Staying Fit
The arts community has been hit hard this year, both creatively and economically, by the continuing pandemic and the ensuing tsunami of hardships: sick performers, theater closures, postponed tours, canceled seasons. As Black History Month begins, there’s no better way to show your support for Black artists than by booking tickets to a show. As we slowly return to in-person performances, consider these 10 plays, musicals, operas and dance concerts, by both up-and-comers and established legends such as Alvin Ailey and Alice Childress. For a window into Black history and the contemporary Black experience, these shows are just the ticket.
Fannie: The Music and Life of Fannie Lou Hamer by Cheryl L. West
Where to see it: Seattle Rep (Jan. 14–Feb. 13)
The premise: E. Faye Butler stars as the civil rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer in this inspiring one-woman show with music, which will have you clapping and singing along to its spirituals and protest songs. The daughter of a Mississippi sharecropper, Hamer cofounded the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, helped organize Freedom Summer and even ran for Congress.
Why you should see it: Seattle Rep is offering a number of Pay What You Choose tickets so everyone can see the show. Feeling inspired by the initiative? You can donate to help the cause.
Book a ticket: Seattle Rep
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Intimate Apparel by Lynn Nottage and Ricky Ian Gordon
Where to see it: Lincoln Center Theater, New York (Jan. 13–March 6)
The premise: The first woman to win two Pulitzer Prizes for Drama, Lynn Nottage, 57, has an astonishing three shows playing in New York this season. The latest is a sumptuous new opera — the first ever produced by Lincoln Center Theater — inspired by her 2003 play about an African American seamstress in 1905 New York who sews corsets and ladies’ undergarments.
Why you should see it: Director Bartlett Sher, 62, has had plenty of success with Lincoln Center Theater, winning a Tony for South Pacific and earning nominations for The Light in the Piazza, The King and I, My Fair Lady and more.
Book a ticket: Lincoln Center Theater
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Trouble in Mind by Alice Childress
Where to see it: The Old Globe, San Diego (Feb. 5–March 13)
The premise: In 1957, Alice Childress was set to premiere this scathing backstage comedy on Broadway, which would have made her the first Black female playwright to have a show on the Great White Way; when producers demanded too many edits, she pulled the production. The play, which follows a Black actress rehearsing for an anti-lynching play-within-a-play, finally made it to Broadway this season, where it opened to rapturous reviews, and it’s getting a new production at San Diego’s premiere theater.
Why you should see it: The Broadway production is probably going to make a big splash come this year’s Tonys; if you missed out on the New York run, you have another chance to see it.
Book a ticket: The Old Globe