Charles McKinney
at a previous Black History Symposium (Photo: Courtesy Jennifer Sharp)
Black History Month, as we all know, is a month dedicated to celebrating Black culture, the history of Black people, and the willingness one must have to learn more about it. Black History Month is coming to an end soon and what better way to close out the month than by attending the final installment of the Black History Symposium Series?
The symposium, hosted by the Hattiloo Theatre, is intended to give people in the Memphis community the space to talk, share their experiences, and learn something new by discussing the struggles Black individuals have faced through storytelling. “The only way that a person can relay a thought is by telling stories. They tell a story of experience. They tell a story of a book that they read. They tell a story of a class that they took or a conference they attended,” says Ekundayo Bandele, executive director and founder of Hattiloo Theatre. “And so one of the things that we’re doing is looking at more ways of storytelling, and not just storytelling but culturally relevant storytelling.”
Bandele encourages anyone to come and let their voice be heard: to offer solutions, listen and ask questions, and think critically about the current situations that are affecting Black communities around the country. “There has to be a response, and a response isn’t necessarily the symposium itself. The response is from people to see that they are part of a community, for individuals to ask themselves questions that they may not have otherwise considered on their own,” says Bandele.
So far, two of the three symposia have already passed, having been led by keynote speakers Charles McKinney, associate professor of history at Rhodes College, and Charity Clay, visiting assistant professor of African-American history at Rhodes College. The final one will be this Saturday, February 22nd, from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., with president of the National Civil Rights Museum Russ Wigginton delivering the keynote address. There will be plenty of opportunity for discourse, and there will also be light refreshments available and two 15-minute breaks before the closing segment.
Robert Petkoff as Harold Zidler and the cast of the North American tour of Moulin Rouge! The Musical (Photo: Matthew Murphy | MurphyMade)
As the temperatures are cooling down, the Memphis arts scene is heating up — with exhibitions, performances, and unique experiences. See for yourself in our Fall Arts Guide.
“Dear Grandmother” Heather Howle explores themes of nostalgia and familial connection. ANF Architects, through Oct. 17
“Troubling the Line: New Dimensions in Drawing” The works of Melissa Dunn, Terri Jones, Paula Kovarik, Mary Reid Kelley, and Patrick Kelley complicate the idea of drawing. Clough-Hanson Gallery, through Nov. 9
“All Rise: Memphis Bar Association at 150” Through arresting objects and powerful images, the exhibition showcases the Memphis Bar Association’s historical significance and continuing relevance. Museum of Science & History, through Nov. 10
“Bracelets, Bangles, & Cuffs” This collection of contemporary bracelets reveals the wide-ranging creativity of artists working in the jewelry form between 1948 and today. Metal Museum, through Nov. 17
“The 6 Points Artists” This exhibition features Sharon Havelka, Mary Jo Karimnia, Paula Kovarik, Carrol McTyre, Jennifer Sargent, and Mary K VanGieson. Bornblum Library, Southwest Tennessee Community College, through Nov. 27
“Andrea Morales: Roll Down Like Water” Andrea Morales’ first solo museum show features 65 photographs spanning her decade of photojournalism in Memphis and the Mid-South. Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, through January
“A Hidden Culture” Master Metalsmith Preston Jackson who gives voice to those overlooked in the history books. Metal Museum, through Jan. 26
“ANA•LOG” Lester Merriweather examines the concept of agency over Black visualization within American popular culture. Crosstown Arts, fall
Alex Paulus, “Size Matters” (Photo: Crosstown Arts)
“Size Matters” Alex Paulus’ current series focuses on the juxtaposition of small figures within expansive landscapes. Crosstown Arts, fall
“Still” Michelle Fair’s latest works delve into the process of painting. Crosstown Arts, fall
“Chromatic” This exhibit merges explores the two worlds of sounds and color in a synergistic full-bodied experience. Arrow Creative, October 3, 5:30-7:30 p.m.
