Billie Holiday News

The Billie Holiday Theatre (BHT) announces its annual global call for stories - 50in50: Letters to Our Sons. For the fourth year, MacArthur a?oeGeniusa?? Dominique Morisseau's curatorial statement calls women from all walks of life to share their stories. A diverse group of 50 stories will be selected to be read by a renowned collective of women actors in Brooklyn, New York followed by the West Coast premiere at the dynamic and newly-created WACO Theater Center in Los Angeles, California. Readings will take place in March 2020.

A new family comedy is coming to town. Chicken and Biscuits by award winning composer-playwright and actor Douglas Lyons (Beautiful), will premiere at Queens Theatre, Feb 28th-March 22nd, 2020.

Today, AUDELCO (Audience Development Committee) President Jackie Jeffries, SeasonWalk Productions CEO Denise Gray, Marcia Pendelton, President of Walk Tall Girl Productions/Black Theater Online, and the Kumble Theater for the Performing Arts, LIU Brooklyn Campus (Rodney Hurley, Managing Director) announced THE THEATERMAKERS - A Black Theater Preview: Winter/Spring Edition.

Birdland Jazz Club and Birdland Theater are pleased to present the schedule for the month of February! At Birdland Jazz Club, catch the iconic Lionel Hampton Big Band Featuring Jason Marsalis, current GRAMMY nominee Catherine Russell, the Birdland debut of AGUAS Trio with Omar Sosa, Yilian Cañizares and Gustavo Ovalles, and iconic vocalist Jane Monheit. Internationally recognized trumpeter Rachel Therrien, the Seth Weaver Big Band, and The Voice contestant Melinda Rose Rodriguez will also be performing upstairs. 

The Apollo Theater announced today that it will screen the iconic MGM film Shaft (1971), as part of the Apollo Film series, on Saturday February 29th at 8:00 p.m. The screening will be accompanied by a live performance of Isaac Hayes' Academy Award® nominated score by Burnt Sugar the Arkestra Chamber, a sprawling band of musicians led by founder and cultural critic Greg Tate.

Raue Center For The Arts has announced 'Where Am I Going?' featuring Chicago cabaret artist and Williams Street Repertory favorite, Sierra White. Experience an intimate night of music and storytelling at 8 p.m. on February 7, 2020.

This April, Montalvo Arts Center presents a lineup of versatile sounds, magic performances, and more in its Carriage House Concert Series.

Royal Family Productions (Chris Henry, Artistic Director), a Times Square-based non-profit theatre company known for its innovative productions and development of new original work, has announced their 2020 spring season.

With a globetrotting 20-year career renowned for being a voice for the people across four decades of political and societal upheaval from the late '90s to today, Antibalas celebrates its 20th Anniversary with a stark return to their Williamsburg roots on its latest Daptone Records studio album, Fu Chronicles (Release Date: February 7, 2020). Pre-gentrified Williamsburg serves as the backdrop for Fu Chronicles -- voyaging back to the early days of when Antibalas and revered soul label Daptone Records spawned out of lead singer Duke Amayo's kung fu dojo. A senior master of the Jow Ga Kung Fu School of martial arts, Duke Amayo along with Antibalas founder/baritone saxophonist Martín Perna guide listeners through an epic journey of where kung fu ingeniously intersects with Afrobeat on Fu Chronicles.

Music combo Clearly Now wraps their 2nd season of performances with two shows and a CD release celebration at the cozy downtown cabaret room Pangea and audiences are howling in support

Ebony Repertory Theatre (ERT) announced today that they will present the critically-acclaimed play LADY DAY AT EMERSON'S BAR & GRILL by Lanie Robertson.

The eclectic San Diego vocal performance ensemble SACRA/PROFANA has gained acclaim as a genre-defying ensemble breaking down the barriers between pop, classical, and contemporary music. In that tradition the group presents MUSIC AS SOCIAL CHANGE, a concert that will feature arrangements of socially aware pop music from the 1960s to the present day, as well as choral music that comments on the issues of our times.

Manoa Valley Theatre has announced a second season of the Manoa Valley Theatre Music and Comedy Series featuring some of Hawaii's favorite entertainers in a six-part subscription series beginning on January 28th with Erhu virtuoso Tsun-Hui Hung along with two-time GRAMMY Award-nominee slack key guitarist Jeff Peterson.

Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts is springing into action with even more exciting shows added to its 2019-20 season that everyone can enjoy. Performances include must-see local talent, classical tunes, hysterical comedy and evengings of jazz and American Songbook greats. Below are just-announced shows and the remaining 2019-20 season to spring you forward and into summer.

The JCCSF welcomes the new year and the next decade with a collection of Arts & Ideas events for 2020, including the Bay area premier of a?oeLove Heals All Woundsa?? with Jon Boogz and Lil Buck, a special Mother's Day program with Alice Waters and Fanny Singer, and the return of Giants of Jazz on Film series with Mark Cantor.

The Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce will pay tribute to the work of outstanding business and community leaders at its Black History celebration on Tuesday, February 4th, 2020, at the Billie Holiday Theatre at Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration, 1368 Fulton Street, Brooklyn. The evening celebration begins with a Cocktail Hour at 6:00 p.m. followed by the Awards Ceremony at 7:15 p.m.

Alexia: The Untold Story of Women in Jazz comes to the Rialto Theatre, January 12.

Award winning cabaret singer Lisa Viggiano enters her 20th year in cabaret by kicking off 2020 at The Beach Cafe with a new show. Stephen Mosher chats with the powerhouse performer as 2019 comes to a close.

City Winery Chicago has released its schedule (1200 W. Randolph St) for the month. All City Winery Chicago events are open to all ages and start at 8:00 p.m., unless noted.  Tickets can be purchased by calling 312-733-WINE (9463) or by visiting www.citywinery.com/chicago.

Full casting has been announced for Chicken and Biscuits at Queens Theatre!