Spike Lee News

From September 9—15, acclaimed artist Martine Syms gathers together an eclectic group of films that influenced her debut feature, The African Desperate, for the series Martine Syms' Influences featuring indie classics, hidden gems by major directors, and avant-garde pieces by contemporary visual artists. The series leads into a run of Syms' The African Desperate opening at BAM September 16.

Icons Dee Dee Bridgewater and Savion Glover come together in both solo sets and together for an evening of jazz, dance, and improvisation like you’ve never seen before. Over the course of a multifaceted career spanning four decades, Grammy and Tony Award-winning jazz giant Dee Dee Bridgewater has ascended to the upper echelon of vocalists, putting her unique spin on standards, as well as taking intrepid leaps of faith in re-envisioning jazz classics.

The Hylton Performing Arts Center kicks off its 2022-2023 season of in-person programming this September and October 2022 with exciting performances as part of Hylton Presents, Hylton Family Series, and Matinee Idylls, plus performances by Hylton Center Arts Partners, the return of Arts Alive!, and a new lineup of workshops at the Hylton Center and offsite at Prince William Public Library locations as part of the Veterans and the Arts Initiative.

The New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) announced its upcoming 2022-23 season of dance including several anniversary celebrations and world premieres. The fall season begins with two shows melding dance and jazz music: famed Newark-born tap artist and dancemaker Savion Glover collaborates with jazz vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater (Nov 12)  followed by new works by New Jersey-based Carolyn Dorfman Dance featuring a live performance by renowned jazz violinist Regina Carter (Nov 16).

Kings Theatre is hosting the national tour of R.E.S.P.E.C.T. - the ultimate tribute to the legendary Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, October 6 – 8, 2022.

From producer Oprah Winfrey and directed by Reginald Hudlin, , the documentary features candid interviews with Denzel Washington, Halle Berry, Robert Redford, Lenny Kravitz, Barbra Streisand, Spike Lee and many more, the film is also produced by Derik Murray, in close collaboration with the Poitier family. Watch the new video trailer now!

The New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) announced the exciting line-up of the highly anticipated TD James Moody Jazz Festival. This year's program offers events combining jazz luminaries in collaboration with artists known for R&B, poetry, hip hop, and so much more.   

Mykki Blanco will release their new album, Stay Close To Music, via Transgressive. Adventurous and expansive, it shatters any previously held assumptions about Mykki’s artistry, leaving them free to define their sound for themselves. Foregoing samples, Mykki wanted to create their own sonic universe from scratch and to do so.

The American Film Institute announced today it will confer a Doctorate of Fine Arts degree honoris causa for contributions of distinction to the art of the moving image upon Michelle Yeoh, who will become the first Asian artist to receive the AFI honor; and a Doctorate of Communication Arts degree honoris causa upon AFI Trustee Emeritus Lawrence Herbert for his commitment to the mission of the American Film Institute.

 As it quickly approaches the completion of its first year providing responsive support to New York City's arts community, Chelsea Factory has announced upcoming programming through the end of 2022. Located at 547 West 26th Street, the recently renovated arts and community center presents public performances from a selection of its current cohort of resident artists and esteemed organizational partners to finish the year.

From August 12 through 25, BAM presents a series of cinematic masterpieces—all over the three-hour mark—that are sprawling in ambition and rich in observation and human insight.

Berkeley Repertory Theatre announced the full cast and creative team for the world premiere musical, Goddess. The musical stage production is conceived and directed by Saheem Ali, music and lyrics by Michael Thurber, and written by Jocelyn Bioh. Previews begin Saturday, August 13, and the show runs through Sunday, September 25.

On July 28, Chester Theatre Company (CTC) will begin its two-week run of Pass Over, the show that reopened Broadway in 2021.

Beginning July 29, BAM presents a new restoration of Ayoka Chenzira's previously unreleased feature film Alma's Rainbow (1993) screening with a new restoration of Chenzira's short film Hair Piece: A Film for Nappyheaded People (1984).

Inspired by Jordan Peele's blockbuster horror film 'Get Out,' Hutchinson has crafted a Dickensian morality play with 'Whitelisted,' set in a predictably bland, hoity-toity, newly-renovated white lady's apartment in Bedford-Stuyvesant.

Additional casting has been announced for the upcoming Broadway production of Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman. Opening night is set for Sunday, October 9 at the Hudson Theatre, and the show will run for a strictly limited 17-week engagement starting Monday, September 19.

Beginning July 15, BAM presents Nana Mensah's debut feature film Queen of Glory. Premiering on the festival circuit in 2021, the film garnered seven awards, including Best New Narrative Director at the Tribeca Film Festival.

The Story Theatre will present the Chicago premiere of MARIE ANTOINETTE AND THE MAGICAL NEGROES, written and directed by Chicago playwright and Governing Ensemble Member Terry Guest. This new play, which explores rebellion and Black liberation through the lens of the French Revolution, will play June 30 – July 17, 2022.

Manhattan Theatre Club has announced full casting and performance dates for Where the Mountain Meets the Sea, written by AUDELCO Award nominee Jeff Augustin (The New Englanders, “The Morning Show”) and directed by Princess Grace Award winner Joshua Kahan Brody, with music by The Bengsons (Hundred Days, The Lucky Ones).

Playwrights Horizons has extended Will Arbery’s Corsicana, directed by Tony winner Sam Gold, one week, to July 17, due to popular demand. The world premiere production opened Wednesday, June 22.