“Two Rivers” Huger Foote captures the moments when day slowly turns to night from Memphis and the Mississippi Delta to the Hudson River Valley. David Lusk Gallery, Oct. 8-Nov. 16
“I Saw the Light in Your Eyes” Ceramic sculptors Renata Cassiano Alvarez and Anthony Sonnenberg work through complex ideas of identity through abstraction. Sheet Cake Gallery, Oct. 12-Nov. 23
“Our Love Is a Shady Garden” Yanira Vissepó studies the ecosystems between her birthplace in Puerto Rico and adopted home in Tennessee. Sheet Cake Gallery, Oct. 12-Nov. 23
MadameFraankie Works by MadameFraankie. Beverly + Sam Ross Gallery, October 21-December 8
“2024 Accessions to the Permanent Collection” This exhibition celebrations the more than 170 pieces added to the Metal Museum’s permanent collection. Metal Museum, November 27-November 2, 2025
ON STAGE
Concerts in the Grove GPAC presents some of the best musicians in the area in a park-like setting. The Grove at Germantown Performing Arts Center, select Thursdays, 6:30 p.m.
Sounds of Memphis Each week, a new Memphis powerhouse presents a unique concert — from the Handorf Company Arts of Opera Memphis to YOBREEZYE. Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, Thursdays, 6 p.m.
De Aquí y de Allá Accompany the courageous Don Quixote of La Mancha and his trusty sidekick, Sancho Panza, on an adventure full of fun, music, dance, culture and more. Orpheum Theatre, October 4-5
Paradise Blue This dynamic and musically infused drama shines light on the challenges of building a better future on the foundation of what our predecessors have left us. Hattiloo Theatre, through October 6
Girl from the North Country The Tony Award-winning musical reimagines Bob Dylan’s songs into a story about a group of wayward travelers. Orpheum Theatre, Oct.8-13
The Mousetrap Theatre Memphis presents this murder mystery. Theatre Memphis, Oct. 11-27
Lizzie: The Lizzie Borden Musical New Moon Theatre’s Lizzie is American mythology set to a blistering rock score. TheatreWorks@The Square, October 18-November 3
The Smell of the Kill This tantalizing dark comedy has malicious housewives and miserable husbands. Germantown Community Theatre, Oct. 18-Nov. 3
Amadeus: The Music and the Myth Opera Memphis explores Mozart through the lens of music from the award-winning movie Amadeus. Cannon Center for the Performing Arts, Oct. 19, 7:30 p.m.
Rumpelstiltskin A young girl is locked away until she spins straw into gold. Bartlett Performing Arts & Conference Center, Oct. 26, 2 p.m.
Moulin Rouge! The Musical Baz Luhrmann’s revolutionary film comes to life. Orpheum Theatre, Oct. 29-Nov.3
The Three Bs: Bach, Brahms, and Beethoven Memphis Symphony Orchestra presents. Crosstown Theater, Nov. 1, 6:30 p.m. | Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center, Nov. 3, 2:30 p.m.
Iris Collective Orchestra: Transformations Memphis-native Randall Goosby and conductor and Iris founder Michael Stern will be joined by the Germantown Youth Symphony. Germantown Performing Arts Center, Nov. 2, 7:30 p.m.
Taikoproject Taikoproject traces the history and lore of the ancient Japanese drums. Buckman Performing Arts Center, Nov. 7, 7 p.m.
The Orchestra Unplugged: Leonard Bernstein Music director Robert Moody of the Memphis Symphony Orchestra guides audiences through the life and legacy of the American Maestro. Halloran Centre, Nov. 8, 7:30 p.m.
Junie B. Jones: Toothless Wonder This family-friendly show takes audiences on a humorous journey of growing up with Junie B. Jones. The Circuit Playhouse, Nov. 8-Dec. 22
Parallel Lives Two actresses play men and women struggling through the common rituals of modernity. Theatre Memphis, Nov. 8-23
The Wizard of Oz Dorothy isn’t in Kansas anymore. Playhouse on the Square, Nov. 15-Dec. 22
The Rake’s Progress Opera Memphis presents Igor Stravinsky’s neoclassical opera. Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center, Nov. 22, 7:30 p.m. | Nov. 24, 3 p.m.
