we shall not be moved
Friday, Oct 6 / 8:00 pm
Saturday, Oct 7 / 8:00 pm
The Apollo Presents A New York Premiere Opera
Music by Daniel Bernard Roumain
Libretto by Marc Bamuthi Joseph
Directed & Choreographed by Bill T. Jones
Conducted by Viswa Subbaraman
Experience this genre-defying opera that combines spoken word, contemporary movement, video projection, classical, R&B and jazz influences. Inspired by the 1985 MOVE crisis in Philadelphia where a standoff between police and a Black liberation group resulted in the deadly bombing of a residential neighborhood, We Shall Not Be Moved explores that legacy today through five Philly teens who find power in family and resistance.
This invigorating chamber opera, is “ambitiously interdisciplinary,” according to Tony-Award winner Bill T. Jones (Fela!, Spring Awakening). He’s joined by Daniel Bernard Roumain, a Harlem based composer whose music blends genres into a vital, experiential sonic form and Marc Bamuthi Joseph – the acclaimed Haitian-American librettist whose bold poetically-driven work investigates social issues and cultural identity.
soundtrack '63
Saturday, Feb 24, 2018 / 8:00 p.m.
The Apollo Presents Soundtrack ‘63
A Soul Science Lab Production
Creative Direction by Chen Lo
Music Direction by Asanté Amin
Behind every movement is a soundtrack that inspires change. Experience the sights and sounds that shaped the music of an era. Soundtrack ‘63 is a live musical documentary and artistic retrospective of the African-American experience in America. This concert event connects generations using immersive video from and post- Civil Rights Movement along with spirituals, protest songs, hip-hop, jazz, funk, soul and popular 20th century music performed by an 18-piece orchestra and a soul stirring vocal ensemble along with commentary by Dr. Cornel West, and renowned poets Sonia Sanchez and Abiodun Oyewole of The Last Poets. Special guest performers to be announced soon!
“Chen Lo is a complete emcee but is perhaps best known for his clever lyricism.”
—OKAY PLAYER
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AFRICA NOW!
Saturday, Mar 3, 2018 / 8:00 P.M.
Featuring Black Coffee, Tony Allen & Jeff Mills, and Pierre Kwenders
Presented in partnership with World Music Institute
Now in its sixth season, this annual concert celebrates the best of today’s African music scene. DJ and producer Black Coffee has experienced a meteoric rise to fame with a penchant for fresh sophisticated Afropolitan house music that’s sculpturaly balanced and beautiful. For the first time in the United States, the Apollo unites two legends to bring Afrobeat and techno together: Nigerian Afrobeat pioneer and original drummer for Fela Kuti, Tony Allen collaborates live with brilliant techno music DJ and producer Jeff Mills. Singer/songwriter Pierre Kwenders’ music ranges from R&B to electronic and futuristic hip-hop, all rooted in Congolese rumba, the ubiquitous sound of The Democratic Republic of Congo.
Between the World and Me
MONDAY, APRIL 2, 2018 / 8:00PM
TUESDAY, APRIL 3, 2018 / 8:00PM
Apollo Theater presents A World Premiere Theatrical Performance Book by Ta-Nehisi Coates
Developed and Directed by Kamilah Forbes
Original Score by Jason Moran
Co-Commissioned by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
In a profound work that pivots from the biggest questions about American history and ideals to the most intimate concerns of a father for his son, Ta-Nehisi Coates’ “Between the World and Me,” offers a powerful framework for understanding our nation’s history, the idea of race, and current crisis.
The live performance event will be a presentation of excerpted selections, read monologue-style by notable guest artists with newly composed music by pianist Jason Moran (“Selma,” “Netflix’s 13th,” Apollo Presents Harlem Nights/U Street Lights), direction by Apollo Executive Producer Kamilah Forbes (Broadway’s Stickfly, NBC’s “The Wiz”), and interactive visual storytelling by projection media artists.
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