Maya Angelou News

A powerful gathering of black women of Broadway and New York Theatre was celebrated for their artistry and achievements at the Café Mocha 9th Annual Salute Her Awards, held Monday, September 16, 2019, at the Gerald W. Lynch Theatre in New York City.

Mixed Magic Theatre presents the 12th Annual Greatness of Gospel Concert Saturday, August 31st and Sunday, September 1st at 6:00PM at Mixed Magic Amphitheater, 560 Mineral Spring Ave. Pawtucket, RI.

As I took my seat in the lobby of Stratford's Festival Theatre on Monday night, the eager patron next to me leaned in and proclaimed a?oeThere is quite the buzz in here!a?? She was absolutely right. We had both arrived early enough to grab seats for WHY WE TELL THE STORY: A CELEBRATION OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN MUSICAL THEATRE--A much anticipated cabaret event conceived by Festival actor Marcus Nance who can currently be seen in LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS and BILLY ELLIOT. After initially selling out months before the Festival season even began, the high demand of this show led to more chairs being added and eventually to 'standing room only' tickets being sold so that as many people as possible could witness what indeed turned out to be a magical night of words and song.

Dancer/producer Antonio Fini announces the 9th annual event with dancers from Italy and New York performing in a spirit of exchange and collaboration.   

The Women's Forum of New York will present the 9th Annual Elly Awards Luncheon benefiting The Education Fund of the Women's Forum on Monday, June 17th, at The Plaza Hotel in New York City. The awards, named for the Women's Forum founder Elinor Guggenheimer, will honor outstanding women leaders. This year marks the 32nd anniversary of the Education Fund of the Women's Forum, which has helped over 260 women, age 35 and over, whose lives have been disrupted by extreme adversity, complete their college degrees.

Ford's Theatre Society celebrated the legacy of President Abraham Lincoln at its Annual Gala on Sunday evening, June 2, 2019, at Ford's Theatre (511 10th Street NW). For more than 40 years, the Society has hosted this bipartisan event, which provides crucial support to the non-profit's theatrical and educational programs.

Today, Netflix released Homecoming: A Film by Beyonce, which presents an intimate look at her historic 2018 Coachella performance that paid homage to America's historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). Interspersed with candid footage and interviews detailing the preparation and powerful intent behind her vision, Homecoming gives a peek into the process and emotional physical sacrifices it took to conceptualize and execute a performance of that magnitude that became a cultural movement. This stand-alone Netflix original is now available globally on Netflix.

Tribe// present their debut dance production Still I Rise at the Connaught Theatre as part of Brighton Festival

Amas Musical Theatre (Donna Trinkoff, Artistic Producer), New York City's award-winning pioneer in diversity and multi-ethnic casting in the performing arts since 1968 and celebrated its 50th Anniversary at its annual Gala Benefit Concert on Monday, April 1, 2019 at the The Angel Orensanz Foundation (172 Norfolk Street). Honorary Chair for the event is Academy Award-Winning actress and activist Whoopi Goldberg. Tony Award-winner Lillias White will be Mistress of Ceremonies evening.

Maya Angelou is one of the most influential women of the modern age, and Deadline reports that her story may be heading to the Broadway stage.

Neighborhood Theatre Group in Ypsilanti presents CoffeeHouse Theatre: Words and Songs on April 13 at 8pm and April 14 at 2pm at The Back Office Studio (13 N. Washington St) in downtown Ypsilanti.

Steeped in old-school swing, Latin jazz, funk and Ray Charlesian soul-blues, bristling with hotshot soloists, the Christian McBride Big Band has redefined the sound of big band music for the 21st Century.  Now, iconic jazz bassist, composer and arranger, Christian McBride, brings to The Soraya stage his 17-piece nsemble for one-night only on Friday, April 26 at 8pm. 

