Doors Open
Show Starts
8:00 PM EDT
Ages
Where
Apollo's Historic Theater
Event Date
May 7, 2022
Event Time
8:00 PM EDT
Awards Presentation & Concert
Dinner & Dancing
Location
Apollo's Historic Theater
Buy Tickets
Download Program Booklet
Saturday, May 7, 2022
First practiced by enslaved Africans in the Caribbean and in the United States, a Shout (or Ring Shout) is an ecstatic, transcendent ritual in which worshipers move in a circle while shuffling, stomping, and clapping, creating an open space to collectively grieve, awaken joy as a source of liberation, and find love as a form of resistance.
This new evening-length program, co-presented by the Apollo, brings the ancestral gathering into a contemporary context, taking audiences on a sonic journey rooted in the tradition of call and response with a diverse array of contemporary multi-disciplinary artists.
The not-to-be-missed event features the orchestral performance of Carlos Simon’s Amen!, Courtney Bryan’s Sanctum, and the New York premiere of Seven Last Words, a choral work by composer Joel Thompson containing seven movements, each of which quotes the last words of an unarmed Black man before he was killed. These works will be presented in conversation with original works from Nona Hendryx and Toshi Reagon and a new commission from Tony Award winner Jason Michael Webb, created to honor our ever-present need for a collective space of remembrance.
The performance is anchored by the American Composers Orchestra, comprised of 60-members and a 70-voice choir of both professional and amateur singers from African American churches and choral ensembles in New York including Abyssinian Baptist Church Choir, Broadway Inspirational Voices, Convent Avenue Baptist Church Choir, and Sing Harlem Choir with appearances by the poet and writer Mahogany L. Browne and singer Abby Dobson.
The Gathering will honor the lives we have lost and uplift the lives we continue to lead in the aftermath.
In the tradition of the ring shout, audiences are encouraged to wear white.
Co-Presented by the Apollo Theater and American Composers Orchestra
Co-Curated with National Black Theatre
In Partnership with Gateways Music Festival and Harlem Chamber Players
Creative Concept and Direction by Jonathan McCrory
The Gathering: A Collective Sonic Ring Shout is generously supported by Art for Justice and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, with additional funding from JPMorgan Chase.
Art for Justice Fund, a sponsored project of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors.
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.
Half Off for Harlem
This event is included in our Half Off for Harlem promotion. Harlem residents, employees, business owners, and students can save 50% on tickets to select performances throughout the season.
Program
Joel Thompson: Seven Last Words of the Unarmed (New York Premiere)
Jason Michael Webb & Lelund Thompson: New Commission (World Premiere)
Courtney Bryan: Sanctum for orchestra and recorded sound
Toshi Reagon: New Commission (World Premiere)
Carlos Simon: Amen! (New York Premiere of orchestral version)
Check out Joel Thompson’s Seven Last Words of the Unarmed:
Media Partner:
The Gathering Community Partners
Learn more about the Gathering Community Partners who have joined us on this journey of discussions and presentations about important social justice issues.
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.
Events For SChools
School Day Live: The Gathering
Date: May 9, 2022
Time: 11:30 AM ET
Location: Apollo’s Historic Theater
Apollo School Day Live introduces the “Apollo Experience” to new generations of young theatergoers while providing exciting opportunities to learn about the arts, history, and culture.
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, May 7, 2022
First practiced by enslaved Africans in the Caribbean and in the United States, a Shout (or Ring Shout) is an ecstatic, transcendent ritual in which worshipers move in a circle while shuffling, stomping, and clapping, creating an open space to collectively grieve, awaken joy as a source of liberation, and find love as a form of resistance.
This new evening-length program, co-presented by the Apollo, brings the ancestral gathering into a contemporary context, taking audiences on a sonic journey rooted in the tradition of call and response with a diverse array of contemporary multi-disciplinary artists.
The not-to-be-missed event features the orchestral performance of Carlos Simon’s Amen!, Courtney Bryan’s Sanctum, and the New York premiere of Seven Last Words, a choral work by composer Joel Thompson containing seven movements, each of which quotes the last words of an unarmed Black man before he was killed. These works will be presented in conversation with original works from Nona Hendryx and Toshi Reagon and a new commission from Tony Award winner Jason Michael Webb, created to honor our ever-present need for a collective space of remembrance.
The performance is anchored by the American Composers Orchestra, comprised of 60-members and a 70-voice choir of both professional and amateur singers from African American churches and choral ensembles in New York including Abyssinian Baptist Church Choir, Broadway Inspirational Voices, Convent Avenue Baptist Church Choir, and Sing Harlem Choir with appearances by the poet and writer Mahogany L. Browne and singer Abby Dobson.
The Gathering will honor the lives we have lost and uplift the lives we continue to lead in the aftermath.
In the tradition of the ring shout, audiences are encouraged to wear white.
Co-Presented by the Apollo Theater and American Composers Orchestra
Co-Curated with National Black Theatre
In Partnership with Gateways Music Festival and Harlem Chamber Players
Creative Concept and Direction by Jonathan McCrory
The Gathering: A Collective Sonic Ring Shout is generously supported by Art for Justice and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, with additional funding from JPMorgan Chase.
Art for Justice Fund, a sponsored project of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors.
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.
Half Off for Harlem
This event is included in our Half Off for Harlem promotion. Harlem residents, employees, business owners, and students can save 50% on tickets to select performances throughout the season.
Program
Joel Thompson: Seven Last Words of the Unarmed (New York Premiere)
Jason Michael Webb & Lelund Thompson: New Commission (World Premiere)
Courtney Bryan: Sanctum for orchestra and recorded sound
Toshi Reagon: New Commission (World Premiere)
Carlos Simon: Amen! (New York Premiere of orchestral version)
Check out Joel Thompson’s Seven Last Words of the Unarmed:
Media Partner:
The Gathering Community Partners
Learn more about the Gathering Community Partners who have joined us on this journey of discussions and presentations about important social justice issues.
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.
Events For SChools
School Day Live: The Gathering
Date: May 9, 2022
Time: 11:30 AM ET
Location: Apollo’s Historic Theater
Apollo School Day Live introduces the “Apollo Experience” to new generations of young theatergoers while providing exciting opportunities to learn about the arts, history, and culture.
Doors Open
Show Starts
8:00 PM EDT
Ages
Where
Apollo's Historic Theater
Event Date
May 7, 2022
Event Time
8:00 PM EDT
Awards Presentation & Concert
Dinner & Dancing
Location
Apollo's Historic Theater
Buy Tickets
Download Program Booklet
Sponsors
No items found.
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 22
The Kennedy Center Honors
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts has selected the 47th Honorees for lifetime artistic achievements: acclaimed director and filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola; legendary American rock band the Grateful Dead (Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, Phil Lesh, Bobby Weir); blues rock singer-songwriter and guitarist Bonnie Raitt; jazz trumpeter, pianist, and composer Arturo Sandoval; and The Apollo, which will receive a special Honors as an iconic American institution.
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!
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.