NutRemix New Ballet Ensemble sets The Nutcracker on Memphis’ iconic Beale Street. Cannon Center for the Performing Arts, Nov. 23-24
Peter Pan This high-flying musical comes to Memphis. Orpheum Theatre, Nov. 26-Dec. 1
Who’s Holiday Cindy Lou Who returns in this riotously funny and heartwarming adults-only comedy. Circuit Playhouse, Nov. 22-Dec. 22
A Motown Christmas Celebrate the holiday season with this musical of all your favorite Motown tunes. Hattiloo Theatre, Nov. 22-Dec. 22
Twelfth Night Shakespeare’s most charming comedy finds itself on the Tabor Stage. Tennessee Shakespeare Company, Dec. 6-22
A Christmas Carol ’24 Theatre Memphis presents this holiday classic. Theatre Memphis, December 6-23
Bright Star Steve Martin and Edie Brickell’s bluegrass musical tells a story of love and redemption in 1920s and ’40s North Carolina. Bartlett Performing Arts & Conference Center, Dec. 6-8
Tía Pancha Tía Pancha is Cazateatro’s bilingual adaptation of the classic A Christmas Carol but with a Latin and female twist. TheatreWorks@The Evergreen, Dec. 6-14
A Charlie Brown Christmas: Live on Stage The whole family can enjoy this adaptation of Charles M. Schulz’s timeless story. Orpheum Theatre, Dec. 7, 2 p.m., 5 p.m., 7:30 p.m.
The Nutcracker Ballet Memphis’ production of this holiday classic returns. Orpheum Theatre, Dec. 13-15
AROUND TOWN
Art Club The Brooks’ Art Club with Mallory Sharp gives participants an in-depth look at a different work of art each month. Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, monthly
Appetite for the Arts Enjoy a picnic and/or food truck fare while feasting your eyes on music and dance films. The Grove at Germantown Performing Arts Center, Wednesdays in October, 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
Super Saturdays Enjoy free drop-in art making workshops for families and free admission to the Brooks. Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, Saturdays, 10:30 a.m.-noon
Free Family Day On the second Saturday of the month, the Stax has live music, outdoors, food trucks, games and activities, arts and crafts for children, and free admission to the entire museum. Stax Museum of American Soul Music, second Saturdays of the month, 1-5 p.m.
Artoberfest Off the Walls Arts showcases Memphis artists and musicians for a day of music, vendors, a costume contest, activities, and fun. Off the Walls Arts, Oct. 5, 2-10 p.m.
V&E Greenline Artwalk 2024 Meet and shop from local artists, and enjoy music, entertainment, children’s activities, and artist demonstrations. V&E Greenline, Oct. 7, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
Paint Memphis A hundred or so artists will be painting murals all day long and it’s a spectacle to behold. Willet and Lamar, October 12, noon-7 p.m.
Come as Thou Art Guests will don their most imaginative attire, either inspired by the night’s theme — the world of Tim Burton — or the spirit of a designer. The evening will be capped off with a fashion show by Sonin Lee. Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, Oct. 18, 8 p.m.
Art on Fire Enjoy tastings from local restaurants, live music, thrilling fire dancers, and a vibrant art sale — all set around a roaring bonfire. Dixon Gallery & Gardens, Oct. 19, 7-11 p.m.
Dracula Party Celebrate Ballet Memphis’ reprise of Dracula and help raise critical funds to support its mission with a Halloween party where you can party like a vampire. Mollie Fontaine Lounge, October 19, 7:30-10:30 p.m.
Repair Days Bring your metal items to have them restored their former glory at the Metal Museum’s largest fundraiser, which also includes the Dinner + Auction and Family Fun Day, where visitors can participate in hands-on activities, explore the galleries, and watch metalsmith demonstrations. Metal Museum, Oct. 17-20
RiverArtsFest The region’s largest and longest running fine arts festival showcasing works from 200+ participating local and national artists returns with an artist market, artists-at-work demonstration station, hands-on artist station, performances, and plenty of food and beverages. Riverside Drive, Oct. 20, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
28th Annual Quilt & Fiber Arts Show and Sale View around 100 antique, vintage, and modern quilts, plus meet with vendors and demonstrators and see a new special exhibit. Davies Manor Historic Site, November 1-3, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
The Orpheum Soiree Enjoy an evening including glittering entertainment, live auction, specialty cocktails, exciting eats, and fun surprises. Orpheum Theatre, November 15, 7 p.m.
…
ARTSassist
In August, ARTSmemphis announced the inaugural distribution of ARTSassist grants to 22 individual artists, providing these artists in dance and visual arts an unrestricted $5,000. This makes it the only unrestricted grant program supporting individual artists in Shelby County.
