Black Theatre United will celebrate Black History Month with a one-night-only talkback at The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts February 9.
Entitled Syncopated Stages: Black Disruptions to the Great White Way, the 6 PM discussion will focus on the current exhibit of the same name. BTU Founder and Vice President Michael McElroy will lead the talkback, discussing the significance of the exhibit, the curatorial process, and the historical impact of the works on display.
In the early 20th century, Black composers and writers created many popular musicals in New York that helped define the genre: New forms of syncopation, the disruption of the dominant rhythm, and narratives composed and written by Black artists challenged the prevailing sounds and depictions of Black people on stage. Syncopated Stages spotlights their work, acknowledges the challenges they faced, and celebrates the brilliance of what they made.
The talkback is free, though advance registration is required by clicking here.
McElroy has appeared on Broadway in Sunday in the Park With George, Next to Normal, Rent, Big River, The Who’s Tommy, and Miss Saigon. He is founder and artistic director of Broadway Inspirational Voices, the Tony-honored, Grammy-nominated gospel choir, and currently serves as Associate Dean of the Institute of Performing Arts and tenure professor in Arts & Public Policy at NYU Tisch School of the Arts.
Syncopated Stages: Black Disruptions to the Great White Way
is currently on view at The New York Public Library for the Performing
Arts through February 21. Learn more about the exhibit by clicking here. Get a look at the exhibit below.
Pencil rendering of a scenic design for the musical Street Scene. Design by Jo Mielziner (1947)
Usher costume from the original Broadway production of A Strange Loop. Design by Montana Levi Blanco (2022)
Costume design for Buddy in Jelly's Last Jam. Design by Toni-Leslie James (1991)
Program for the performance of Don’t Bother Me, I Can’t Cope at the Library for the Performing Arts two years before its Broadway run (1970)
Chapbook for The Wiz. Design by Ken Harper (1970s)
Costume for André De Shields in Ain’t Misbehavin’: The New Fats Waller Musical Show. Design by Mary Bassel (1978)
Thalmus Rasulala (then known as Jack Crowder), Emily Yancy, Pearl Bailey, and Winston DeWitt Hemsley in the 1967 cast of the original Broadway production of Hello, Dolly!
Costume and shoes for Lisa La Touche in Shuffle Along, 2016. Costume design by Ann Roth. Shoes by LaDuca Shoes.
Scenic design for Shuffle Along. Design by Perry Watkins (1945)
Bubbling Brown Sugar tour program. Designed by George Breslow Associates, NYC (1977)
Advertisement for Out of Bondage. Lithograph by J.E. Baker (1876)
Portrait of Aida Overton Walker (1910)
