Billie Holiday News

Commemorate Juneteenth and Pride Month at Joe's Pub with Britton & The Sting's Juneteenth Liberation Ball, Juneteenth Legacy Project, Truth Future Bachman, Justin Vivian Bond, Catherine Cohen and Ikechukwu Ufomadu, Kevin Smith Kirkwood, Alexis Michelle, and more!

BAM's (Brooklyn Academy of Music) Board of Trustees has announced today the addition of five new board members—Jennifer Kopylov, Depelsha McGruder, Juliet Moser, Eri Nishikawa, and Marcel Przymusinski.

This summer, The Carnegie invites audiences to the “Land of Lola” with its production of KINKY BOOTS. Performances run June 30 through August 19, 2023. 

June 12th marks the 11th NIGHT OF A THOUSAND JUDYS benefit and Justin Elizabeth Sayre is just as passionate about it today as they were when the whole thing began.

Northlight Theatre, under the direction of Artistic Director BJ Jones and Executive Director Timothy J. Evans, concludes its 2022–2023 season with Marie and Rosetta by George Brant, directed by E. Faye Butler.  

The Apollo has appointed Michelle Ebanks as the next President and CEO of the nation’s foremost African American performing arts center dedicated to Black arts and culture.

Dazzling Divas is a mesmerising musical journey illuminating the lives and work of legendary performers Billie Holiday, Marilyn Monroe, Patsy Cline, Janis Joplin, Mama Cass, Karen Carpenter and Dusty Springfield.

BAAD! (Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance) has announced the return of its OUT LIKE THAT Festival, running from June 9 to July 1, 2023, at BAAD!, 2474 Westchester Avenue in the Westchester Square section of the Bronx.

The Apollo today announced new additions to its 2023 Spring Benefit. The 'Empress of Soul,' Gladys Knight joins the line-up as an esteemed musical guest. Academy Award winning director Spike Lee is also confirmed to present the Impact Award to six-time NBA champion and the league's only six-time MVP, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Apollo Music Café alumni and esteemed vocalist, Stout, is slated to appear as a musical guest with a special Tina Turner tribute. The historic organization's largest annual fundraising event returns Monday, June 12 with an evening themed “The Next Movement!”  

A new show for young children featuring the famous walrus which visited Scarborough last Christmas has been announced alongside a season of visiting shows at Scarborough's Stephen Joseph Theatre.

Trouble in Mind made its Broadway premiere in 2021, 66 years after it was produced off-Broadway at Greenwich Mews Theatre. Cincinnati Shakespeare Company is known for its unique takes on classic stories and reviving them for a fresh audience, and this play is no exception. Known for its general themes of racism and sexism from a black perspective, the play eerily reflects a modern culture and language despite being written several decades ago. Manipulative tactics are used strategically by the characters, performative allyships are shattered, and false dignity is stripped for raw truth.

Syracuse Stage has announced two musicals that will complete the lineup for the organization's 50th anniversary season. Audiences are immersed in the soulful music of Billie Holiday with Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill, Oct. 18 – Nov. 5.

Olney Theatre Center has unveiled its summer schedule of 30 events on its newly renovated Root Family Stage at Omi’s Pavilion. 

Broadway's Kevin Smith Kirkwood returns to Joe's Pub to celebrate Pride in New York City with his newest solo show KSK on the BQE: A Black Queer Experience.

Suzan-Lori Parks’ Topdog/Underdog, which won the 2002 Pulitzer Prize in Drama and, in 2018, was voted by The New York Times drama critics as the best play of the last 25 years, closes out Palm Beach Dramaworks’ 2022-23 season. The play opens on May 26 (8pm) and runs through June 11, with specially priced previews on May 24 and 25. Belinda “Be” Boyd directs. 

On Wednesday, June 7 at 6:30 p.m., Carnegie Hall will present the return of The Stage of Legends: A Gala Evening at Carnegie Hall.

MUSE/IQUE honors Duke Ellington in performances entitled THE DUKE: Ellington as America's Ultimate Renaissance Man, conducted by Artistic and Music Director Rachael Worby, Sunday, May 21, 7:30 pm at the Skirball Cultural Center in West Los Angeles and Wednesday, May 24, 7:30 pm at the Huntington Library in San Marino.

Next week, 54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club and 2022 Tony Awards Honoree for Excellence in the Theatre, presents some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz, and beyond. 54 Below celebrates Broadway musicals and writers of the past and present, promoting an ongoing engagement with their work.

The Acting Company has announced the complete cast for the reading of Mustapha Matura's new play Three Sisters After Chekhov. This is a part of the Reading Series in honor of The Acting Company's 50th anniversary. 

For the first time, the Ailey organization's annual Ailey Spirit Gala will be held in the home of Jazz at Lincoln Center, on Wednesday, May 24, 2023. The special event celebrates the art and soul of dance with a unique performance featuring a piece d'occasion entitled Chasing the Spirit created by choreographer and former Ailey Company member Hope Boykin, as well as an excerpt of Alvin Ailey's uplifting Revelations, followed by a festive soirée.