The program comes as an expansion of a pre-pandemic grant program for visual artists, known as ArtsAccelerator. As ARTSmemphis CEO and president Elizabeth Rouse says, “About 10 years ago, thanks to some local artists in the community who asked questions of us, we began a grant program to support visual artists. … We started with visual artists because at the time, they had fewer other networks of support and fewer other opportunities to be hired.
(top) Dorian Rhea; (below) Therrious Davis (Photos: Courtesy ARTSmemphis)
“But that really, thankfully, put us in a position to launch an artist emergency fund for individual artists in 2020 as artists of all different types immediately lost work during the pandemic. And we supported about 800 artists during the pandemic with emergency funding totaling almost a million, right around $900,000. From 2020 through 2023, we focused on emergency and recovery funding, so coming out of 2023 we wanted to reintroduce an unrestricted grant for artists and expand it rather extensively.”
That meant bringing on an artist advisory committee made up of Memphis artists to make sure artists’ needs were met, and out-of-town jurors to select the grantees without local bias. That also meant, in addition to supporting the 22 selected grantees, partnering with Indie Memphis to support a filmmaker through Indie Memphis’ Black Creators Forum and partnering with Music Export Memphis (MEM) to support three musicians through its Ambassador Access program. “It was a way for us to be efficient and not create something new, but to support and complement,” Rouse says. “We hope, long-term, to be supporting even more types of artists. But it makes sense, just based on the makeup of artists in our community, that we start out with visual, dance, music, and film.”
This first cohort will use their grants for a variety of reasons, Rouse says. Therrious Davis, an illustrator, comic book artist, and occasional muralist, has used his grant money to buy a new computer and tablet. “I had this laptop for close to 10 years now,” Davis says. “It was starting to show signs of its age.”
Davis has been developing a comic project called Exodus of Love, premised on the question, ‘What if Cupid didn’t know what love was?’ But not having reliable or capable equipment has been holding him back from making headway. “The goal will be to make more videos following the development of the comic book project and to give people a chance to follow it from the ground up.” (You can follow Davis’ progress on Instagram @therrothekid.)
Meanwhile, choreographer Dorian Rhea plans to use his grant to fund future movement-based programming at the Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library. “It’s going to be jazz. It’s going to be social dance, known as hip-hop styles, accompanied by excerpts and texts to contextualize the history,” Rhea says. The classes will be for young kids and their parents, an experience that Rhea, as a new dad himself, hopes will “sow the seeds for much more later down the road.”
Rhea will also use his grant to attain a technique certification in Giordano dance, a style of jazz that originated in Chicago. “I’m hoping that with bringing that style to Memphis, we elevate the cultural exchange that I think is already taking place [between Chicago and Memphis],” he says. “Knowledge is power. Art is all about telling a story and communicating the narrative, sharing an experience, and so as someone who believes in art activism — using arts as a vehicle for creating change and sparking the catalyst for evolution, growth, progress — the more grounded my work is in the history of those who’ve come before, the richer I can articulate lessons.”
No matter their personal goal, Rouse says, “We know how important it is to have a strong community of artists and to be a city that is a city of choice for artists. They’re just so critical to our culture and our economy, so … we intend for this to be an annual grant.”
On Monday, in alignment with this goal, ARTSmemphis, in partnership with Music Export Memphis, also announced a new, first-ever Artist Emergency Fund for local artists, which will support artists in times of unexpected and catastrophic emergency. For more information on both of these grants, visit artsmemphis.org.
…
Andrea Morales: “Roll Down Like Water”
Andrea Morales has been making photographs since she was a child, and yes, “making photographs” is the right phrase here. Not taking photographs, capturing, or shooting. For Morales, these words are too aggressive to describe a process that is about building trust and intimacy between the photographer and the photographed individuals, or, as Morales calls them, her collaborators.
She’s been working in Memphis as a photojournalist for a decade now, making photographs of the community. You probably recognize her name from her work as the visuals director at MLK50: Justice Through Journalism, but she’s also been featured in The Atlantic, The Wall Street Journal, Rolling Stone, and TIME Magazine, among many others. Now, to add to her impressive resume, the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art has opened an exhibit of 65 of her photographs of Memphis and the surrounding region, titled “Roll Down Like Water.”
Andrea Morales, Southern Heritage, 2017 (Photo: Courtesy Andrea Morales)
Taking its name from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s final speech in Memphis, in which he said, “Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream,” the exhibit, says its curator Rosamund Garrett, is “a portrait of America through Memphis.”
