Apollo Theater Announces Black Lives Matter Co-Founder Alicia Garza, Rapper/Activist David Banner, and Artist Maimouna Youssef aka Mumu Fresh to Join Cast of Between the World and Me

MEDIA ADVISORY

Black Lives Matter Co-Founder

Alicia Garza, Rapper/Activist David Banner and

Artist Maimouna Youssef aka Mumu Fresh

Join Cast of Encore Engagement of

Staged Adaptation of Ta-Nehisi Coates’Between the World and MeOctober 25 – 28, 2019

Conceived and Directed by Apollo Executive Producer Kamilah Forbes

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WHAT: Additional actors, activists and artists are signing on to the Apollo Theater’s production of Between the World and Me running Friday, Oct. 25 through Monday, Oct. 28.

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The Apollo Theater—widely considered the epicenter of Black culture—presents the critically acclaimed staged adaptation of Ta-Nehisi Coates’ seminal 2015 work, at a time when people across the country continue to grapple with the effects of hundreds of years of racial injustice and the latest news of Black Americans who have died unjustly.

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“For this staged adaptation, I really wanted to infuse the voices of Black changemakers and members of our community that would not only illuminate the language written by Ta- Nehisi Coates, but also underscore the urgency in our communities surrounding the important and ongoing issues,” said Kamilah Forbes, Apollo Theater Executive Producer

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Current cast includes Activist and co-founder of Black Lives Matter Alicia Garza; rapper, actor and activist David Banner; and Maimouna Youssef aka Mumu Fresh (Grammy- nominated singer and songwriter) have joined the previously announced rapper, actor, and activist Tip “T.I.” Harris; Omar J. Dorsey (“Queen Sugar,” “When They See Us”); Lynn Whitfield (“Greenleaf,” “Hit the Floor”); and hip-hop artist and playwright Dahlak Brathwaite (“Def Jam Poetry”); Michelle Wilson (Sweat); Pauletta Washington (Philadelphia, Antwone Fisher); artist, poet, and TED Global Fellow Marc Bamuthi Joseph; and actor Greg Alverez Reid (Between the World and Me). Conceived and directed by Apollo Theater Executive Producer Kamilah Forbes, the production features original music composed by MacArthur “Genius” Jason Moran and performed live by his trio, featuring bassist Mimi Jones and drummer Nate Smith. A list of actors performing each night can be found below, and additional casting will be announced at a later date.

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Throughout the development process of the Between the World and Me, Coates has been collaborating with the Theater, and he will now call the Apollo a home for the next three years as its inaugural Master Artist-in-Residence. Prior to the Harlem run, Between the World and Me will play for two performances at Atlanta Symphony Hall on Tuesday, October 22, presented by The Collective Culture in collaboration with the Apollo. With

additional stops to be announced at a later time, the tour takes difficult but necessary conversations around Black life and death and places them center stage.

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WHEN: Friday, October 25, 2019 / 8pm

Featuring Omar J. Dorsey, Lynn Whitfield, Maimouna Youssef aka Mumu Fresh, Dahlak Brathwaite, Pauletta Washington, Michelle Wilson, Marc Bamuthi Joseph, and Greg Alverez Reid

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Saturday, October 26, 2019 / 8pm

Featuring Tip “T.I.” Harris, Alicia Garza, David Banner, Omar J. Dorsey, Lynn Whitfield, Dahlak Brathwaite, Pauletta Washington, Michelle Wilson, Marc Bamuthi Joseph, and Greg Alverez Reid

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Monday, October 28, 2019 / 8pm

Featuring Omar J. Dorsey, Maimouna Youssef aka Mumu Fresh, Lynn Whitfield, Pauletta Washington, Michelle Wilson, Marc Bamuthi Joseph, and Greg Alverez Reid

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WHERE: Apollo Theater

253 West 125th Street New York, NY 10027

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TICKET INFO

Tickets for Between the World and Me are available now at www.apollotheater.org/btwam; the Apollo Theater Box Office at (212) 531-5305 or 253 West 125th Street; and Ticketmaster at 1-800-745-3000 or www.ticketmaster.com/promo/nr02sp.

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Half-Off for Harlem

Harlem residents, employees, business owners, and students can save 50% on tickets to performances of Between the World and Me. Half-Off for Harlem tickets can be purchased in person at the Apollo Theater Box Office. Ticket buyers must provide proof of residence or work ID. Offer available only while supplies last. Half-Off for Harlem for this production is supported by JL Greene Arts Access Fund in The New York

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ABOUT THE APOLLO THEATER:

The legendary Apollo Theater—the soul of American culture—plays a vital role in cultivating emerging artists and launching legends. Since its founding, the Apollo has served as a center of innovation and a creative catalyst for Harlem, the city of New York, and the world.

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With music at its core, the Apollo’s programming extends to dance, theater, spoken word, and more. This includes special programs such as the blockbuster concert Bruno Mars Live at the Apollo, 100: The Apollo Celebrates Ella, the annual Africa Now! Festival, and the New York premiere of the opera We Shall Not Be Moved. The Apollo is a performing arts presenting organization that also produces festivals and large-scale dance and music works organized around a set of core initiatives that celebrate and extend the Apollo’s legacy through a contemporary lens; global festivals including the Women of the World (WOW) Festival and Breakin’ Convention, international and U.S.-based artist presentations focused on a specific theme; and Special Projects, multidisciplinary collaborations with partner organizations.

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Since introducing the first Amateur Night contests in 1934, the Apollo Theater has served as a testing ground for new artists working across a variety of art forms and has ushered in the emergence of many new musical genres—including jazz, swing, bebop, R&B, gospel, blues, soul, and hip-hop. Among the countless legendary performers who launched their careers at the Apollo are D’Angelo, Lauryn Hill, Machine Gun Kelly, Miri Ben Ari, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday, James Brown, Michael Jackson, Gladys Knight,

Luther Vandross, and Stevie Wonder; and the Apollo’s forward-looking artistic vision continues to build on this legacy.