Billie Holiday Theatre

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Coordinates: 40°40′N 73°56′W / 40.667°N 73.933°W / 40.667; -73.933
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The Billie Holiday Theatre
Map
Coordinates40°40′N 73°56′W / 40.667°N 73.933°W / 40.667; -73.933
Public transit"a" train"c" train Nostrand Avenue station
OwnerBedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation
Capacity218
Construction
OpenedMay 1972
Renovated2015
ArchitectMurphy Burnham & Buttrick Architects
Website
http://thebillieholiday.org

The Billie Holiday Theatre (aka the "Billie," or the "BHT,") is an AUDELCO and Obie Award-winning theatre that aims to provide "complete and authentic portrayals" of the African diaspora experience, as well as "artistic and institutional residencies and ... educational programming to people of all ages."[1]

Founded in 1972, with roots in both the Civil Rights and the Black Arts Movements, the Billie has been called "one of the nation’s premier Black playhouses."[2] In 2023, it was recognized with a National Medal of the Arts, the nation's highest arts award.[3] U.S. President Joe Biden called the theater "an incredible place ... nurturing a new generation of Black playwrights, performers.”[4][5]

The first Black theatre to transfer a hit play to Broadway, along with 50 percent of the financing from the Black community, the Billie has cultivated some of the "[n]ation’s most renowned Black actors, writers, designers, and musicians," including Lena Horne, Smokey Robinson, Ben Vereen, Samuel L. Jackson and Jay-Z.[1][2][5] In 2020, the Billie was awarded a $5 million-dollar "Black Seed" grant by the Mellon Foundation to help Black theatres nationwide "forge national partnerships and new commissions."[5] In 2022, the New York State Senate marked the Billie's 50th Anniversary with a commemorative resolution in recognition of its contributions.[6]

History[edit]

Franklin A. Thomas, the first Black President of the Ford Foundation, used his position to revitalize his hometown neighborhood of Bedford-Stuyvesant through the Bedford-Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation, America's first community development corporation, resulting in the 218-seat Billie.[7][8][9]

Thomas’ vision for the Billie was “to expose the second largest black community in America to the arts while providing an outlet for local talent.”[7] Marjorie Moon was appointed the theatre's executive director.[7] Under Moon, the "theatre built a community audience by placing Bedford Stuyvesant citizens on the theatre’s board.” [7]

Renovation[edit]

Photo of award ceremony in which President Joe Biden presents the National Medal of Arts to the Billie Holiday Theatre.
President Joe Biden presents the 2023 National Medal of the Arts to Blondel Pinnock on behalf of the Billie Holiday Theatre at the National Arts and Humanities Medal Ceremony, Tuesday, March 21, 2023, in the East Room of the White House. (Official White House Photo by Cameron Smith)

In 2015, the theatre moved to Fort Greene for two years while the Bedford-Stuyvesant location was being renovated.[10][11] The renovations to The Billie Holiday Theatre were designed by MBB Architects.[12][13] The newly renovated theater reopened in May 2017 at 1368 Fulton Street, inside the Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation's Restoration Plaza, and is part of a $6 million superblock in Bedford-Stuyvesant, which is slated to eventually house an ice-skating rink and a supermarket, in addition to the theatre.[7][14]

Notable performers[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "ABOUT". THE BILLIE HOLIDAY THEATRE. Retrieved 2024-03-22.
  2. ^ a b "IN N.Y., ALL THE WORLD'S OUR STAGE NOW PLAYING ALL OVER TOWN: INTERNATIONAL & ETHNIC THEATER". New York Daily News. 1999-10-12. Retrieved 2024-03-22.
  3. ^ "Billie Holiday Theatre Receives National Medal of Arts". American Theatre. 2023-03-24. Retrieved 2023-04-13.
  4. ^ Culgan, Rossilynne Skena (5 April 2023). "Brooklyn's Billie Holiday Theatre just won the nation's most prestigious arts award". Time Out New York. Retrieved 2023-04-13.
  5. ^ a b c "The Billie Holiday Theatre". www.arts.gov. Retrieved 2024-03-22.
  6. ^ Zinerman, M. of A. (2021–2022). "Assembly Resolution No. 624". newyorkstatesenate.gov. Retrieved Mar 22, 2024.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h Hill, Errol, and James Vernon Hatch. A History of African American Theatre. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2003. Print.
  8. ^ Johnson, Kimberle' "Community Development Corporations, Participation and Accountability: The Harlem Urban Development Corporation and the Bedford-Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation." The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 594th ser. ANAALS.AAPSS (2004): n. pag. Sage Journals. Web.
  9. ^ "Billie Holiday Theatre at Restoration Plaza". Time Out New York.
  10. ^ "Wendell Pierce to open Bed-Stuy theater’s Fort Greene run". By Matthew Perlman, The Brooklyn Paper.
  11. ^ Stapinski, Helene (2017-03-15). "In Bedford-Stuyvesant, Ready for 'the Billie' to Return". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2018-03-07.
  12. ^ Abarbanel-Grossman, Alex (March–April 2018). "An Icon's Second Act" (PDF). Retrofit. pp. 62–67.
  13. ^ "Billie Holiday Theatre". MBB Architects. Retrieved 2024-03-22.
  14. ^ BWW News Desk. "Historic Billie Holiday Theatre to Reopen Next Week". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2018-03-07.
  15. ^ a b c TNJ Life, ed. "The Billie Holiday Theatre." The Network Journal Magazine Version (September 2008): n. pag. Sept. 2008. Web.
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