“There are some tremendously famous photographers from this area,” Garrett says, “but I really feel that Andrea looks at things through a very fresh lens, and she looks at this region very directly, very earnestly, in a way that still allows the magic of this place to come through.”
But in this exhibit, not appearing in a publication with someone else’s byline, a headline she didn’t choose, or quotes she didn’t pull, the photos can stand alone. “It does feel like something’s being restored, I guess,” Morales says. “I’m struggling with identifying exactly what, but it feels like something’s restored. It’s like back to that feeling of the moment [of making the photo] because you have that moment and then you kind of have to tuck it away because this photo has to exist in this one context [of an article]. But this is all existing in the context of me and Memphis right now.”
Binghampton is putting on a play. The actors are young and old, some seasoned and many freshly-minted to the spotlight. Kids at Carpenter Art Garden are building scenic elements, and community members are tuning their instruments for a show their stories helped create.
It all started over a year ago when the Orpheum Theatre Group launched its Neighborhood Play Program. After working with the Refugee Empowerment Program in Binghampton, making original plays out of participants’ stories, Orpheum staff “realized one of their favorite moments in it was when they got to step out of their story and play the characters that were in other people’s stories,” says Taylor St. John, Orpheum’s director of education and engagement. “There’s something powerful about telling your own story, but there’s also something powerful about participating as a community in a fictional story.”
Ann Perry Wallace (Photo: Courtesy Orpheum Theatre)
So came the Neighborhood Play Program, through which the Orpheum partnered with various organizations and formed “story circles” to create a neighborhood play. “For six months or so, we got people in a circle and asked them questions about their community, things that they found beautiful, things that they found challenging,” St. John says.
These stories, in turn, would be the inspiration for the fictional story that playwright Ann Perry Wallace, author of the one-woman play Live Rich Die Poor, would weave. They then presented this fictional story in another round of story circles for feedback.
“I felt like I had a lot of responsibility to deliver something that was representative of what I had heard,” Wallace says. “You are responsible for these stories that have been told, you are responsible for putting out this image of the people, and so that is a weight that I carry with honor and take seriously. There’s nuance. And so I’m having to hold all of that in a way that gives dignity where dignity is due and have to show the complex struggles where they are present. It is a dynamic place, and I hope for people to see the intricacies, or just a snapshot of those intricacies come out.”
As for the plot of the play, titled We All We Got, St. John says, “The story itself centers on two young Black girls living in the neighborhood, one from a generational home and one living in the apartments who’s a refugee, and how they navigate the world and encounter all of the various characters of Binghampton.”
The hope, both St. John and Wallace point out, is to highlight the different experiences within Binghampton. “It’s one of the most diverse neighborhoods in Memphis,” St. John says. “There’s over 20 languages spoken there, and so we really tried to honor the stories that do not otherwise get highlighted.”
With all those differences, St. John adds, “It’s been exciting, in the last couple weeks, to see all those people from all those different groups that do different things and have very different beliefs and sometimes cultures now all be in the same room, and we’re all working on this thing together, and it just feels like a great exercise in community.
“We think it’s so important that the people in Binghampton can hopefully see themselves in this play, or see reflections of their ideas and other stories in this play. But it’s also really important that as a city, we’re able to come together [by seeing the play].”
The play is set to premiere in November, with community members acting both in the scenes and behind the scenes. Already, just watching rehearsals has Wallace “thrilled.” “You are seeing people who have pride in the neighborhood come out to be a part of it and really stretch themselves in creative and artistic ways,” she says. “Not all of them are normally doing this in their day-to-day life, and then we do have some actors who are in it, but particularly the community members, them showing up and performing best, to me, that’s pride, and that’s dedication, and that’s belief in their community.”
All three performances, which will take place at First Baptist Broad Church in Binghampton, will be free to attend, and Backbeat Tours will provide free transportation at designated locations.
