Robert Hooks News

THE DRAMA LEAGUE announces The Irene Gandy Directing Assistantships, honoring the legendary Tony Award-winning publicist.

From August 10 to 26, the Negro Ensemble Company, Inc. (NEC), in conjunction with their residency at Penn Live Arts, will perform the world premiere of 'Mecca Is Burning' at Harlem School of the Arts.

Brooklyn Choreographer Jamel Gaines and his dance theater company, Jamel Gaines Creative Outlet (JGCO), will mark Juneteenth 2023 with a program commemorating defining events in African American history and the fight for equal rights at the Brooklyn Academy of Music on Sunday, June 18 at 2:00 p.m. The multimedia production will include dance, theatre, music, spoken word, film, photography and costuming. Tickets are $30 and are available here.

The Drama League’s Bonnie Comley, Gabriel Stelian-Shanks, and Bevin Ross announced the campaign to rename The Drama League Stage Directing Assistantships program to The Irene Gandy Directing Assistantships. Check out photos from the event here!

Alpha Omega Theatrical Dance Company, founded in 1972, celebrates its 50th Anniversary with the premiere of Once Upon El Barrio, conceived and choreographed by Enrique Cruz DeJesus, Artistic Director since 1998.  Inspiration for his new work has come from the writings of Piri Thomas, poet and author of Seven Long Times, and Savior, Savior, Hold My Hand, and the best-selling autobiography Down These Mean Streets. 

 The TEDxBroadway TEN stage is now set as organizers today revealed the final speakers rounding out the complete lineup for the milestone event being held Tuesday, May 17 at 1pm Eastern. 

Penn Live Arts (PLA) and the Tony and Obie Award-winning Negro Ensemble Company (NEC) have announced a new residency that brings together one of the most important Black theatre producers in the United States and the University of Pennsylvania's nexus of the performing arts, two legacy organizations that share a mission of advancing innovative, contemporary theatre.

The Tony Awards Administration Committee has announced that they will present the 2020 Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre to four outstanding contributors to the Broadway industry - Fred Gallo, President of PRG Scenic Technologies; Broadway press agent Irene Gandy; stage manager Beverly Jenkins and New Federal Theatre, Woodie King, Jr. Founder.

This week (June 14-20) in live streaming: Rita Moreno visits Backstage Live, Show of Titles on demand, a Kerry Butler master class, a Guys and Dolls reunion, and so much more!

The 48th Annual Vivian Robinson AUDELCO Awards occurred virtually on Monday, November 30, 2020 at 7pm hosted by Roger Guenveur Smith, the AUDELCO award winning actor, best known for his “The Huey P. Newton Story” and as Smiley in Spike Lee’s “Do the Right Thing”! and LaChanze, AUDELCO award winner for “The Secret Life of Bees” and 2006 Tony award winner for “The Color Purple”. 

The 48th Annual Vivian Robinson AUDELCO Awards will occur virtually on Monday, November 30, 2020 at 7pm and will be hosted by Roger Guenveur Smith, the AUDELCO award winning actor, best known for his 'The Huey P. Newton Story' and as Smiley in Spike Lee's 'Do the Right Thing'!

Two of New York's most beloved radio hosts, Felix Hernandez (WBGO's Rhythm Revue Dance Party) and G. Keith Alexander (WBLS from 1973-2017), are teaming up November 14, 2020 for '50 Years In The Groove,' a Rhythm Revue salute to Woodie King, Jr.'s New Federal Theatre (NFT).

Karen Brown, Artistic Director of The Negro Ensemble Company, Inc. has penned an article exclusively for BroadwayWorld, discussing the current movement, 'Dear White American Theater,' and more. 

Congo Square Theatre Company, well known for its powerful portrayal of African American classics and gripping new works, commemorates its 20th Anniversary season with a rare production of the 1965 satirical fantasy Day of Absence at the Richard Christiansen Theatre (housed inside Victory Gardens Biograph Theatre, 2433 N. Lincoln Ave.), February 27-March 22, 2020. The official opening night is Monday, March 2 at 7:30 p.m.

Actor/Director Charles Weldon, who was Artistic Director of The Negro Ensemble Company (NEC) since 2005, died December 7 at Mt. Sinai Hospital, NYC. He was 78.

From May 16 to 27, The Negro Ensemble Company, Inc. will present the world premiere production of 'Hercules Didn't Wade in the Water' by Michael A Jones.  The play is winner of the troupe's 2017 Emerging Playwrights Competition.  Called a 'drama with comedy,' it is a story of displacement of Black families and the forces that lead to it in modern America.  Performances are at Theatre 80 St. Marks, 80 St. Marks Place.

From May 16 to 27, The Negro Ensemble Company, Inc. will present the world premiere production of 'Hercules Didn't Wade in the Water' by Michael A Jones. The play is winner of the troupe's 2017 Emerging Playwrights Competition. Called a 'drama with comedy,' it is a story of displacement of Black families and the forces that lead to it in modern America. Performances are at Theatre 80 St. Marks, 80 St. Marks Place.

From May 16 to 27, The Negro Ensemble Company, Inc. will present the world premiere production of 'Hercules Didn't Wade in the Water' by Michael A Jones.  The play is winner of the troupe's 2017 Emerging Playwrights Competition.  Called a 'drama with comedy,' it is a story of displacement of Black families and the forces that lead to it in modern America.  Performances are at Theatre 80 St. Marks, 80 St. Marks Place.

To reach an expanded audience, The Negro Ensemble Company, Inc. (NEC) will re-mount its 2017 revival of 'A Soldier's Play' by Charles Fuller, directed by Charles Weldon, from February 14 to March 4, 2018 at Gene Frankel Theatre, 24 Bond Street. The piece is historically NEC's most famous and successful play. It was produced last fall at Theatre 80 St. Marks as the culminating event of NEC's landmark 50th season, playing to full houses and glowing notices. The cast of that revival will return intact for the Gene Frankel Theatre run.

To reach an expanded audience, The Negro Ensemble Company, Inc. (NEC) will re-mount its 2017 revival of 'A Soldier's Play' by Charles Fuller, directed by Charles Weldon, from February 14 to March 4, 2018 at Gene Frankel Theatre, 24 Bond Street. The piece is historically NEC's most famous and successful play. It was produced last fall at Theatre 80 St. Marks as the culminating event of NEC's landmark 50th season, playing to full houses and glowing notices. The cast of that revival will return intact for the Gene Frankel Theatre run.