Eartha Kitt

WORDTheatre® and Fernando Pullum Community Arts Center Present Randall Kenan’s ‘Black Folks Could Fly’

In partnership with the Fernando Pullum Community Arts Center in Leimert Park, WORDTheatre® proudly presents BLACK FOLK COULD FLY, a literary and musical tribute celebrating the legacy of the late southern author Randall Kenan, on Saturday, March 9, at 7:30pm. The reception begins at 6:30pm. This one-night-only event at the arts center explores, among many of the award-winning author’s fascinations, the theme of “Blackness.” Featured performers include Tracie Thoms, Dohn Norwood, CG, Eugene Byrd, and student musicians from the Fernando Pullum Community Arts Center.

Lights Out: Nat “King” Cole Comes to Los Angeles

The highly acclaimed musical, “Lights Out: Nat ‘King’ Cole,” is here on the West Coast at the Geffen Playhouse in Westwood until March 24. After seeing the musical during a sold out run in Philadelphia, the Geffen Playhouse made sure to bring a production of it to Los Angeles.

Our History Matters: The Untold Stories of African American ‘Hidden Figures’

Marshall Walter “Major” Taylor was born in Indianapolis, Indiana in 1878. Major Taylor participated in his first bike race as a teenager. Shortly after, he moved to Worcester, Massachusetts to become a professional cyclist. Throughout his career, he received several world records from competing in races around the world but that didn’t stop the racist fans from throwing things at him and competitors trying to bump him off the track during his races. One competitor by the name of W.E. Becker choked Taylor until the police separated the two.

The Reverend Shawn Amos: A Night in Harlem

The Eli and Edythe Broad Stage in Santa Monica presents the return of The Reverend Shawn Amos for A Night in Harlem on Friday, February 1 at 8:00pm. In celebration of African American History Month, blackbox curator, Amos, returns to the stage for an evening of songs and storytelling — presenting songs from his album, Harlem, for the first time in ten years. The American roots song cycle tells the story of 1920s black Americans’ migration from the south to Harlem. Amos’ album was inspired by the artists, songs and legacy of the Harlem Renaissance.