Crossroads Theatre Company Announces 2021-2022 Season

A bold new vision for Crossroads Theatre Company titled Crossroads Festival Theatre is opening the 2021 - 2022 season of the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center (NBPAC), Crossroads announced today. Crossroads Festival Theatre consists of two installments: Fall Festival and Spring Festival, running September 22 - October 10, and June 7 to June 26, 2022, respectively.

Crossroads will be partnering with theatre companies including Harlem's New Heritage Theatre and The Market Theatre in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Crossroads is also introducing the new Free Family Saturdays series of family friendly arts going experiences, from music to storytelling, with free arts making activities. The ever-popular Genesis Festival of New Works and New Voices returns April 4-April 17, 2022.

"Crossroads Festival Theatre elevates our company's commitment to creativity in the development of new plays and new writers, deepening community engagement and the involvement of the theatre in the pressing conversations of our day, and establishing a sense of vibrancy in the celebration of what theatre is and can mean to its community," said Ricardo Khan, Crossroads' Co-Founder and Artistic Director. Tickets go on sale beginning June 18. For more info, please visit www.crossroadstheatrecompany.org .

In 1999 under the direction of Khan, Crossroads Theatre Company made theatre history by becoming the recipient of the Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre in America, a first for a Black organization in this country.

Crossroads Theatre Company's 2021-2022 season follows:

WHEN DAY COMES:

A world premiere theatrical production with music, created in collaboration with and starring members of the legendary Grammy-nominated Sweet Honey in the Rock. Created and developed by Ricardo Khan and Sweet Honey in the Rock. This production spotlights civil rights and social justice issues and the effects of COVID on Black communities. "When day comes" are the first words of the poem "The Hill We Climb," that was written and recited by Amanda Gorman, America's youth poet laureate at the 2021 presidential inauguration.

EMERGENCY!

The Obie and AUDELCO Award winning play written and performed by Daniel KOA Beaty. A production of the Crossroads Theatre Company and the New Heritage Theatre in Harlem.

Emergency!'s precipitating event is the emergence of a slave ship from the depths of the Hudson River. The play, through its more than forty characters, all performed by Beaty, explores the depth and breadth of differing meanings of freedom across Black America. Produced by the Crossroads Theatre Company and Voza Rivers' New Heritage Theatre Group of Harlem, these two major Black theatres are partnering again to co-produce. Emergency! was originally produced in 2006 at the off-Broadway Public Theatre in New York City.

FREE FAMILY SATURDAYS SERIES:

One-hour musical performances by family music's leading artists.

The series kicks off with a launch party in honor of "Ready Set Go," musician bass player and singer Divinity Roxx's (former musical director for Beyonce) first album for young audiences. She is a protégé of world-renowned bassist Victor Wooten.

Fyütch is a music and social justice artist who combines Hip-Hop and visual storytelling, and whose song "Women in History" went to #1 on Sirius XM Kids Place Live.

Other artists to be announced.

NIGHTLY COMMUNITY READING SERIES:

Crossroads Theatre will be partnering with community organizations to present readings of new work, to inspire people to give voice to their artistry and promote the work of local artists.

April 4 - 17, 2022

GENESIS FESTIVAL OF NEW WORKS AND NEW VOICES: Richard Wesley, Nikkole Salter, Abena P.A. Busia plus four young writers to be determined. The Arthur Laurents Theatre.

FREEDOM RIDER:

The world premiere of a new play conceived by Ricardo Khan and co-written by Murray Horwitz, Nathan Louis Jackson, Ricardo Khan, Kathleen McGee Anderson, and Nikkole Salter. Freedom Rider tells the story of young volunteers who train in non-violence in order to desegregate the interstate bus system in 1961.

TEXT ME WHEN YOU ARRIVE:

In the tradition of Woza Albert, three women present a satirical look at gender-based violence. Poignant and sharply funny. Produced by The Market Theatre Laboratory, the educational arm of world-famous The Market Theatre in Johannesburg, South Africa and in collaboration with Crossroads Theatre Company. This production marks the North American premiere of this play.

FREE FAMILY SATURDAYS SERIES:

One-hour musical performances by family music's leading artists. The series kicks off with Falu's Bazaar, whose beautiful traditional and contemporary melodies and rhythms introduce young audiences to the beauty of India. Grammy nominated for best Children's Album.

Other artists to be announced.

NIGHTLY COMMUNITY READING SERIES:

Crossroads Theatre Company works with the community to inspire people to give voice to their artistry and promote the work of local artists.

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