These retirees meet to spill the tea. (Photo: Marlinda Shorter | Unspeakable Joy Photography)
Ten years ago, my ex-husband and I lived with his grandfather, a 92-year-old patriarch of the family. He was routine-oriented, and for many years he made a habit of meeting up with friends once a week for coffee and breakfast at a local fast food joint, usually Hardee’s or McDonald’s. The setting of Hattiloo Theatre’s production of Coconut Cake couldn’t be more relatable, as it portrays a glimpse into the day-to-day lives of four retirees who meet every Monday at McDonald’s. Here’s the thing, though, these characters aren’t just meeting up to drink coffee — they’re here to spill the tea.
Coconut Cake is a (mostly) quiet, intimate look at the lives of three Black friends, plus the somewhat out-of-place white brother-in-law named Hank but nick-named “Republican,” played by Bart Mallard. The characters — all men — slowly reveal they are each going through hardships that end up driving them apart, despite the fact that their individual struggles could bring them closer. The event that throws their lives into disarray is the arrival in town of a mysterious woman, who, because of her beauty and sophistication, becomes the subject of fascination for the quartet. The other wild card in Coconut Cake is the unhoused man dubbed “Gotdamnit” because of his penchant for repeating the word. Played by Jesse L. Dunlap, Gotdamnit is the type of character who whirls in and steals the show. He is a source of comic relief, though there are moments of emotion and a struggle with mental health that are poignantly delivered.
While the characters may at first seem like stock characters, a theme becomes apparent as the show progresses: All people contain hidden depths. Mallard has been acting since high school and speaks to the process of the characterization of Hank: “My character is hiding some truths about himself from even those closest to him. So I am asking myself deeply and honestly, what do I keep hidden away … is there a truth that I have not allowed to be seen … is there a truth in my heart, soul, and gut that I need to or could benefit from shining a bright light onto?”
One notable aspect of the play is that, though it is comprised of an entirely male cast, the playwright Melda Beaty is a woman. Watching a play that is about the male experience, but depicted by a woman, was a fascinating experience. I’ve grown up inundated by female characters who are poorly and unrealistically dreamed up by men. The internet is full with memes criticizing how women are rendered by male writers, so I found it refreshing to see a play that flipped the script — pun intended. Beaty’s frank and honest portrayal of these men is what makes the play so gripping. Here is a place where they are allowed to be vulnerable, and it’s obvious how meaningful that refuge is. Symbolism is rife in Coconut Cake, from the sanctuary represented by the innocuous setting of McDonald’s, to the game of life portrayed in a chess board.
Though on the surface Coconut Cake is a simple dialogue-driven play, it is a piece of theater that should not be looked over. Accurately cutting out a slice of life that remains deeply entertaining without ever compromising its realism is no mean feat, but Beaty has managed to do so with success. This play comes with a message that audiences will be hard-pressed to miss, as Mallard puts it, “The deepest intention is to shine some light on the truth that the act of openly, truthfully, and patiently walking your path will allow for you to find your own truth and light and then to honestly stand in it … to take the stage.”
Coconut Cake runs at Hattiloo Theatre through September 8th.
Hattiloo Theatre’s production of Succession has been making a splash on the Memphis theater scene since its opening weekend in February. This is the show’s regional premiere, and performances run through March 23rd.
Written by Charles White, the play, as the title suggests, focuses on succession within Black theater. “You have in the play this young Black actor who has talent and is using the older Black actors who have pretty much paved the way for him to have opportunities in theater,” says Hattiloo’s executive director and founder Ekundayo Bandele. “So he is making his bones in Black theater. And then an opportunity to perform at a white theater becomes available, and he forgoes the Black theater and the friends that he made there to enter into the predominantly white theater community, only to find that he isn’t accepted and he’s second or third tier in that community. And he goes back to the Black theater; they give him a hard time but still accept him back into the community.”
Bandele first saw White’s play last summer in South Carolina, and immediately, he knew he wanted to produce the show on Hattiloo’s stage. “I went straight to Charles White,” he says, “and he gave us the rights.”
Bandele says he saw his own experience running Hattiloo reflected in White’s work. “We have artists who use or attempt to use Hattiloo as a stepping stone. And so not only is there a story for individuals to come in and become more acquainted with the travails and triumphs of Black theater, but it is also kind of a mirror that can be turned around to some of the Black artists who find themselves replicating that story in their real lives.”
