January 28, 2009
Apollo Theater Kicks Off Its 75th Season
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Yesterday, the Apollo Theater celebrated its 75th birthday week by announcing special programming for the upcoming season. Besides its cornerstone Amateur Night at the Apollo on Wednesday nights (tonight's Amateur Night will be a birthday celebration with the first 750 tickets going for just $7.50), a big year is planned, full of concerts, panels, collaborations with other cultural institutions and a revival of a beloved musical.
The building's storied past, starting from January 26, 1934 with a performance from Ralph Cooper Sr, Benny Carter, and his orchestra (plus the "16 Gorgeous Hot Steppers"), was invoked numerous times during a press conference: The Apollo is where Ella Fitzgerald invented skat, where Aretha Franklin learned a proper curtsey, where Sarah Vaughn, James Brown and the Jackson Five all won Amateur Night. The Apollo's board chairman Richard Parsons said, "We really want to talk about what's next ... and keep the Apollo part of the constellation of cultural organizations that share our world."
Performers Dionne Warwick, Chuck Jackson and Savion Glover were on hand to recount their Apollo experience. Glover mentioned how the recently renovated dressing rooms were almost too nice and asked to go to a non-renovated area for the "vibe"; Jackson said, "When I performed here you had to run up and down the stairs to the fifth floor every half-hour. When I came here this morning, they gave me a dressing room with a television and a shower. Mr. Glover, you can have the upstairs.” And Warwick reminisced about former owner Frank "Pop" Schiffman's extremely discerning notes; Schiffman's notes for many performers will be displayed at the Smithsonian next year. And rising R&B singer Chanj, who has won Amateur Night, performed a beautiful rendition of "A Change is Gonna Come."
The new season's programming includes: The New Legends series' first concert featured Estelle and headliner John Legend, which starts next month; a series of free weekend Open Houses so the public can learn more about the theater; an oral history project with Columbia University featuring interviews with Smokey Robinson and many others; a collaboration with Carnegie Hall called Honor!, which features gospel and spiritual music (curated by Jessye Norman), in March; and the revival of a national tour of Dreamgirls premieres at the Apollo in November. Plus, a number of panels, lectures and other community programs are planned.
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