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CURRENT &
UPCOMING PRODUCTIONS
A
Seasonal Press Calendar
Publicity photos for most shows are available for free download.
Closed
productions have been removed from this list.
If you need info or photos for a production which has closed, please email
us.
CONTENTS: |
JANUARY 25 TO FEBRUARY 3
THEATER FOR THE NEW CITY
THUNDERBIRD AMERICAN INDIAN DANCERS' 44th ANNUAL DANCE CONCERT AND POW-WOW
The 44th annual Thunderbird American Dancers Dance Concert and Pow Wow will
offer dances, stories and traditional music from Native Peoples of the Northeast,
Southwest and Great Plains regions. The event has become a treasured New York
tradition for celebrating our diversity by honoring the culture of our first
Americans. A Pow-Wow is more than just a spectator event: it is a joyous reunion
for native peoples nationwide and an opportunity for the non-Indian community
to voyage into the philosophy and beauty of Native culture. Highlights will
include storytelling, a Hoop Dance, a Grass Dance and Jingle Dress Dance (from
the Northern Plains people), a Stomp Dance (from the Southeastern tribes), a
Shawl Dance (from the Oklahoma tribes), a Deer Dance (from the Yaqui Tribes
of Southern Arizona), a Fancy Dance (from the Oklahoma tribes) and a Robin Dance
and Smoke Dance (from the Iroquois). As the audience enters the theater, they
will be serenaded by the Heyna Second Son Singers (various tribes). In the final
section of the program, the audience will be invited to join in the Round Dance/Friendship
Dance (in evening shows) and a Contest Dance (in matinees). After the program,
the dancers stay for photographs and to meet the audience.
COMPLETE INFO: www.jsnyc.com/season/Pow-Wow.htm
RECENT PHOTOS: https://goo.gl/photos/tcrxbtPYtF2hdvhV6
and https://goo.gl/photos/SLr4PXEHJrsq34j9A
HISTORICAL PHOTOS of Pow-Wows from 2004 to 2015 are available for download at:
https://goo.gl/photos/wUcenp6ZcPDcBCYD7
JANUARY 31 TO FEBRUARY 17
THEATER FOR THE NEW CITY
"BETTY & THE BELRAYS" BY WILLIAM ELECTRIC BLACK
"Bring it On" meets "Dreamgirls" in the girl-group musical,
"Betty and the Belrays" by William Electric Black aka Ian Ellis James,
which will be presented by Theater for the New City January 31 to February 17.
The piece tells the story of three white female singers from Detroit who struggle
to change a racially divided society by singing for a black record label. Book
and lyrics are by William Electric Black. Music is by Black, Valerie Ghent (arranger/keyboards
for Ashford & Simpson) and Gary Schreiner. Choreography is by Jeremy Lardieri.
Director is Mr. Black.
Girl groups are now an iconic part of the history of the recording industry in America. In a brief, shining period between the payola scandal and the British invasion, American girl groups swamped the charts with songs that are now classic: mostly sweet harmonies on sentimental themes, with classic melody constructions and simplistic love lyrics. Partially because of the concern that America's teens would like the songs better if they didn't know the singers' color, many girl groups were anonymous except for their recordings. Almost all of them were black, but that was not known to many fans at the time. "Betty & The Belrays" asks, "what would have happened if a white girl group had actually tried to recapitulate the careers of these black groups?" If you love the songs of The Chiffons, The Crystals, The Shirelles and The Ronettes, you'll find heaven in this production, whose music recaptures the innovation and fresh, optimistic buoyancy that ruled the AM airwaves in the Kennedy era. It features a live onstage Motown-style band led by Gary Schreiner, authentic '60s choreography, and a cast of fourteen. It is recommended for audiences aged ten and up.
COMPLETE INFO: www.jsnyc.com/season/Betty_Belrays.htm
PHOTOS: https://photos.app.goo.gl/EYw6Jo8iQCG1XGJFA
FEBRUARY 28 TO MARCH 31
CASTILLO THEATRE, 543 WEST 42ND STREET
WOODIE KING, JR.'S NEW FEDERAL THEATRE PRESENTS "LOOKING FOR LEROY"
BY LARRY MUHAMMAD
What is black theatre? How is it defined and by whom? What is the relationship
between the black dramatist, their creation and the black community at large?
"Looking for Leroy" by Larry Muhammad explores these questions through
the career of LeRoi Jones/Amiri Baraka, arguably the most important black playwright
of the 20th century and one who intended his art have social impact. A poet,
novelist, essayist and music critic probably best known for his plays, Baraka’s
intellectual development from Beatnik to black nationalist to Marxist was reflected
in his art. In this two-character olay, a young theatre intern struggles to
comprehend the artistic metamorphoses of his hero, a great playwright at the
pinnacle of his powers. While the acolyte assists with play development, his
casual observations infuriate his mentor and the two heatedly debate theatre
fundamentals, examining the fungible nature of aesthetics, questioning whether
artistic expression is ever nonideological and weighing the added responsibility
of artists of color. Patronia Paley directs.
EXTENDED THROUGH JUNE 8, 2019
HARLEM REPERTORY THEATRE
TATO LAVIERA THEATRE, 240 E. 123RD STREET
"THE WIZARD OF OZ: A JAZZ MUSICAL FOR ALL AGES "
Harlem Repertory Theatre stages "The Wizard of Oz: a Jazz Musical for All
Ages," co-produced by the Yip Harburg Foundation, for young (and young-at-heart)
audiences. This production of the classic musical has a multi-racial cast, a
jazzy underscore and authoritative dramaturgy by representatives of the Yip
Harburg Foundation. Director/choreographer is Keith Lee Grant, Artistic Director
of Harlem Rep, who is in the midst of a four-year project of presenting four
classic musicals that have lyrics by E.Y. "Yip" Harburg, who was known
in his lifetime as the "social conscience of Broadway."
COMPLETE INFO: www.jsnyc.com/season/oz.htm
PHOTOS: https://photos.app.goo.gl/KTXnAJaAgtPQDSW12
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