Cast Announced for National Black Theatre & Apollo Theater Concert Reading Of WiLDFLOWER

The Apollo Theater Salon Series in partnership with Dr. Barbara Ann Teer's National Black Theatre (NBT) will present WiLDFLOWER, the staged concert reading of the full-length musical with book, music and lyrics by Jason Michael Webb and Lelund Durond Thompson. The performance, directed by Logan Vaughn and starring Broadway stars Tshidi Manye (The Lion King) and Quentin Earl Darrington (Once on this Island), will take place at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, April 26, and Saturday, April 27, on the Apollo Theater Soundstage.

 

WiLDFLOWER is part of the Apollo's Salon series, the Theater's new works program which began in 2016 to support innovative artists and works-in-progress. The Salon Series extends the Apollo's commitment to the creation of new, innovative works that draw upon the Theater's rich legacy to support emerging and established artists. The event and collaboration are a part of National Black Theatre's 50th anniversary season and its program NBT Beyond Walls, which sees the historic institution producing activities citywide, nationally and internationally.

 

"We are particularly proud to be partnering with another cultural anchor such as the National Black Theatre and to be presenting such a piece that speaks not only to our current cultural climate but to the ability of the two creators whose talent is limitless," said Apollo Theater Executive Producer Kamilah Forbes. "As the Apollo is now expanding, and we are making more room for works such as these, we are ecstatic that WiLDFLOWER will now be part of Apollo history."

 

"We are so excited to be able to support these two masterful artist and craftsman in the development of WiLDFLOWER and for it to officially launch our partnership with the Apollo Theater feels extremely special," said NBT CEO Sade Lythcott. "WiLDFLOWER'S deeply moving message about love, faith and trusting Spirit in the face of adversity could not be more beautiful or timely. We hope that you will join us for incredible evening of rapturing song."

 

The musical WiLDFLOWER follows a rebellious but devoted young mother who unwittingly meets a Sangoma (traditional healer), learns her ancestors' purpose for her young son, and then must choose between the cost of obeying her ancestors or the higher cost of defying them. Set in the tumult of the early '90s in both South Africa and the U.S., the show features an exciting South African pop and gospel score. WiLDFLOWER is inspired by the life of Manye, the South African actress who has played Rafiki, the Lion King's narrator, on and off since 2007. Support for WiLDFLOWER was made possible by an NBT grant that funded a two-week research trip to South Africa for the artists.

 

The cast includes Manye and Darrington, as well as Tamara Fingal, Bre Jackson, Pearl Khwezi and Mduduzi Madela. The show also features Orlando Dixon, Ayana George, Carlton Terrence Taylor, Lia Holman and Phindile Mkhize Wilson. Kevin Boseman is choreographer and Kevin Bannerman is dramaturg.

 

The Apollo Theater - Soundstage is located at 253 West 125th Street, New York, NY 10027

 

Tickets are $20 and are available at https://bit.ly/2VlaHyB. Run time is 75 to 90 minutes.

 

The legendary Apollo Theater - the soul of American culture - plays a vital role in cultivating emerging artists and launching legends. Since its founding, the Apollo has served as a center of innovation and a creative catalyst for Harlem, the city of New York, and the world.

 

With music at its core, the Apollo's programming extends to dance, theater, spoken word, and more. This includes special programs such as the blockbuster concert Bruno Mars Live at the Apollo, 100: The Apollo Celebrates Ella, the annual Africa Now! Festival and the New York premiere of the opera We Shall Not Be Moved. The Apollo is a performing arts presenting organization that also produces festivals and large-scale dance and music works organized around a set of core initiatives that celebrate and extend the Apollo's legacy through a contemporary lens; global festivals including the Women of the World (WOW) Festival and Breakin' Convention, international and U.S.-based artist presentations focused on a specific theme; and Special Projects, multidisciplinary collaborations with partner organizations.

 

Since introducing the first Amateur Night contests in 1934, the Apollo Theater has served as a testing ground for new artists working across a variety of art forms and has ushered in the emergence of many new musical genres - including jazz, swing, bebop, R&B, gospel, blues, soul and hip-hop. Among the countless legendary performers who launched their careers at the Apollo are D'Angelo, Lauryn Hill, Machine Gun Kelly, Miri Ben Ari, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday, James Brown, Michael Jackson, Gladys Knight, Luther Vandross and Stevie Wonder; and the Apollo's forward-looking artistic vision continues to build on this legacy.

 

Founded by visionary Dr. Barbara Ann Teer in 1968, National Black Theatre (NBT) is a nationally recognized cultural and educational institution. Dr. Teer pioneered "the healing art of Black theater as an instrument for wholeness in urban communities where entrepreneurial artists of African descent live and work." In 1983, Dr. Teer expanded the vision of NBT by purchasing a 64,000-square-foot building on 125th Street and Fifth Avenue (renamed "National Black Theatre Way" by local law in 1994). This was the first revenue-generating Black arts complex in the country, an innovative arrangement through which for-profit businesses who shared NBT's spiritual and aesthetic values rented retail space to subsidize the arts. Out of her vision, NBT houses the largest collection of Nigerian New Sacred Art in the Western hemisphere and is considered the authentic representation of a model whose time has come. NBT is supported by grants from the Ford Foundation, New York Community Trust, Time Warner Corporation. Howard Gilman Foundation, Jerome Foundation, Andrew Mellon Foundation, City Council of New York, City of New York Department of Cultural Affairs, Columbia Service Society and private donations. Visit www.nationalblacktheatre.org.

 

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