New Federal Theatre - Celebrating 40 Years & Counting

Susan Taylor
Image via Mass Appeal News

For 40 years, the New Federal Theatre (NFT) has been delivering outstanding theatrical experiences for both audiences and professionals. On May 22, 2011, NFT will be celebrating this milestone with a gala event hosted by NFT award-winning alumna & actress Lynn Whitfield and award-winning, CBS correspondent Randall Pinkston. Chairmen for the event are NFT alumnus Laurence Fishburne, John Morning and publishing powerhouse, Susan Taylor of Essence Magazine.  The esteemed Dr. Maya Angelou is the Honorary Chair.

In addition to celebrating NFT's vital contribution to the arts internationally, the gala will feature special awards for 13 individuals that changed the cultural life of our nation: Sidney Poitier, Ntozake Shange, Ruby Dee, Alicia Keys, Mayor David Dinkins, Imhotep Gary Byrd, George Faison, Amiri Baraka, Rev. Malcolm Boyd, Elizabeth McCann, Carla Pinza, Terrie Williams and Sylvia Sprinkle Hamlin.

Woodie King, Jr.

Founded by Woodie King, Jr. in 1970, New Federal Theatre has gone on to international acclaim for its bold mission to integrate minorities and women into the mainstream of American theatre by training artists for the profession and by presenting plays by minorities and women to integrated, multicultural audiences - plays which evoke the truth through beautiful, artistic recreations of ourselves.

NFT has provided emerging playwrights with the opportunity to have their works produced, bringing minority actors, directors and designers to national attention.  NFT has sponsored numerous ethnic theatre groups and events and vocational training workshops continue to prepare minority people for careers in theater and related fields.  Most importantly, NFT provides the multi-ethnic Lower East Side, as well as the New York Metro area, with theatre of the highest caliber that relates to the interest of different cultural groups.

The impact of NFT is nothing less than extraordinary. Writers first presented at NFT are now part of the literary fabric of the American mainstream. Many plays have attained national significance and reached much wider audiences by having been showcased at NFT.

Ruby Dee

Through its educational workshops in playwriting and drama for adults and teens, NFT has been a driving force in international theatre.  The alumni list of NFT reads like a Who's Who of American theatre, film and television with the likes of Denzel Washington, Morgan Freeman, Debbie Allen, Phylicia Rashad, S. Epatha Merkerson, Jackee Harry, Laurence Fishburne, Dick Anthony Williams, Taurean Blacque, Debbie Morgan, Robert Downey, Jr.,  Garrett Morris, Vondie Curtis-Hall, Leslie Uggams, Samuel L. Jackson and many more.

Under Woodie King, Jr.'s stewardship, NFT has presented over 280 productions in the last four decades including such acclaimed works as For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow is Enuf. His directorial credits are extensive and include work in film as well as in the most prominent theatres across the country. He has been the recipient of numerous awards from AUDELCO, The NAACP, Drama Critics Circle and an Obie Award for Sustained Achievement.

Tickets can be purchased online or 

by calling Lorelei Enterprises at 212-838-2660, ext. 14.

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