With each show Hattiloo produces, Bandele hopes to encourage audiences to explore new points of view. “The first thing that I look for are plays that show the Black experience through a lens that you typically don’t see,” he says. “What I love about [Succession] is that it pulls the curtain back on what it takes to run and maintain a Black theater in this particular century. … I’m looking at stories that Black people, white people, Latinx, Asians, young, LGBTQ, traditional, whoever can come and sometimes they may see themselves in the story, but a lot of times we want to show, especially Black audiences, a part of their experience or a part of their history or a part of their now that they be completely unaware of.”
Following Succession, Hattiloo has one remaining show before this season wraps — Blues in the Night — a blues revue, which runs April 12th to May 5th. Hattiloo’s upcoming season will kick off in July with Carmen Jones, followed by Coconut Cake, Paradise Blue, Disney’s The Lion King Jr., A Motown Christmas, Black Odyssey, Thoughts of a Colored Man, and The Boy Who Kissed the Sky.
Purchase tickets for Hattiloo’s upcoming shows at hattiloo.org, where a full schedule of performances can be found.
Succession, Hattiloo Theatre, 37 S. Cooper, performances through March 23, $35.
Photo left to right: Neki Catron, Southland Casino Racing community engagement manager, and Ekundayo Bandele, Hattiloo Theatre founder (Courtesy Southland Casino Racing)
As part of its parent company Delaware North’s “Game Changer” initiative, Southland Casino Racing on Tuesday presented Memphis’ Hattiloo Theatre with a check for $44,346.
“We support the Hattiloo Theatre’s vision to develop a modern performing-arts venue that is accessible to, relevant to, and reflective of a multicultural community,” said David Wolf, general manager and president of Southland Casino Racing. “And to take it a step further — it’s wonderful to know that we are a part of something even larger, as patrons of other gaming venues within our company’s U.S. portfolio are helping those in need within their respective communities.”
“After two years of social and cultural distancing, this generous donation will not only help Hattiloo recover from the fiscal challenges precipitated by the pandemic, but it will also enable it to serve as a supportive space, where artists can continue to articulate the complexity and beauty of Black life through their craft,” said Ekundayo Bandele, founder and CEO of Hattiloo Theatre.
Since September of 2020, the Game Changer program at Southland has raised over $243,000 for the local community.
For the next four weeks, Hattiloo Theatre is putting on a production of The Mountaintop, written by Memphis native and Pulitzer-winning playwright, Katori Hall.
“The Mountaintop is a reimagining of what was it like for Martin Luther King Jr. in his room the night before his assassination. It is — without giving anything away — a supernatural reimagining,” says Ekundayo Bandele, founder and CEO of Hattiloo. In a stripped-down version of Room 306 at the Lorraine Motel, King, played by Emmanuel McKinney, orders room service, and a mysterious waitress Camae, played by Bianca McMillian, brings him coffee, and the two delve into a deep conversation about King’s life and legacy. “At the end of the day, you have a man who was constantly putting himself in harm’s way. And he possibly knew at some point that his time was going to come, so how is it in that room by himself the night before he is called home to God? It is the same night he delivered his ‘Mountaintop’ speech, and that’s where you get the title.
“The supernatural element adds to the question of martyrs and how they feel,” Bandele continues. “Sometimes, we see figures like Malcolm X and so on as super-beings, but at the same time they’re human and they have fears and premonitions, so this play really shows the humanity of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.”
As for the impression the play leaves on the audience, Bandele says, “I think they’ll take away the courage that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had to exhibit to continue the civil rights path that he was on, despite the constant threat of assassination. That’s what they’ll take away — that this was a man, he was a flawed man. Sometimes, we fictionalize individuals who are martyrs and who are superstars and think about them one way. Well, he was a lot more complicated than that.”
The one-act play will run for an hour and 15 minutes, and performances will continue Thursdays through Sundays until February 13th, with matinees at 2 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at hattiloo.org or by calling (901) 525-0009.
The Mountaintop, Hattiloo Theatre, 37 S. Cooper, Opens Friday, January 21st, 7:30 p.m., $30.
Hattiloo Theatre as a juke joint (Photo: Greg Soloman)
Developed by Ekundayo Bandele, CEO and founder of Hattiloo, this show is a montage of holiday jokes and stories, rap, singing, dancing, and so much more. “The story is these four people who get together and enjoy Christmas,” Bandele says. “For one of them, it’s her club, and the others are her regulars. There’s not really an arc in the traditional sense; it’s just fun.”
