brathwaite
Dahlak Brathwaite
Dahlak Brathwaite is an award-winning playwright, composer, and performer. His work has been presented at The Smithsonian, Brooklyn Academy of Music, The Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, REDCAT, MCA Chicago, Ars Nova, The Public Theater, SXSW, by Creative Time, and on HBO’s last two seasons of Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry. Dahlak has been commissioned as a playwright by TheatreWorks and the Apollo Theater. He made his debut performance at the Apollo in the reading of Ta-Nehisi Coates’ Between The World and Me, directed by Kamilah Forbes. Dahlak’s trilogy of works – Spiritrials (solo play), Try/Step/Trip (musical), Adapting History (documentary film) – take a personal look into the criminal justice system and the relationship between Black American music and Black American subjugation. He is a graduate of NYU’s Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program, where he was awarded the Dean’s Full-Tuition Fellowship, and currently serves as the Assistant Director for the national tour of the Tony-winning revival of Oklahoma!
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.
Saturday, April 23, 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.
Saturday Readings Schedule
Directed by Cezar Williams It’s Complicated by Michael Bradford
Untitled by Dennis A. Allen II
Cliff & Clara & Her Baby by Lauren Whitehead
Directed by Goldie Patrick Cousins by France-luce Benson
Rampjaar by James Ijames
Dayz by Dahlak Brathwaite
Playwrights
Michael Bradford
Michael Bradford
Michael Bradford is currently Vice Provost for Faculty, Staff and Student Development at the University of Connecticut. Prior to this position he was the Department Head of Drama and Artistic Director of the Connecticut Repertory Theatre. As a playwright, his work has been produced at various theatres, to include The American Place Theatre, the LARK Play Developmental Center, the Ensemble Studio Theatre, the HERE Art Center and regionally at eta Creative Arts Foundation, Inc., Chicago, Il., the Playhouse on Park, Hartford, CT., ACT, Seattle, WA. internationally at Teatro Rita Montaner, Havana, Cuba and Brixton East Theatre, London, UK. His workshops and readings include The Negro Ensemble Company, Urban Stages and Liminal Studios (London, UK). His residencies and fellowships include the Manhattan Theatre Club Fellowship, Connecticut Office of the Arts Fellowship, and various residencies with the LARK Developmental Theatre, NY. He is a 2010 Fulbright Research Scholar (OLIVES AND BLOOD, Granada, Spain) and his work is published by Broadway Play Publishing, Inc., Smith and Krause and Dr. Cicero Press.
Dennis A. Allen II
Dennis A. Allen II
Dennis A. Allen II is from Hempstead, New York. His play The Mud is Thicker in Mississippi won the 35th annual Off Off Broadway Samuel French festival. Dennis’ full length play, When We Wake Up Dead and his monologue contribution to The New Black Fest’s Hands Up : 7 Playwrights 7- Testaments (How I Feel) are also published through Samuel French (Concord Theatricals). He is a recipient of Atlantic Theater Company’s inaugural Launch Commission; National Black Theatre’s, I Am Soul Playwright Residency and Clubbed Thumb’s Early Career Writer’s Group. He has developed and produced plays with; The Lark Play Development Center, the Classical Theatre of Harlem, The Fire This Time Festival, The Naked Expedition Project, 48 Hours in Harlem, TBTB and The New Black Fest.. He is faculty member of the Theatre Departments at Montclair State University, Laguardia Community College, Primary Stages ESPA and serves as a Co-Vice Chair for the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (region 1) National Playwriting Program. Dennis received his MFA from Brooklyn College Playwriting program and and will be taking over as its Program Coordinator this spring 2022.
Lauren A. Whitehead
Lauren A. Whitehead
Lauren A. Whitehead is a writer, performer and dramaturg. In 2018, Whitehead adapted “Between the World and Me,” for staging at the Apollo Theater and for the TV adaptation on HBO (2020). In her most recent performance, she originated the lead role of “Un/Sung” in the 2017 opera “We Shall Not Be Moved” (Dir. Bill T. Jones). Whitehead has been a Sundance Theater Lab Fellow and a Sundance Talent Forum Fellow. She has worked as a dramaturg at Hedgebrook and at The Denver Center for Performing Arts. Currently, she is a Professor of Drama at NYU Tisch School of the Arts.
