Doors Open
Show Starts
7:00 PM EDT
Ages
Where
Soundstage at the Apollo
Event Date
April 25, 2022
Event Time
7:00 PM EDT
Awards Presentation & Concert
Dinner & Dancing
Location
Soundstage at the Apollo
Buy Tickets
Download Program Booklet
Monday, April 25, 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 R. 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.
Monday Readings Schedule
Directed by Cezar Williams Birthday Cake by Lee Colston II
How to Honor Your Dead by Chisa Hutchinson
The Remembrance Day Parade by James Scruggs
Directed by Goldie Patrick The Moon, The Sun and the Stories We Play by Dane Figueroa Edidi
Holding by Zora Howard
Tee-Tee an LaLa by Donja R. Love
Playwrights
Lee Edward Colston II
Lee Edward Colston II
Lee Edward Colston II is a Black, Queer, former prison guard & MMA Fighter turned multi-hyphenated artist. This Philly native’s multi-hyphenates include; actor, playwright, screenwriter, director, producer, acting teacher, writing coach, and author. In 2017, Colston became a finalist for the Shonda Rhimes ‘Unsung Voices’ Playwriting Commission and a recipient of the National Black Theatre ‘I Am Soul’ playwriting fellowship. His play, THE FIRST DEEP BREATH, was selected to be part of the Victory Gardens IGNITION Festival of New American Plays in 2018 and received a full production in Chicago of November 2019. The Chicago Sun Times called it “the kind of theatrical event you’ll want to be able to say you saw first” and theatre critic Kris Vire named it “one of the best Chicago plays of the decade.” Recently, it was announced that Colston is one of three recipients of the 2020 ATCA/Steinberg New Play Award given by the American Theatre Critics Association. Past recipients include August Wilson, Lynn Nottage, and Horton Foote. Colston was staffed on the latest season of FARGO (FX) starring Chris Rock and wrote on ABC’s FOR LIFE. He previously developed KILL CRAZY for HBO with Academy Award Winners Laura Dern, Eric Roth and Alex Gibney. He has also developed at FX with Emmy Award winners Joe Fields & Joel Weisberg. Currently, he is writing on Ryan Murphy’s highly-anticipated AMERICAN CRIME STORY spin-off AMERICAN SPORTS STORY: GLADIATOR about disgraced NFL player Aaron Hernandez. Colston earned his MFA in Acting at The Juilliard School.
Chisa Hutchinson
Chisa Hutchinson
Chisa Hutchinson (B.A. Vassar College; M.F.A NYU – TSoA) has presented her plays, which include She Like Girls, Somebody’s Daughter, Surely Goodness & Mercy, Whitelisted and Dead & Breathing at such venues as Atlantic Theater Company, Contemporary American Theater Fest, the National Black Theatre, Second Stage, and Arch 468 in London. Her radio drama, Proof of Love, can be found on Audible (with a boss rating). She’s been a New Dramatist, a Dramatists Guild Fellow, a Lark Fellow, a NeoFuturist, and a staff writer for the Blue Man Group. Chisa has also won a GLAAD Award, a Lilly Award, a New York Innovative Theatre Award, a Helen Merrill Award, and the Lanford Wilson Award. Currently, she is standing by for production on a new TV series she helped write for Showtime, and is creating another with producers Karamo Brown (Queer Eye) and Stephanie Allain (Hustle & Flow, Dear White People). Her first original feature, THE SUBJECT, in which a white documentarian dealing with the moral fallout from exploiting the death of a black teen, is available on various VOD platforms after a successful film festival circuit during which it won over 30 prizes. To learn more, visit www.chisahutchinson.com.
James Scruggs
James Scruggs
James Scruggs is a writer, performer, producer, teacher, speaker and arts administrator who creates large scale, topical, theatrical, multi-media work usually focused on inequity or gender politics. He is currently working with Rattlestick Theater to produce BRAVADO, a transmedia piece that will be experienced virtually, exploring viruses, mortality and 9/11. His work in progress version of A Voluptuary Life was a solo performance work about one man musing same gender loving lives across the ages. It was shown at HERE Arts Center, NYC in March, 2019. MELT !, was a site specific, fully immersive work with actors musicians and radical audience participation. It was commissioned and performed for one day on The High Line in NYC. “It’s The Annual Post Racial America Day Rally!” It’s May 17, 2060! White people in America have been a minority for 17 years. The Mixed Race, gender fluid president of USA, who refuses to disclose birth gender or race has come to speak. He is currently a Fieldwork facilitator for The Field and a Professional Development Program facilitator for Creative Capital. James Scruggs has a BFA in Film from School of Visual Arts.
