Metropolitan
Playhouse
The American Legacy 220
East
Fourth
Street
~
New
York,
New
York
10009
(212) 995 5302 "One
of
my
favorite
downtown
theaters"
~
Martin
Denton,
nytheatre.com
|
|||||||||
Playing | Next | Season | Tickets | Company | Location | Mission | History | Links |
Harlem
Renaissance |
|
|
PROGRAM DESCRIPTIONS |
The Blues According to Langston Hughes by Danny Ashkenasi More than 30 songs adapting about 60
of Langston Hughes' poems. A
musical journey of the African-American experience in the 20th Century
as seen and experienced by Langston Hughes and set to music in a
variety of styles evoking the drama and emotions of the times.
For more information click here Gary E. Lawson, Shawn Cortel, John-Andrew Morrison, Adrienne Lyric, Carllie Jaxen, Christine Sanders Harlem on my Mind by Xoregos Performing Company Four
new
plays
by: Ade Ademola,
Grace Cavalieri, Dave DeChristopher, Kimberly
Shelby-Szyszko,
Authentic songs
by:
Duke
Ellington,
Fat
Waller,
Irving
Berlin,
others
Poems by: Georgia Douglas Johnson, Langston Hughes, Angelina Grimke, others. Cast:
Paule Aboite,
Andrew R. Cooksey, Keldrick Crowder, Z. Louis Finney,
Sydney Allyson Francis,
Emani Spence
Music
Director: Eugene Abrams
Director: Shela Xoregos A Block of Time pt1 - Pigfoot Mary Says Goodbye to the Harlem Renaissance by Daniel Carlton One of Harlem's
most successful early entrepreneurs Pig Foot Mary (a real person) says
goodbye to the customers of her highly
profitable pig's feet and other
eats stand at 135th and Leonox Avenue. She remembers in
particular the stories of four men she met during her time on the
corner. These stories are told from the men's perspective
through separate verse monologues.* Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen*,
Marcus Garvey*, Zora Neale Hurston*, Claude McKay*, and Paul
Lawrence
Dunbar* are amongst the Renaissance paticipants that these men both
directly and indirectly encounter. Written and performed by Daniel
Carlton - featuring Benja K as Pigfoot Mary, the entire piece is
in poetic verse.
* These writers
words are heard in voiceovers
Daniel Carlton photo by Kusandha Hertrich The White Person's Guide to the Harlem Renaissance by David Lally What lurks above 125th
Street? Generations X, Y, and Z, take the A Train to Harlem and
discover what happened during a time not too long ago and how its
influences still resonate today. From the creator of "Little Edie
& The Marble Faun" ("an unexpectedly touching examination of memory
and loss" -- Backstage) and "The Real Housewives of the 19th Century"
("VERY FUNNY--thanks to the clever script and great cast with
impeccable comedy timing." -- HI! Drama) Here is a quick guide
every white person (and other colors, too) needs to know about the
Harlem Renaissance.
Alex Marshall-Brown and Kyle
Parker
photo by Kusandha Hertrich Belle
of
the
Books
by Juliane Hiam “Belle of the Books,” is a one hour,
one woman show. A dream play set somewhere among memory, fantasy,
self discovery and paranoia, we adventure through the heart and mind of
Belle da Costa Greene, the first librarian and director of the Pierpont
Morgan Library in Manhattan from 1906 almost until her death in
1950. Belle worked alongside JP Morgan, using his money to make
purchases for his collection; a position that made her one of the most
sought after people in the international art scene of her
day. An exotic beauty with a dusky complexion, she was
sometimes whispered about and her Portuguese ancestry, mysterious as it
was, was sometimes called into question behind her back. This
play explores the secret she did keep, while living an abundantly
public life — she was of African American descent. Having changed
her name, and denied her heritage and family, particularly her father
who was the first African American to graduate Harvard, “Belle of the
Books” explores Belle’s inner tumoil, her guilt, her regret, alongside
her satisfaction and pride in herself.
Andi Bohs photo by Erica Burrell “Belle of the Books,” is written by Juliane Hiam, directed by Catherine Taylor Williams, and stars Andi Bohs as Belle da Costa Greene. Original music by David Noel Edwards and costume by Arthur Oliver. Set design by Carl Sprague. This is a co-production with Ventfort Hall Mansion and Gilded Age Museum of Lenox, MA, who commissioned the play and produced the original run of the play in the summer of 2010, where it had 68 performances. Chasing Heaven by Leah Maddrie A
Pulitzer Prize-winning black
female author
tangles with the lively ghost of a white male Tin Pan Alley legend when
she tries to reinvent his controversial musical work Chasin' Hebbin which may or may not have been
co-authored by a nearly forgotten female Harlem Renaissance writer.
Chasing Heaven has comedy, music, dancing, a dash of romance, and a few
lines guaranteed to make you think. It’s also extremely topical, as you
know if you keep up with the latest theatre news. Come and enjoy!
A
Tribute to Langston HughesChris Zorker and Christine
Campbell,
photo by Beth Wexelman by Newburgh Performing Art Academy. Teen Theatre Ensemble Ten teens from the City of Newburgh,
New York ages 13-19 use mime, movement and creative staging to help
enhance the emotional impact of the poets intent. Eleven of Mr Hughes'
most famous poems are portrayed and this production is sure to inspire
those familiar with his brilliant poetic writing as well as to serve as
an exciting vehicle to introduce the poetry of Langston Hughes to
younger and newer audiences.
Poems
"Merry
Go Round"
"The
Ballad of the Landlord"
"African-American
Fragment"
"I
Too, Sing America"
"Dream
Variation"
"The
Negro Speaks of Rivers"
"Cross"
"Mother
to
Son"
"Hold
Fast
to
Dreams"
"Yesterday"
"My
People"
"Harlem Sweeties"
Suzy Camacho, Kamaria Carrington,
Azure Erksine, Taje Isaacs,
Kerra Ojula, Nicolette Roland, Carumey Stevens, Emporah Raven Thompson, Ebony Vinson photo by Kusandha Hertrich |