Crossroads Theatre Company Streams 'Crossroads: The Story of a Theatre' Documentary

Crossroads Theatre Company is celebrating the 25th Anniversary of New Jersey Network's documentary about the theatre with a special stream on its Home with Crossroads virtual platform running April 4 through May 2, 2021. The documentary, which traces Crossroads storied history from its founding in 1979 to the 'today' of that time, is chock full of archival footage, photographs, and interviews with current and former staffers.

The program can be accessed at www.crossroadstheatrecompany.org.

"Crossroads: The Story of a Theatre, is a glorious time capsule that talks to us from the past, encouraging us to keep moving forward and building on the legacy that is Crossroads Theatre Company," said Ricardo Khan, Crossroads Co-Founder. "The documentary is a love letter to Crossroads, its tireless team, and to the audiences that helped build it. Whether you're new to Crossroads, or you remember the old theatre, and climbing all those stairs, we hope you'll all appreciate this program as much as we do," Khan added.

Forty-two years ago, two Rutgers University Theatre Arts students envisioned, embraced and captured the opportunity to create a space where the black experience would be shared through stories produced on stage for all to enjoy; and that was and is the story of Crossroads Theatre Company; a staple of the arts and cultural community in New Brunswick, NJ and across the region, state and nation. From its inception to today, Crossroads has stayed true to its founding mission to create and produce artistic theatre at the highest standards of artistic excellence. As a long-time patron and supporter of Crossroads and now President of its Board of Trustees, Anthony Carter knows first-hand that Crossroads Theatre Company "is a place rooted and grounded in the celebration of a history, culture and the spirit and voices of the African Diaspora. We bring the community into the sphere of the Black experience; the joys, pains, trials and tribulations of a people."

Crossroads is a special theater that is unapologetic about its honest portrayals of people of color from around the world; it educates audiences and those in front and behind the stage, by creating bridges of understanding between people of all cultural backgrounds and provides a nurturing working environment for writers and artistic collaborators.

"I am pleased and proud of Crossroads continuing commitment to excellence and building bridges between people, which is more important than ever these days," said Khan. "Crossroads strong and solid legacy and body of work will help to ensure the viability of black theatre and regional theatre, generally," Khan added.

Even through the pandemic, Crossroads is thriving and looking forward to returning to the stages of its home at the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center (NBPAC). "Keeping a regional theater afloat is challenging in the best of times. Doing so for over four decades -- through economic downturns, and social and cultural changes in addition to a pandemic tests our mettle while simultaneously fueling our creativity and storytelling," said Carter.