The New York City-based National Black Theatre (NBT) and The Apollo have teamed up for a one-night-only performance of The Gathering: A Collective Sonic Ring Shout, presented June 1 at the Opera House at The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Part of The Kennedy Center's week-long Conflux partnership with NBT, the evening is a celebration featuring orchestral, choral, gospel and soul choral music. Watch a trailer for the event in the video above.
The Gathering features Nona Hendryx, Abby Dobson, Toshi Reagon, Joel Thompson, Carlos Simon, Courtney Bryan, Troy Anthony and more, with virtual host Mahogany L. Browne. The show also features the American Composers Orchestra, conducted by Chelsea Tipton, II, and NEWorks Voices of Inspiration, led by Nolan Williams, Jr., with a creative concept and direction by NBT Artistic Director Jonathan McCrory.
The multidisciplinary work was originally performed to a sold-out audience at The Apollo in 2022. According to press notes, the night has been curated in the African tradition of call and response to include original works by genre-defying Black artists. The experience centers joy, liberation, and love as a form of possibility and resistance.
The Kennedy Center's Conflux partnership with NBT will include a week of family-friendly programming May 26-June 2. With performances, social practice demonstrations, classes, and discussions curated by NBT, the partnership will provide a space for dialogue and to unearth compounded narratives surrounding the Black Diaspora in America. All programming will take place on the Kennedy Center campus. Click here for a full lineup.
National Black Theatre is a Tony and Emmy Award-nominated institution founded in 1968 by the late visionary artist Dr. Barbara Ann Teer. NBT uses theatre arts as a means to educate, enrich, entertain, empower and inform the national conscience around current social issues.
Visit NationalBlackTheatre.org.
