Rome Neal News

Nonstop theater, a costume competition and ballroom dancing will bewitch the East Village October 31 in the Village Halloween Costume Ball, which is presented annually by Theater for the New City (TNC), 155 First Avenue.  This unique festival continues as a grand coming-together for real witches, everyday New Yorkers and artists alike. An explosive fall tradition, it is always held on the actual night of Halloween and celebrates artistic creation and fertilization.

Playwright Samuel Harps discusses the story behind his latest play CLOVER

2019 Tony winner Andre De Shields has been attending The National Black Theatre Festival® (NBTF) in Winston-Salem, N. C. since 1995. Dubbed the 'Black Theatre Holy Ground,' NBTF is the international outreach program of the North Carolina Black Repertory Company, founded by the late Larry Leon Hamlin in 1979. The Festival, also founded by Hamlin, has been held biennially since 1989. The NCBRC celebrated its 40th anniversary this year, while the NBTF celebrated its 30th.

2019 Tony Award winner André De Shields spent his day off from HADESTOWN at The National Black Theatre Festival® (NBTF) in Winston-Salem, NC.

The Billie Holiday Theatre at RestorationART, in association with Kenny Leon's True Colors Theatre Company, is presenting Colman Domingo's Dot under the direction of Tony Award-winning director Kenny Leon (American Son currently on Broadway starring Kerry Washington, A Raisin in the Sun and August Wilson's Fences) and starring Emmy Award-winning Billie Holiday Theatre alumna Denise Burse ('Black Mirror,' Tyler Perry's 'House of Payne') as Dotty. The production began previews on October 20th, opened on October 25th and will run through November 18th at The Billie Holiday Theatre, 1368 Fulton Street, Brooklyn, NY 11216. Scroll down for full coverage of the evening's festivities.

Nonstop theater, a costume competition and ballroom dancing will bewitch the East Village in Theater for the New City's 42nd annual Village Halloween Costume Ball on Monday, October 31 at TNC, 155 First Avenue. This unique festival continues as a grand coming-together for real witches, everyday New Yorkers and artists alike. An explosive fall tradition, the event is held annually on the actual night of Halloween and celebrates artistic creation and fertilization.

In 'Life Among the Aryans,' an American political satire by Ishmael Reed, directed by Rome Neal, the time is the future and the political pendulum has swung way back.

Nonstop theater, a costume competition and ballroom dancing will bewitch the East Village in Theater for the New City's Village Halloween Costume Ball today, October 31 at TNC, 155 First Avenue.

Nonstop theater, a costume competition and ballroom dancing will bewitch the East Village in Theater for the New City's 41st annual Village Halloween Costume Ball on Monday, October 31 at TNC, 155 First Avenue.

Nonstop theater, a costume competition and ballroom dancing will bewitch the East Village in Theater for the New City's Village Halloween Costume Ball on Tuesday, October 31 at TNC, 155 First Avenue.

Nonstop theater, a costume competition and ballroom dancing will bewitch the East Village in Theater for the New City's 41st annual Village Halloween Costume Ball on Monday, October 31 at TNC, 155 First Avenue.

T.K. Blue's latest release 'Amour' (May 12 - Dot Time Records) is a musical homage to the time he spent in Paris. 'Amour' is Blue's 11th album as a leader and features a selection of original material mixed with arrangements of jazz classics, including Wayne Shorter's 'Infant Eyes' and John Coltrane's 'Resolution'.

Veteran comedy performers Angela Scott (left) and  Rhonda "Passion" Hansome (right) greeted noted director/producer/jazz vocalist Rome Neal (center) following their presentation at the February 2016 meeting of the Harlem Arts Alliance at MIST Harlem, where the duo promoted their March 3rd comedy showcase "Laughing At the Duplex.'

Theater for the New City presents SCRATCH NIGHT at TNC (Michael Scott-Price, Curator) on Tuesday, December 22nd at 7pm ($5 Suggested Donation), featuring Dare to be Black by Tommie J. Moore. This work-in-progress presentation is directed by Rome Neal.

During its 40th anniversary season, the Nuyorican Poets Cafe will present the world premiere of acclaimed writer Ishmael Reed's new play 'The Final Version'. The play follows Lee Ransom, a writer who struggles with tensions between Communist ideology and commercial success from the 1930s through the 1960s. Ishmael Reed's poetry, prose and plays have been honored with fellowships from the MacArthur and Guggenheim Foundations and the National Endowment for the Arts; his work has also been nominated for the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Awards. 'The Final Version' stars Rome Neal as Lee Ransom. Neal, who has been recognized with an Obie and multiple Audelco awards for his theatrical work, also directs the production.

The Nuyorican Poets Cafe will commemorate its 40th Anniversary with a range of new multi-arts performances, retrospective events and infrastructure upgrades. Beginning with preview events this summer, the Cafe's 40thAnniversary season will showcase the work of dozens of poets, playwrights, actors, musicians, burlesque performers, multimedia artists and educators.

Underground stars perform each year in TNC's Halloween Cabarets. Guests will see, be seen and vie for costume prizes. Celebrants will sink fangs into Halloween delicacies in The Witches' Cauldron.

Underground stars perform each year in TNC's Halloween Cabarets. Guests will see, be seen and vie for costume prizes. Celebrants will sink fangs into Halloween delicacies in The Witches' Cauldron.

Fourth Arts Block's member organizations are offering an alternative to pricey Broadway outings with 15 theater plays and shows for $20 or less this April.

Fourth Arts Block's member organizations are offering an alternative to pricey Broadway outings with 15 theater plays and shows for $20 or less this April.