From Friday, May 3 through Wednesday, May 22, BAM presents Black 90s: A Turning Point in American Cinema, a nearly three week-long program of films, both low-budget art films and classic blockbusters, from an era of explosive creativity and newfound studio support for black filmmakers.

Producer/Executive Producer, Elynn Diamond, is proud to present a DOUBLE HEADER with two of the music industry's most acclaimed R & B, Blues, Soul, Funk, Pop and Jazz Artists, DANNY KEAN / VALERIE GHENT In Concert, the second concert in her year-long '2019 In Concert Series' being held at the Iconic WOODSTOCK PLAYHOUSE.

At the elegant Soroya Theatre in Northridge, CA, Martha Graham's Dance Company, under Artistic Director Janet Eilber's seasoned guidance, performed a most incredible group of works.  Some were originally created approximately 80 years ago, by Martha Graham, a true icon in the Dance world.  The EVE Project, as this evening, March 2nd, 2019 was entitled, gave us a wide variety of themes within a theme, that being Women and their significance, their power, their passion and their strength.  It was polished to perfection, and each piece carried many meanings and concepts and was just so beautifully performed and articulated. The Martha Graham Dance Company is the oldest contemporary dance company in the United States, founded in 1926.  Since it's inception it has explored and encompassed political and humanitarian issues, as well as affairs of the heart and human interactions, while creating a prolific dance technique that is unequaled in it's scope.  Graham created a total of 181 ballets during her long career, and is recognized as a primal artistic force of the 20th century, being named in 1998 as 'Dancer of the Century' in Time magazine, and labeled one of the female 'Icons of the Century' by People Magazine.

It was only a matter of time before a Hilary Bettis play received a full production in DC. Her work has brought her to Orlando Shakes PlayFest, Bay Area Playwrights Festival, O'Neill National Playwrights Conference, New York Theatre Workshop, Cape Cod Theatre Project and La Jolla Playhouse, among many, many others. She is one of the newest members of The Kilroys and was a writer for FX's The Americans. In her Artistic Statement, she tells us that "through Story we can climb inside others' lives, and quite possibly find understanding, empathy, unity and forgiveness." Her plays - which include Alligator and The Ghosts of Lote Bravo - reveal a writer who cares deeply about the possibility of change through human interaction.

Amas Musical Theatre (Donna Trinkoff, Artistic Producer), New York City's award-winning pioneer in diversity and multi-ethnic casting in the performing arts since 1968 and will celebrate its 50th Anniversary at its annual Gala Benefit Concert on Monday, April 1, 2019 at the The Angel Orensanz Foundation (172 Norfolk Street). Honorary Chair for the event is Academy Award-Winning actress and activist Whoopi Goldberg. Tony Award-winner Lillias White will be Mistress of Ceremonies evening.

The 13th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration has been rescheduled for Sunday, March 10, at 3:30 p.m., at Westport Country Playhouse. The event was postponed from its original date in January due to weather. The keynote speaker will be winner of the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Nonfiction James Forman, Jr., a professor of law at Yale Law School. Forman's Pulitzer Prize-winning book is "Locking Up Our Own: Crime and Punishment in Black America."

Throughout February, Queens Library will celebrate Black History Month with more than 100 free events and programs at all 62 of its branches. Inspired by Maya Angelou's works, this year's theme, "Black Migrations: Traveling Shoes," seeks to pay homage to the African-American diaspora, highlighting the movement and cultural contributions of people of African descent around the world.

'Bring it On' meets 'Dreamgirls' in the girl-group musical, 'Betty and the Belrays' by William Electric Black aka Ian Ellis James, which will be presented by Theater for the New City January 31 to February 17. The piece tells the story of three white female singers from Detroit who struggle to change a racially divided society by singing for a black record label. Book and lyrics are by William Electric Black. Music is by Black, Valerie Ghent (arranger/keyboards for Ashford & Simpson) and Gary Schreiner. Choreography is by Jeremy Lardieri. Director is Mr. Black.