Dane Figueroa Edidi
Dane Figueroa Edidi
Dubbed the Ancient Jazz Priestess of Mother Africa, Lady Dane Figueroa Edidi is a Black Nigerian, Cuban, Indigenous, American Performance Artist, Author, Educator, a Helen Hayes Award winning Playwright (Klytmnestra: An Epic Slam Poem), a 2021 Helen Merrill Award Winner, Advocate, Dramaturg, a 2x Helen Hayes Award Nominated choreographer (2016, 2018) and co-editor/co-Director of the Black Trans Prayer Book.
She is the curator and co-producer of Long Wharf Theater’s Black Trans Women At The Center: An Evening of Short Plays. Her radio play, Quest of The Reed Marsh Daughter, can be heard on the Girl Tales Podcast. She wrote episode 1 of Untitled Mockumentary Project and acted on the series as well, and wrote episode 9 (Refuge) of Round House Theater’s web series Homebound. She also narrated The Netflix Docu-series Visions of Us.
Zora Howard
Zora Howard
Zora Howard is a Harlem-bred writer and performer. Plays include STEW (2021 Pulitzer Prize Finalist, Drama League nominee for Outstanding Play; Page 73 Productions), THE MASTER’S TOOLS (Williamstown Theatre Festival), AtGN (Oberlin College), BUST, and HANG TIME. Her work has been developed with SPACE at Ryder Farm, Ojai Playwrights Conference, Primary Stages, and Cape Cod Theatre Project, among others. In 2020, her feature film Premature (2020 Film Independent John Cassavetes Award nominee), which she co-wrote with director Rashaad Ernesto Green, opened in theaters following its world premiere at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. She was the 2020-2021 Van Lier New Voices Fellow at the Lark and is currently under commission from Seattle Rep, MTC, and Wessex Grove.
Donja R. Love
Donja R. Love
Donja R. Love (he/him) is Black, Queer, living with HIV, and thriving. A Philly native, his work examines the forced absurdity of life for those who also identify as Black, Queer, and living with HIV. He’s the recipient of POZ’s Best in Performing Arts Award, the Horton Foote Playwriting Award, the Terrance McNally Award, the Antonyo’s inaugural Langston Hughes Award, the Helen Merrill Award, the Laurents/Hatcher Award, and the Princess Grace Playwriting Award. Other honors include The Lark’s Van Lier New Voices Fellowship, The Playwrights Realm’s Writing Fellowship, and the Philadelphia Adult Grand Slam Poetry Champion. He’s the co-founder of The Each-Other Project, a digital media platform that celebrates and fosters community through art and activism for Black queer and trans communities, through which he’s produced numerous short films and digital series. He’s also the creator of Write It Out! – a playwright’s program and prize for people living with HIV. Plays include soft (MCC), one in two (The New Group), Fireflies (Atlantic Theater Company), Sugar in Our Wounds (Manhattan Theatre Club, Lucille Lortel and Outer Critics Circle Nominations), and What Will Happen to All That Beauty? He sits on the board at The Lark and is an Artistic Councilmember at People’s Theatre Project. He’s a graduate of the Lila Acheson Wallace American Playwrights Program at The Juilliard School.
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.
Monday, April 25, 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 R. 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.