And, Bandele emphasizes, the show is interactive. “What we’re missing in theater is the interactive spirit — having audiences not just sit there watching something but being an active participant,” he says. “I’ve always loved spoken word things, and when you go to these spoken word shows, you snap and you hoot and you’re a part of the performance as opposed to just a spectator. I wanted to create something that gave the audience permission to enjoy themselves.”
That’s why the juke-joint set extends into the crowd, why there’s no separation between what is scripted and what isn’t, why the performers address the audience and walk from table to table. “You’re laughing with your friends and shouting at the stage because there’s no fourth wall,” Bandele says.
The family-friendly performances are about an hour and 10 minutes long, and the show will run through December 19th. Tickets are available to purchase online at hattiloo.org.
A Holiday Juke Joint, Hattiloo Theatre, 37 Cooper, Thursday-Sunday, December 2nd-5th, Various Times, $30.
Local arts organizations are looking at a 25 percent decrease in 2021 income compared to pre-pandemic figures.
The data comes from ArtsMemphis on the arts groups it funds. It says that contributions from individuals increased in 2020 and that trend is continuing in 2021, but a decrease in corporate and foundation giving is reducing earned revenue for 2020-21 over 2019.
“Our arts organizations have made strategic shifts in operations and programs in order to continue harnessing an audience and providing artists a platform to create,” said Elizabeth Rouse, president and CEO of ArtsMemphis. “Hope and anticipation for a sense of recovery are brimming, but this recovery period requires major support. We’ll need community support to return to the economic powerhouse position the nonprofit arts sector was for the county prior to the pandemic.”
Arts organizations have reported an 80 percent reduction in the number of artists hired in 2020 versus 2019, resulting in 8,570 arts jobs lost. Layoffs or furloughs were reported by 53 percent of arts organizations, impacting 560 positions, or 44 percent of the arts sector workforce.
Hattiloo Theatre’s Ekundayo Bandele, speaking to a group of ArtsMemphis donors recently, said, “As we continue to modify our strategic plan, we’re putting our earned revenue in a separate column. We’re not counting on it, however, we are setting ourselves up for the long haul so we may remain a strong cultural resource for our community and one that is at the tip of the spear for the Black theater network.”
ArtsMemphis distributed $2.8 million in fiscal year 2020 to 137 individual artists and 71 organizations. It also hosted more than 30 convenings of the arts sector, and provided grantees with assistance in CARES funding opportunities. It will award its latest round of operating support grants this quarter.
Instagram was predictably hot with the cold stuff last week. Snow flurries dusted Memphis without disrupting school or work, leaving behind only some pretty pictures.
Flex
Last week, Memphis Reddit user u/benefit_of_mrkite shared this image of “Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson after wrestling at a flea market in Memphis for $40 (early 1990s).”
Crosswalkin’
Posted to Nextdoor by Bobi McBratney
Overton Square is set to get two new crosswalks soon close to the corners of Cooper and Monroe (yes, corners) in front of Hattiloo Theatre.
One will feature the colors of the gay pride flag that now also features colors supporting transgender, Black, and brown people. The other will read Black Lives Matter.
Until last week, Hattiloo Theatre’s production of A Holiday Cabaret was only open to patrons and Season 14 and 15 subscribers, presented as a series of six limited-seating shows. The unfortunate consequences of our COVID predicament changed things a bit.
A post from the Hattiloo Theatre Facebook page broke the news: “We planned to perform this musical before a few live patrons over six performances, but because of the increasing number of COVID-19 cases and fatalities, we have canceled all live shows. Still, we are excited to gather virtually and celebrate the season with this perfect blend of holiday music, jokes, and stories.”
Facebook/Hattiloo Theatre
A Holiday Cabaret
The unique Black repertory theater has generously opened this show — for free — to the public. Show some love for the talented performance artists and venue by purchasing a season subscription for when things open back up again. Subscriptions start at only $105.
In the meantime, the show must go on, and in this case it will be a live performance recorded and streamed from the theater’s stage. The production, written by Ekundayo Bandele, founder and CEO of Hattiloo Theatre, is a gathering of four friends for the holidays. The friends will sing traditional carols, tell stories, and share the merriment of the season in a family-friendly atmosphere.
What better way to bring joy to Memphis than celebrating with friends during A Holiday Cabaret.
Facebook/Hattiloo Theatre