Davis Hall News

For one night only, October 7, 2017, six award-winning tap artists, connected through their Broadway background in Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in 'da Funk, reunite to celebrate their art form in the newly renovated Kennedy Center Terrace Theater. Featuring D.C. natives Joseph Webb and Baakari Wilder along with Omar Edwards, Dormeshia Sumbry-Edwards, Derick K. Grant, and Jason Samuels Smith, this unique performance is choreographed to honor the roots of tap dance, their predecessors, and each other, all to live jazz music by the Lafayette Harris Jr. Quintet.

The Tony Awards Administration Committee announced today the Nominating Committee for the 2017-2018 Broadway season. The Tony Awards are presented by The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing.

James Davis is a rising force in comedy.  On June 28th, Comedy Central premiered his new show Hood Adjacent with James Davis, where Davis explores contemporary urban topics and shares his perspective on the world he grew up in through a unique, hybrid style of comedy that bridges the gap between urban and mainstream comedy.

Soul rocker Kwame Binea was born in West London with native origins in Ghana. He has peppered his music with a unique brand of “Roots Rock” which embodies his fertile and culturally diverse personal saga.

Tony Award Honoree Ben Davis (Violet, A Little Night Music, La Boheme), Lesli Margherita (Matilda, Dames at Sea), Kendrick Jones (Shuffle Along, The Scottsboro Boys) & Drama Desk Award-nominee Daniel Reichard (Original Cast of Jersey Boys) will join previously announced Tony Award winner Karen Ziemba (Bullets Over Broadway, Curtains, Contact), multi-award winning Nightclub star Klea Blackhurst & Steve 'The Whistler' Herbst at Town Hall's Broadway by the Year Series on Monday, March 27 at 8pm, 'The Broadway Musicals of the 1940s,' which will highlight the music of Rodgers & Hammerstein, Kurt Weill & Leonard Bernstein.

Jazz virtuoso Akiko Tsuruga will bring the hypnotic sound of her Hammond B-3 organ to Uptown audiences as the Akiko Tsuruga Trio swings into Aaron Davis Hall at 7 p.m. on Friday, March 24. A popular and innovative mainstay on the New York jazz scene, Tsuruga has been praised as one of the most dynamic performers in music. 

Piano phenomenon Elio Villafranca will bring the next generation of his popular "Letters to Mother Africa" concerts, the second in his series on the African continent's powerful influence on jazz and folk Cuban music, to Aaron Davis Hall at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, March 31.

Triple Threat Dance Showcase triumphantly returns to the stage at South Orange Performing Arts Center Friday, March 17th at 8 p.m. to shine the spotlight on three diverse New Jersey dance companies.Umoja Dance Company, Alborada Spanish Dance Theatre and Nimbus Dance Works come together to create an eclectic performance of dance that celebrates diversity and culture. The power and infectious rhythms of African drum and dance, the elegance and passion of Latin dance, and the grace and beauty of ballet come together to celebrate the melting pot of American heritage.

RONIT AND JAMIL was written by Pamela L. Laskin and is a contemporary retelling of Romeo and Juliet revolving around the Israel-Palestine conflict.

RONIT AND JAMIL was written by Pamela L. Laskin and is a contemporary retelling of Romeo and Juliet revolving around the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Star of the big screen, small screen and the Great White Way Keke Palmer heads to Aaron Davis Hall Thursday for a book signing for her recently released title, "I Don't Belong to You: Quiet the Noise and Find Your Voice." Her alternately funny and serious debut book reveals the many bumps and roadblocks she has faced and knows many from her generation are facing and offers advice on how young people can navigate twenty-first century living. The event, which runs from 6 to 8 p.m. is presented by the City College Center for the Arts (CCCA) and Melba's.

TED LOUIS LEVY steps into the past while looking to the future. Swinging, forward, into the lead roll of Jelly's Last Jam at La' Petit!

If you ask a musical theatre lover to name one of their favorite shows, there's a high likelihood they will mention Andrew Lloyd Webber's classic, The Phantom of the Opera, a staple on Broadway, around the world and on tour. I was honored and thrilled to chat with actor Derrick Davis, who is in rehearsal for the national tour and will step into the role of the Phantom in Fort Worth, TX at the Bass Performance Hall, beginning October 20th. We discussed his historic ascent into the role {as only the third African-American to star as the Phantom and the first to star in the national tour}, his dream roles, tricks of the trade and, of course, his favorite flavor of cake - check out our conversation below!

Following a very well-received staged reading at the Manhattan Theatre Club on June 20, The Platform Group is pleased to announce that Shara Ashley Zeiger's gritty work Roughly Speaking, based on over 200 interviews with New York City's homeless at Xavier Mission Welcome Table Soup Kitchen, will be presented at Tada Theater, located at 15 West 28 Street, from October 29 - November 20, 2016.

KANSAS CITY, MO (March 24, 2016) — Artistic Director Devon Carney announced the choreographers chosen for New Moves, a unique performance series designed to search out, develop and showcase emerging choreographers, both from the national dance scene as well as within Kansas City Ballet. New Moves is intended to provide time and space for choreographers to create world premiere works with accomplished professional dancers. New Moves will feature choreographers Jennifer Archibald, Andrew Skeels, Stephanie Martinez, and Kansas City Ballet company dancers Sarah Chun, Charles Martin and Ryan Jolicoeur-Nye.

Elisa Monte Dance, an emotionally charged and highly acclaimed dance company that champions individuality, announces its 35th anniversary season and gala, March 2-5, at City College Center for the Arts' Aaron Davis Hall. The season pays tribute to the company's eponymous director who will present the world premiere of Pangaea. The season will also foreshadow the future artistic vision of the company with two world premieres by Tiffany Rea-Fisher, who will take over as artistic director at the close of the 2015-16 celebratory season. Rea-Fisher will premiere Newton's Cradle and Current and also return to the stage for a special solo performance of Monte's signature work Run to the Rock. Rea-Fisher, who retired from performing with the company in 2010, is among another 20 alumni who return for a tribute alumni finale of Shattered, a high-speed work first performed at the Joyce Theater in 2000.

Elisa Monte Dance, an emotionally charged and highly acclaimed dance company that champions individuality, announces its pivotal 35th season–marking the official departure of Elisa Monte as director from the company she began in 1981.

A HAPPY END by Israeli playwright Iddo Netanyahu is the story of a well-to-do, well-integrated Jewish couple in 1932 Berlin deciding whether to remain in Germany or to flee to America.  The production dramatizes a dilemma -- whether to leave home, family and friends for an uncertain future in a foreign land, or stay, hoping the situation will improve -- that has been shared and faced by thousands of emigres. 

'A Happy End' by Israeli playwright Iddo Netanyahu is the story of a well-to-do, well-integrated Jewish couple in 1932 Berlin deciding whether to remain in Germany or to flee to America. The production dramatizes a dilemma - whether to leave home, family and friends for an uncertain future in a foreign land, or stay, hoping the situation will improve - that has been shared and faced by most political emigres. The piece will be presented as an Equity Showcase September 10 to 19 at Aaron Davis Hall, 135th Street and Convent Avenue, by The City College Center for the Arts in partnership with the Division of Humanities and Arts. Jennifer Miranda Holmes directs.