Winter/Spring 2022
Like the historic Harlem Renaissance which emerged out of the darkness of the Jim Crow South, a new revival of artistic, creative, and innovative expression has been inspired by the truths exposed in the wake of the pandemic.
The Apollo responds with a season of signature programs, audience favorites, and thrilling new works by artists who are pushing the boundaries of their artforms while expanding the canon of African American works. At the intersection of artistry and activism, these insightful and timely presentations honor our storied past, examine our present, and look ahead to our bold future.
Season Brochure
Half Off For Harlem
Harlem residents, employees, business owners, and students can save 50% on tickets to select performances throughout the season.
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Through Arts & Ideas programs, the Apollo presents a diverse array of thought-leaders, experts, and visionary artists that explore the creative process and address topical issues of today.
Uptown Hall Apollo Young Producers Ta-Nehisi Coates and Black Thought
The Apollo’s Live Wire series was created to spark deeper insight and consideration of the contribution of Black arts and culture to the broader American canon. These electrifying events feature discussion with impromptu performative elements that shed new light on the timely topics of today.
Black Notes/Femme Futures Bridging the Diaspora From the Archives The Sound of Social Justice
Apollo Music Cafe
For 11 years, the Apollo Music Café has served as a launching pad for numerous artists, showcasing their unique artistry in an intimate nightclub setting that serves as a timely throwback to the Renaissance.
Liv Warfield Africa Now! - Nkumu Katalay and DJ YBSamara Joy
Apollo Comedy Club
Presented in partnership with Bob Sumner (producer of Def Comedy Jam, creator of LaffMobb on Aspire), the Apollo Comedy Club celebrates these rich comedic roots with an evening of comedy on the Apollo’s intimate Soundstage to serve as a late-night hotspot featuring the best emerging talent in comedy today.
The Apollo has a long history of launching the careers of countless legendary artists and performers in a variety of genres, including comedy. Comedic legends Richard Pryor, Redd Foxx, Monique, Jamie Foxx and Jackie Mabley (a.k.a. Moms) have all delighted audiences from the Apollo stage.
January Comedy Club Africa Now! Comedy ClubMay Comedy Club
Returns Wednesday, February 16, 2022! Check out our calendar for the full schedule for Amateur Night at the Apollo.
After nearly two years of being dark, the classic competition returns to shed light on the careers of a whole new roster of stars. Be a part of the notoriously “tough” audience in an interactive evening unlike any other, and lend your voice to decide who will “Be Good or Be Gone” to win the triumphant $20,000 grand prize.
Coca-Cola is the lead sponsor of Amateur Night at the Apollo
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Music and entertainment from the continent continues to drive trends across all facets of culture around the globe. The Apollo’s Africa Now! Festival returns for its eighth year to celebrate the best cultural innovators from the African Diaspora.
Apollo Comedy Club Apollo Music Café Film: Queen of Glory Apollo Live Wire Somi and Friends
Apollo Film and Imagenation's Cocktails and Cinema
ImageNation, an innovative Harlem-based company, partners with the Apollo to present premieres and advance screenings. The series features films, primarily directed by people of color, that explore the history, examine social issues, and highlight the humanity of Pan-African people in the genres of drama, science fiction, animation, comedy, documentary, experimental,and emerging media.
Film: Queen of GloryFilm: It's Different in Chicago
Career Panels at the Apollo feature interviews and panel discussions with theater, music, and media industry professionals, with a focus on professions behind the scenes in the arts and entertainment industries.
Costume Design Crossfade
Lyricist Lounge 30th Anniversary Celebration
Saturday, April 16 at 8 pm ET
What began as a regular gathering of some of New York's best underground MCs at various locations around New York City has grown into one of hip hop’s most recognized platforms, showcasing newcomers and veterans alike on national concert tours, albums, documentaries, and the popular MTV sketch comedy series, The Lyricist Lounge Show.
Celebrate 30 years of the iconic Lyricist Lounge at this not-to-be-missed event.
Artists to be announced at a later date.
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Commissioned by the Apollo, New Black Fest features new 10-minute plays by 18 contemporary playwrights over the course of three readings and a panel discussion with the artists that speak to the themes of creating new artistic work during the Harlem Renaissance, and how these thematic ties relate to our own current moment.
Celebrate 30 years of the iconic Lyricist Lounge at this not-to-be-missed event.
Playwrights in Conversation Readings - April 22, 23 & 25
Kuzaliwa: A Harlem Walking Tour with Black Gotham Experience
Saturday, April 23 at at 11 am, 2 pm, and 4 pm ET
Derived from the Swahili word meaning “birth,” Kuzaliwa is a suite of creative works by Kamau Ware and the Black Gotham Experience that reflect upon the legacies of the Harlem Renaissance.
Explore this fervent area in a 90-minute walking tour that serves as a means to connect with the inner self, the environment, and the relevance of Black creativity and political awakening. Commissioned by the Apollo, the walk celebrates Harlem as a melting pot of creativity for thinkers and artists from across the African Diaspora.
Please note: audiences will gather at the historic Apollo to begin their walk throughout the neighborhood.
Leadership support for the Apollo New Works initiative is provided by the Ford Foundation. The New Black Fest is funded by the HBO Fund for Theater, The Black Seed, and is also supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. Commissioning support for Soul Science Lab is provided by the New York State Council on the Arts.
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This new evening-length work, co-commissioned by the Apollo, brings the ancestral tradition of the Ring Shout into a contemporary context, taking audiences on a sonic quest rooted in the ritual tradition with a diverse array of contemporary multidisciplinary artists. Anchored by an 80-member orchestra and a 50-voice choir composed of both professional and amateur singers from multiple African American churches and choral ensembles in New York, this not-to-be-missed event features new musical works including New York premieres by Carlos Simon and Joel Thompson paired with new commissions from Toshi Reagon, Jason Michael Webb, and Lelund Thompson created to honor our present need for a collective space of remembrance.
The Gathering
The Gathering Community Events
Uptown Hall Deep River: Black Currents in Classical Music Healing, Joy, and Liberation: Mental Health and the Arts Resistance and Healing: Engaging The Ring Shout
The Gathering: A Collective Sonic Ring Shout is generously supported by Art for Justice and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, with additional funding from JPMorgan Chase.
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