France-Luce Benson
France-Luce Benson
Named “Someone to Watch” by American Theatre magazine, France-Luce Benson is the 2021 winner of the Lily’s Lorraine Hansberry Award, and was just awarded a new play commission from the Atlantic Theater Company, supported by NYSCA’s Individual Artist Award. Additional honors include Sony Pictures Television Diverse Writers Fellow, Zoetrope Grand Prize for her screenplay Caroline’s Wedding; Miranda Family Foundation grant recipient for her play Detained, Alfred P. Sloan New Play Commission for The Devil’s Salt, Princess Grace Award runner up for Boat People, Dramatists Guild Fellow 2016-17, Sam French OOB Festival Winner, NNPN Award for Risen from the Dough, and her play Talking Peace topped the list of most impactful plays in the Together L.A.: ATLA 2020 Virtual Theatre Festival. She has been a playwright in residence at The Camargo Foundation in France, Sacatar Institute in Brazil, Djerassi Foundation, and Space on Ryder Farm. Her plays have been produced and/or developed in by The Ensemble Studio Theatre where she is a company member, The Billy Holiday Theatre, The New Black Fest, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Crossroads Theatre Company, City Theatre of Miami, Juggernaut Theatre, and Loyola Marymount University, among others. Tigress of San Domingue, the second in her trilogy about the Haitian Revolution, was featured at the Atlantic Theatre Company Afro-Caribbean Mixfest 2021, was named a finalist of the Bay Area Playwrights Festival in 2020, and was selected for The Playwrights Center’s Afro Atlantic Playwrights Festival in 2019. Her work has also been staged internationally at the Afropea Festival in Marseilles, France and Global Voices Theatre in London. She’s been published by Dramatists Play Service, Samuel French, and Routledge Press. Her play Detained will have its world premiere at The Fountain Theatre in Los Angeles in February 2022. She is currently a television staff writer for Viacom/CBS and 101 Studios.
James Ijames
James Ijames
JAMES IJAMES is a playwright, director and educator. He has appeared regionally in productions at The Arden Theatre Company, The Philadelphia Theatre Company, The Wilma Theatre, Baltimore Center Stage, Mauckingbird Theatre Company, and People’s Light and Theatre.
James’ plays have been produced by Flashpoint Theater Company, Orbiter 3, Theatre Horizon, Wilma Theatre (Philadelphia, PA), The National Black Theatre (NYC), Steppenwolf Theatre, Definition Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre (Chicago IL) Shotgun Players (Berkeley, CA) and have received development with PlayPenn New Play Conference, The Lark, Playwright’s Horizon, Clubbed Thumb, Villanova Theater, Wilma Theater, Azuka Theatre and Victory Garden.
James is the 2011 F. Otto Haas Award for an Emerging Artist recipient, and he has two Barrymore Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Play for Superior Donuts and Angels in America and two Barrymore Awards for Outstanding Direction of a Play for The Brothers Size with Simpatico Theatre Company and Gem of the Ocean with Arden Theatre. James is a 2015 Pew Fellow for Playwriting, the 2015 winner of the Terrance McNally New Play Award for WHITE, the 2015 Kesselring Honorable Mention Prize winner for ….Miz Martha, a 2017 recipient of the Whiting Award, a 2019 Kesselring Prize for Kill Move Paradise and a 2020 Steinberg Prize.
James was a founding member of Orbiter 3, Philadelphia’s first playwright producing collective. He received a B.A. in Drama from Morehouse College in Atlanta, GA and a M.F.A. in Acting from Temple University in Philadelphia, PA. James an Associate Professor of Theatre at Villanova University and a co-artistic of the Wilma Theater. He resides in South Philadelphia.
