Billie Holiday Theatre, Performance venue in Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, United States.
The Billie Holiday Theatre is a 218-seat theatre at 1368 Fulton Street, inside Restoration Plaza in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. It reopened in May 2017 after renovations designed by MBB Architects, as part of a $6 million superblock that is also planned to hold an ice-skating rink and a supermarket.
The theater was founded in 1972 and became the first Black theater to move a production to Broadway. This achievement helped open doors for Black artists in the wider theater world.
The theatre's stated aim is "complete and authentic portrayals" of the African diaspora experience, alongside artistic and institutional residencies and educational programming for people of all ages. Its board has included Bedford-Stuyvesant residents since Marjorie Moon's tenure, and the venue has staged work by Lena Horne, Smokey Robinson, Ben Vereen, Samuel L. Jackson and Jay-Z.
The Billie sits at 1368 Fulton Street, inside Restoration Plaza in Bedford-Stuyvesant, and reopened there in May 2017 after two years in Fort Greene during renovation. The 218-seat auditorium was redesigned by MBB Architects. Check the theatre's own listings for performance times before travelling.
The Billie was the first Black theatre to transfer a hit play to Broadway, with half the financing coming from the Black community. In 2020 the Mellon Foundation gave it a $5 million "Black Seed" grant to help Black theatres nationwide form partnerships and commissions.
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