Apollo Theater Announces Encore Engagement of Staged Adaptation of Ta-Nehisi Coates’ Between The World and Me, Oct 25-28
Harlem, NY (September 25, 2019) – The Apollo Theater will raise the curtain on the encore production of the critically acclaimed staged adaptation of Ta-Nehisi Coates’ Between the World and Me—the National Book Award-winning work described as a “Powerful . . . a searing meditation on what it means to be black in America today” by The New York Times—on Friday, October 25, running through Monday, October 28. Developed 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, bassist Mimi Jones and drummer Nate Smith. The cast includes Tony-nominated actress Michelle Wilson (Sweat); actress Pauletta Washington (Philadelphia, Antwone Fisher); artist, poet, and TED Global Fellow Marc Bamuthi Joseph; and actor Greg Alvarez Reid (Between the World and Me). Additional performers will be announced in the coming days.
Between the World and Me expands the nonprofit theater’s role as a partner, commissioner, and co-producer of programming that articulates African American narratives and furthers its role as a catalyst for social and civic advocacy—using the arts as a vehicle to provide a forum for conversations on important and timely issues facing the Black community.
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—widely considered the epicenter of Black culture—a home for the next three years as its inaugural Master Artist-in-Residence. The initiative kicked-off with a sold- out evening featuring Coates in conversation with Oprah Winfrey about his latest work, The Water Dancer, on the day on which it was chosen to re-launch Oprah’s Book Club. Subsequent programs in the residency will take place on the Apollo’s iconic stage and in the new Apollo spaces in the Victoria Theater in Fall 2020, further deepening the relationship between Coates and the Apollo.
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 will deepen the conversation about the experience of being Black in America through the eyes and words of Coates.
During the run of Between the World and Me, the Apollo will continue to expand its educational and community initiatives with a special School Day Live performance of the work for local students in grades eight through 12. The Theater’s education team has also developed special educational resource guides and sample lesson plans for students and teachers preparing to see the performance.
Based on the award-winning book by Ta-Nehisi Coates, Between the World and Me takes difficult but necessary conversations around Black life and death and places them center stage. A profound work that pivots from the biggest questions around racism and police violence to the most intimate concerns of a father for his son, Between the World and Me offers a powerful framework for understanding our nation’s history and asks: What is it like to inhabit a Black body and find a way to live within it? And how can we honestly reckon with this fraught history and free ourselves from its burden? Between the World and Me, both the book and the theatrical event, is an eye-opening, emotional look inside these conversations.
TICKET INFO
Tickets for Between the World and Me are available now at 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.
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 Community Trust.
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.
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, the New York premiere of the opera We Shall Not Be Moved, and the world premiere of Between the World and Me. 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.
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, H.E.R., Machine Gun Kelly, Miri Ben Ari, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday, James Brown, Gladys Knight, Luther Vandross, and Stevie Wonder; the Apollo’s forward-looking artistic vision continues to build on this legacy.
Support
The Apollo's 2019-2020 season is made possible by leadership support from Coca-Cola, Citi, Ford Foundation, Howard Gilman Foundation, and the Jerome L. Greene Arts Access Fund in the New York Community Trust
Public support for the Apollo Theater is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, and from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.
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For more information, please contact:
Josh Balber / Julie Danni Resnicow and Associates
JBalber@resnicow.com / JDanni@resnicow.com 212-671-5175/5173
About The Apollo
The Apollo is an American cultural treasure. It is a vibrant non-profit organization rooted in the Harlem community that engages people from around New York, the nation, and the world. Since 1934, The Apollo has celebrated, created, and presented work that centers Black artists and voices from across the African Diaspora. It has also been a catalyst for social and civic advocacy. Today, The Apollo is the largest performing arts institution committed to Black culture and creativity.
The Apollo is a commissioner and presenter; catalyst for new artists, audiences, and creative workforce; and partner in the projection of the African American narrative and its role in the development of American and global culture.
The Apollo envisions a new American canon centered on contributions to the performing arts by artists of the African diaspora, in America and beyond.