Dahlak Brathwaite
Dahlak Brathwaite
Dahlak Brathwaite is an award-winning playwright, composer, and performer. His work has been presented at The Smithsonian, Brooklyn Academy of Music, The Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, REDCAT, MCA Chicago, Ars Nova, The Public Theater, SXSW, by Creative Time, and on HBO’s last two seasons of Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry. Dahlak has been commissioned as a playwright by TheatreWorks and the Apollo Theater. He made his debut performance at the Apollo in the reading of Ta-Nehisi Coates’ Between The World and Me, directed by Kamilah Forbes. Dahlak’s trilogy of works – Spiritrials (solo play), Try/Step/Trip (musical), Adapting History (documentary film) – take a personal look into the criminal justice system and the relationship between Black American music and Black American subjugation. He is a graduate of NYU’s Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program, where he was awarded the Dean’s Full-Tuition Fellowship, and currently serves as the Assistant Director for the national tour of the Tony-winning revival of Oklahoma!
Doors Open
Show Starts
7:00 PM EDT
Ages
Where
Soundstage at the Apollo
Event Date
April 23, 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
Dec 27
The Apollo Stages at The Victoria
Nuyorican Poets Cafe Grand Slam 2024
The Nuyorican Poets Cafe presents the Grand Slam of 2024 a spoken word extravaganza hosted by Tony McPherson with sounds by DJ Luna Rosa. After eleven months of weekly slam winners competing every Final Friday the time has come for one poet to be named the Grand Slam Champion and win $1,000, a produced show in the new building and potential spot on our 2025 national slam team.
The Nuyorican Poets Cafe is a nonprofit organization rooted in the legacy of spoken word truth-telling. Founded by Puerto Rican /Afro Caribbean poets and visionaries, we honor this sacred history by creating an accessible forum for developing poetic theatrical, musical, and visual media works in the spirit of downtown New York subculture and experimentalism. Since closing our building for a major renovation, we have taken our programming offsite at different locations throughout NYC, the country, and the world. We are happy to bring the 2024 Grand Slam to the Apollo Stages at The Victoria.
Jan 9
Jan 9 - 11
The Apollo Stages at The Victoria
Loss
“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.
Jan 13
The Apollo Stages at The Victoria
Legacy, Lineage and Liberation
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.
Jan 17
The Apollo Stages at The Victoria
Claudine
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.
Jan 19
The Apollo Historic Theater
Uptown Hall
This annual event from WNYC and the Apollo Theater will explore Dr. King’s enduring legacy through the lens of belonging, reflecting on his vision for a just and inclusive society. Through powerful conversations with prominent public intellectuals, community and faith leaders, authors and artists, we will ponder democracy and civil rights under a second Trump administration. Join us for this inspiring tribute as we honor Dr. King’s dream and engage in a timely dialogue on the ongoing project of forging an equitable society.
Jan 20
The Apollo Stages at The Victoria
MLK Young Changemakers
Apollo Education invites the community to join this year’s MLK Young Changemakers event, honoring Dr. King’s powerful legacy in a modern context. MLK Young Changemakers is a series of conversations in recognition of Dr. King’s impact and the National Youth Day of Service where local and national youth leaders will explore how environmental and food justice impact our lives and communities.
Jan 27
The Apollo Stages at The Victoria
Professional Learning Workshop: Apollo Stories
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.
Feb 6
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.
Feb 7
The Apollo Stages at The Victoria
Apollo Music Café: sahn
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”.
Feb 7
The Apollo Stages at The Victoria
Jump Up Jamboree
Embark on a vibrant journey through the cultural traditions of Africa, the Caribbean, and other areas of the Black Diaspora with School Day Live: Jump Up Jamboree!
Feb 8
The Apollo Stages at The Victoria
Apollo Music Café: For the Love of Luther
Master of Song and Apollo Legend, Luther Vandross is one of the most important voices of all time. On this night, his greatest hits are effortlessly covered with classics such as “Never Too Much”, “A House Is Not a Home”, “So Amazing” and more. It’s a night like no other with no stop to love!
Feb 13
Apollo's Historic Theater
Dining With The Divas
The Apollo’s Dining with the Divas is a powerful, annual fundraiser celebrating bold and extraordinary women from diverse industries who inspire and uplift. This special luncheon gathers over 350 guests for an afternoon of networking, sisterhood and empowerment.
Proceeds will benefit The Apollo’s year-round education, community, and performing arts programs, impacting tens of thousands of students and families in New York City and beyond.
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.
Learn More
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.
