The Billie Holiday Theatre is as 218-seat theatre located in the New York neighborhood of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. It opened in May 1972, It was founded by the Bedford-Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation. The Billie Holiday Theatre is a nonprofit organization located at 1368 Fulton Street, inside the

Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation The Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation (or BSRC, referred to locally in short as Restoration) is a community development corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, and the first ever to be established in the United States. Background Dec ...

's Restoration Plaza, and is part of a $6 million Hill, Errol, and James Vernon Hatch. A History of African American Theatre. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2003. Print. superblock in Bedford-Stuyvesant eventually housing an ice-skating rink, a supermarket, and the theatre.

Theatre background

Franklin A. Thomas Franklin Augustine Thomas (May 27, 1934 – December 22, 2021) was an American businessman and philanthropist who was president and CEO of the Ford Foundation from 1979 until 1996. After leaving the foundation, Thomas continued to serve in leade ...

, 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. The $6 million unit housed the 218-seat Billie Holiday Theatre. Thomas’ concept behind the theatre was “to expose the second largest black community in America to the arts while providing an outlet for local talent.” Marjorie Moon was appointed as the theatre's executive director. Under Moon, “the theatre built a community audience by placing Bedford Stuyvesant citizens on the theatre’s board.” P20230321CS-0296

In 2015, the theater moved to Fort Greene for two years while the Bedford-Stuyvesant location was being renovated. The renovations to The Billie Holiday Theatre were designed by MBB Architects. The newly renovated theater reopened in May 2017. In 2023 the Billie Holiday Theatre received the National Medal of the Arts, the nation's highest arts award. U.S. President Joe Biden called the theater "an incredible place" that is "nurturing a new generation of Black playwrights, performers.”

Notable alumni

Well-known theatre actors who have performed at the Billie Holiday Theatre include

Samm-Art Williams Samm-Art Williams (born Samuel Arthur Williams; January 20, 1946) is an American playwright and screenwriter, and a stage and film/ TV actor and television producer. Much of his work concerns the African-American experience. He was nominated for ...

Samuel L. Jackson Samuel Leroy Jackson (born December 21, 1948) is an American actor and producer. One of the most widely recognized actors of his generation, the films in which he has appeared have collectively grossed over $27 billion worldwide, making him ...

Debbie Allen Deborah Kaye Allen (born January 16, 1950) is an American actress, dancer, choreographer, singer-songwriter, director, producer, and a former member of the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities. She has been nominated 20 times for an ...

Tichina Arnold Tichina Rolanda Arnold (; born June 28, 1969) is an American actress and singer. She began her career as a child actor, appearing in supporting roles in '' Little Shop of Horrors'' (1986) and ''How I Got into College'' (1989) before being cast as ...

,TNJ Life, ed. "The Billie Holiday Theatre." The Network Journal Magazine Version (September 2008): n. pag. Sept. 2008. Web.

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, and

Rondell Sheridan Rondell Jerome Sheridan (born August 15, 1958) is an American actor, comedian, and television director, best known for his four-year portrayal of Victor Baxter, the goofy-yet-lovable father of a psychic teenager, in the Disney Channel sitcom ...

Notable works

''Young Gifted and Broke'' (1977) by

Weldon Irvine Weldon Jonathan Irvine Jr. (October 27, 1943 – April 9, 2002), also known as Master Wel, was an American composer, playwright, poet, pianist, organist, and keyboardist. Biography Irvine, an African American, was born in Hampton, Virginia, on ...

ran for a record seventy-seven sold-out performances. In 2010 the theatre presented the award-winning play, ''What Would Jesus Do?''."Akin Babatunde, Daniel Beaty, Kenita Miller, and More Win 2010 Audelco Awards"
''Theatre Mania'', Dan Bacalzo • New York City • Nov 17, 2010

References

{{reflist Theatres in Brooklyn