Monday Readings Schedule
Directed by Cezar Williams Birthday Cake by Lee Colston II
How to Honor Your Dead by Chisa Hutchinson
The Remembrance Day Parade by James Scruggs
Directed by Goldie Patrick The Moon, The Sun and the Stories We Play by Dane Figueroa Edidi
Holding by Zora Howard
Tee-Tee an LaLa by Donja R. Love
Playwrights
Lee Edward Colston II
Lee Edward Colston II
Lee Edward Colston II is a Black, Queer, former prison guard & MMA Fighter turned multi-hyphenated artist. This Philly native’s multi-hyphenates include; actor, playwright, screenwriter, director, producer, acting teacher, writing coach, and author. In 2017, Colston became a finalist for the Shonda Rhimes ‘Unsung Voices’ Playwriting Commission and a recipient of the National Black Theatre ‘I Am Soul’ playwriting fellowship. His play, THE FIRST DEEP BREATH, was selected to be part of the Victory Gardens IGNITION Festival of New American Plays in 2018 and received a full production in Chicago of November 2019. The Chicago Sun Times called it “the kind of theatrical event you’ll want to be able to say you saw first” and theatre critic Kris Vire named it “one of the best Chicago plays of the decade.” Recently, it was announced that Colston is one of three recipients of the 2020 ATCA/Steinberg New Play Award given by the American Theatre Critics Association. Past recipients include August Wilson, Lynn Nottage, and Horton Foote. Colston was staffed on the latest season of FARGO (FX) starring Chris Rock and wrote on ABC’s FOR LIFE. He previously developed KILL CRAZY for HBO with Academy Award Winners Laura Dern, Eric Roth and Alex Gibney. He has also developed at FX with Emmy Award winners Joe Fields & Joel Weisberg. Currently, he is writing on Ryan Murphy’s highly-anticipated AMERICAN CRIME STORY spin-off AMERICAN SPORTS STORY: GLADIATOR about disgraced NFL player Aaron Hernandez. Colston earned his MFA in Acting at The Juilliard School.
Chisa Hutchinson
Chisa Hutchinson
Chisa Hutchinson (B.A. Vassar College; M.F.A NYU – TSoA) has presented her plays, which include She Like Girls, Somebody’s Daughter, Surely Goodness & Mercy, Whitelisted and Dead & Breathing at such venues as Atlantic Theater Company, Contemporary American Theater Fest, the National Black Theatre, Second Stage, and Arch 468 in London. Her radio drama, Proof of Love, can be found on Audible (with a boss rating). She’s been a New Dramatist, a Dramatists Guild Fellow, a Lark Fellow, a NeoFuturist, and a staff writer for the Blue Man Group. Chisa has also won a GLAAD Award, a Lilly Award, a New York Innovative Theatre Award, a Helen Merrill Award, and the Lanford Wilson Award. Currently, she is standing by for production on a new TV series she helped write for Showtime, and is creating another with producers Karamo Brown (Queer Eye) and Stephanie Allain (Hustle & Flow, Dear White People). Her first original feature, THE SUBJECT, in which a white documentarian dealing with the moral fallout from exploiting the death of a black teen, is available on various VOD platforms after a successful film festival circuit during which it won over 30 prizes. To learn more, visit www.chisahutchinson.com.
James Scruggs
James Scruggs
James Scruggs is a writer, performer, producer, teacher, speaker and arts administrator who creates large scale, topical, theatrical, multi-media work usually focused on inequity or gender politics. He is currently working with Rattlestick Theater to produce BRAVADO, a transmedia piece that will be experienced virtually, exploring viruses, mortality and 9/11. His work in progress version of A Voluptuary Life was a solo performance work about one man musing same gender loving lives across the ages. It was shown at HERE Arts Center, NYC in March, 2019. MELT !, was a site specific, fully immersive work with actors musicians and radical audience participation. It was commissioned and performed for one day on The High Line in NYC. “It’s The Annual Post Racial America Day Rally!” It’s May 17, 2060! White people in America have been a minority for 17 years. The Mixed Race, gender fluid president of USA, who refuses to disclose birth gender or race has come to speak. He is currently a Fieldwork facilitator for The Field and a Professional Development Program facilitator for Creative Capital. James Scruggs has a BFA in Film from School of Visual Arts.
Dane Figueroa Edidi
Dane Figueroa Edidi
Dubbed the Ancient Jazz Priestess of Mother Africa, Lady Dane Figueroa Edidi is a Black Nigerian, Cuban, Indigenous, American Performance Artist, Author, Educator, a Helen Hayes Award winning Playwright (Klytmnestra: An Epic Slam Poem), a 2021 Helen Merrill Award Winner, Advocate, Dramaturg, a 2x Helen Hayes Award Nominated choreographer (2016, 2018) and co-editor/co-Director of the Black Trans Prayer Book.
