The Apollo Theater in Harlem has announced the 2025 winter and spring season with a stunning array of performances, exhibitions, and educational programs in performance spaces new and old.
The historic Apollo Theater has been providing the community of Harlem and beyond with quality entertainment and education since it opened its doors in 1914.
Having played a major role in the exponential growth of quintessential American genres such as jazz, swing, R&B, gospel, blues, soul, and the list goes on- the impact felt by the Apollo within New York and across the world cannot be stated enough.
Beginning as a platform for emerging jazz and tap acts which would feature the likes of soon-to-be icons such as Ella Fitzgerald, Bessie Smith, and Billie Holiday, The Apollo has since evolved into not only a musical performance space but a nonprofit presenting theatrical and dance programs, film screenings, educational programs, and community outreach.
Returning with their 2025 winter and spring season, The Apollo has announced an extensive lineup of performances and events that explore legacy and lineage while celebrating the impact of Black artists with time-honored works alongside bold and cutting-edge new productions.
With three dates spanning January 9 to the 11, the Apollo will be hosting a multi-media performance of Loss in Under the Radar: Loss. Originally produced by The Theatre Centre, Loss explores themes of grief within Afro-Caribbean communities in an immersive experience towards healing as audiences follow the intergenerational family narrative retold live on stage.
Organized in celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Black women-led theatrical dance company and social activism ensemble, Lineage Legacy and Liberation: An Examination of Urban Bush Women’s Art-Making and Community Organizing Praxis will open as a multi-media gallery on January 13 and remain open to the public through March 12.
In addition to its expansive display of rare photographs, performance footage, audio clips and more, the exhibition will feature a series of pop-up performances on select dates throughout its installation period.
A showing of Claudine directed by John Berry and starring Diahann Carroll will be held on January 17. Oscar-nominated, the romantic comedy balances warm humor with its serious approach to a variety of issues ranging from cyclical poverty to the indignities of the welfare system. An emphatic piece on both Black working-class strife and Black joy, Claudine is presented in collaboration with the Harlem Festival of Culture Foundation.
Returning once more is Apollo’s partnership with WNYC and the March on Washington Film Festival on January 19 as scholars, community leaders, and activists will engage with the audience of Harlem and beyond in conversation about the lasting legacy and teachings of Martin Luther King Jr.
Presented on the first Thursday of each month from February through May is the Apollo Comedy Club. Made in partnership with the producer of Def Comedy Jam and creator of Laff Mobb on Aspire Bob Sumner with Freddie Ricks as host, the Apollo presents the best of comedy’s emerging acts on their Stages at the Victoria.
The Apollo Music Café series returns for the first Friday and Saturday of each month from February through May, featuring diverse performances spanning the sonic pallets of R&B, hip-hop, soul, jazz, funk, rock, and more. The Music Café seeks to showcase artists of the independent music scene who have made/are making an impact on the way music as an art form is consumed and experienced.
On February 22, composer, pianist, and vocalist Samora Abayomi Pinderhughes will perform The James Baldwin Essays: As Much Truth As One Can Bear in celebration of Baldwin’s legacy. Commissioned by Harlem Stage in 2015, the piece is one of Pinderhughes’ many performances that utilizes music to examine socio-political issues.
Each Wednesday from February 19 to June 25 will host the time-honored Amateur Night, America’s longest running talent show. Having been revered by artists as a once-in-a-lifetime experience uplifting emerging talent, names such as Ella Fitzgerald, Luther Vandross, Lauryn Hill, H.E.R and more have graced Amateur Night’s stage where the audience has the power to shape a career.
The Grand Finale winner will receive $20,000 alongside the “Child Star of Tomorrow” who will win $5,000.
While the 2025 lineup is already full of rising stars, live auditions for the 2026 season will be held on March 22 at The Apollo’s Historic Theater.
Guardian Spirit will present the poems, prose, and essays of bell hooks set to the musical works of Martha Redbone on March 29. Highlighting and celebrating bell hooks’ work and influence on the modern artist and individual, Redbone will set her stories within the world of music and storytelling.
Highlighting the intricate dynamics of generations of Black female strength and resilience is Jeffrey Manor from April 7 through the 12. Set in the south side of Chicago, Jeffrey Manor explores themes of generational dysfunction and mental health struggles born of a lifetime of trauma through the secrets and tragedies of Black women bound together by lineage.
Jason Moran will celebrate Duke Ellington’s great canon on April 11 through his illuminating piano explorations alongside iconic images of The Duke taken by legendary photographer Gordon Parks.
Among all of these stunning productions, the Apollo offers a myriad of educational programs including but not limited to MLK Young Changemakers, Treasures from the Archives, professional learning workshops, and more.
For more information on the Apollo’s Winter and Spring 2025 season, their expansive educational programs, and ticketing information, be sure to visit their events page here.
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