Billie Holiday Theatre Reopens In Bed-Stuy This Weekend

BEDFORD-STUYVESANT, BROOKLYN — Billie comes back to Bed-Stuy Friday night when the historic Billie Holiday Theater holds its first performance after a massive two-year renovation.

The Billie has been out of service since 2015 when the Restoration Plaza theatre began a $4.1 million renovation to install a new grid of catwalks, a better lighting system, an electronically-controlled stage curtain and wider seats.

The primary challenge of the renovation was to pull the 45-year-old theater into the 21st century without sacrificing its history, according to executive director for the Center for Arts & Culture Dr. Indira Etwaroo.

So while the technology may be up-to-date, there are many tips of the hat to the theater's pioneers. The new dressing rooms have been named after director Herbert Scott Gibson and former president Marjorie Moon.

And backstage, the walls have been covered with restored posters that advertise some of the Billie Holiday Theatre's earliest performances, which were found by contractors underneath the stage.

Etwaroo said she breathed a sigh of relief the first time she saw the completed renovation.

"It didn’t feel so brand spanking new that it didn’t feel like us," said Etwaroo. "People literally shed blood and tears and fought for this theater to be a destination. We wanted to ensure that we honored that."

These renovations will mean that more people will be able to enjoy more performances — the theater can now seat 200 and the stage can host dances, concerts, theatrical performances and readings.

Etwaroo declined to detail the theater's upcoming season — which will be announced in June — but promised performances from Ronald K. Brown's Evidence dance company and the Frank Silvera Writers’ Workshop.

Two years in the making, the $4.1 million renovation of #thebillieholidaytheatre is soon to open! Check out our @nytimes article. https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/03/15/nyregion/billie-holiday-theater-bedford-stuyvesant-opening.html
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The Billie Holiday Theatre has been making history since its debut in 1972 — Smokey Robinson, Samuel L. Jackson and Debbie Allen have performed in the theater dedicated to Lady Day.

The theater’s reopening will be celebrated with a weekend of events with a literary focus. Etwaroo credits this to her admiration for Nommo — the Rwandan word for oral storytelling.

"I believe in the power of the spoken word to create powerful experiences for our audiences," said Etwaroo.

There will be a theatrical reading of Zora Neale Hurston’s “Their Eyes Were Watching God” on Friday and Saturday night at 8 p.m. as well as Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m.

“Luke Cage” star Simone Missick will star in “50in50: Writing Women Into Existence,” a monologue series featuring solely women writers, on Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m.

And two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lynn Nottage will be honored by Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams for her award-winning play “Sweat” on Monday night at 6 p.m.

Photos courtesy of the NYC Department of Design and Construction and Hollis King