She is the curator and co-producer of Long Wharf Theater’s Black Trans Women At The Center: An Evening of Short Plays. Her radio play, Quest of The Reed Marsh Daughter, can be heard on the Girl Tales Podcast. She wrote episode 1 of Untitled Mockumentary Project and acted on the series as well, and wrote episode 9 (Refuge) of Round House Theater’s web series Homebound. She also narrated The Netflix Docu-series Visions of Us.
Zora Howard
Zora Howard
Zora Howard is a Harlem-bred writer and performer. Plays include STEW (2021 Pulitzer Prize Finalist, Drama League nominee for Outstanding Play; Page 73 Productions), THE MASTER’S TOOLS (Williamstown Theatre Festival), AtGN (Oberlin College), BUST, and HANG TIME. Her work has been developed with SPACE at Ryder Farm, Ojai Playwrights Conference, Primary Stages, and Cape Cod Theatre Project, among others. In 2020, her feature film Premature (2020 Film Independent John Cassavetes Award nominee), which she co-wrote with director Rashaad Ernesto Green, opened in theaters following its world premiere at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. She was the 2020-2021 Van Lier New Voices Fellow at the Lark and is currently under commission from Seattle Rep, MTC, and Wessex Grove.
Donja R. Love
Donja R. Love
Donja R. Love (he/him) is Black, Queer, living with HIV, and thriving. A Philly native, his work examines the forced absurdity of life for those who also identify as Black, Queer, and living with HIV. He’s the recipient of POZ’s Best in Performing Arts Award, the Horton Foote Playwriting Award, the Terrance McNally Award, the Antonyo’s inaugural Langston Hughes Award, the Helen Merrill Award, the Laurents/Hatcher Award, and the Princess Grace Playwriting Award. Other honors include The Lark’s Van Lier New Voices Fellowship, The Playwrights Realm’s Writing Fellowship, and the Philadelphia Adult Grand Slam Poetry Champion. He’s the co-founder of The Each-Other Project, a digital media platform that celebrates and fosters community through art and activism for Black queer and trans communities, through which he’s produced numerous short films and digital series. He’s also the creator of Write It Out! – a playwright’s program and prize for people living with HIV. Plays include soft (MCC), one in two (The New Group), Fireflies (Atlantic Theater Company), Sugar in Our Wounds (Manhattan Theatre Club, Lucille Lortel and Outer Critics Circle Nominations), and What Will Happen to All That Beauty? He sits on the board at The Lark and is an Artistic Councilmember at People’s Theatre Project. He’s a graduate of the Lila Acheson Wallace American Playwrights Program at The Juilliard School.
Doors Open
Show Starts
7:00 PM EDT
Ages
Where
Soundstage at the Apollo
Event Date
April 25, 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
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.
Following each performance, stay for a talkback with poet, playwright, and director Goldie Patrick and artist Ian Kamau.
Jan 13
Jan 13 - Mar 12
Frank and Laura Baker Gallery at The Apollo Stages at The Victoria
Urban Bush Women: 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, Legacy, Lineage 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.
Chanon Judson, Co-Artistic Director Urban Bush Women, Lead Curator
Mame Diarra Speis, Co-Artistic Director Urban Bush Women, Lead Curator
Jonathan D. Secor, Producer Urban Bush Women, Curatorial Team
Pia Monique Murray, Associate Producer Urban Bush Women, Curatorial Team
Laura Stewart, Curating Consultant
Lizzy Cooper Davis, Scholar/Writer
Nina Angela Mercer, Scholar/Writer
Nick Hussong, Video Compilation & Projection Design
Makeda Smith, Marketing Director
Camille Lawrence, UBW Archivist
Teya Juarez, SUNY Buffalo Research Assistant
Vince Ballantine, Visual Artist
Jean Barberis, Lead Installer
Andrew Gordon, Install
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 Cultural Festival 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
Apollo Uptown Hall
This annual event from WNYC and The Apollo 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: Feeding Our Future
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.
Feb 19
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!
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.
