Page 7 - Black Rep News Today

Erica Sutherlin directs the new "Kirk Franklins A Gospel Christmas."

More than 100 St. Louis area arts institutions are calling on St. Louis and St. Louis County officials to use federal coronavirus relief funding to help support the arts.

Jeremy is the arts & culture reporter at St. Louis Public Radio.

St. Louis American Sumner High School, in the Ville neighborhood, avoided closure by the St. Louis Board of Education. The school will take on an arts and activism theme. Sumner High School has a new lease on life, backed by a commitment from arts groups and its passionate alumni base. The St. Louis school board voted Tuesday evening not to close Sumner after this school year as part of a district-wide consolidation plan and instead endorsed a plan to improve the school’s enrollment. “I am ...

Under the plan, the school will focus on arts and activism in the hopes of improving attendance Author: Sam Clancy Updated: 9:33 PM CST March 9, 2021 ST. LOUIS — The school board of St. Louis Public Schools approved a plan to keep Sumner High School open for another three years with a focus on performing arts. The plan calls for the school to partner with local arts organizations to "deliver intensive learning in drama, visual art, dance and music." The plan wi...

Originally set to be produced onstage in March, 2020, the world premiere of playwright, producer and educator Cynthia Grace Robinson’s “Freedom Summer” will instead become a streamed film version from Feb. 12 to 28. N.C. Black Repertory Company worked with Appalachian State University to make the new play a reality. Robinson’s story of two sisters takes place on one day: Aug. 4, 1964. Nora Heeley (played by Mariah Guillmette) is starting a new life “passing” as a w...

/ St. Louis saxophonist Rhoda G. will perform a virtual musical selection on Feb. 19 for the St. Louis County Librarys Black History Month celebration. Author Vivan Gibson, visual artist Cbabi Bayoc and the Black Rep are among the groups the St. Louis County Library will celebrate this month through its annual Black History Month program. This year’s Black history presentations will feature 40 virtual programs that highlight African American achievements. Black excellence in St. Louis should...

“The Creative Capital:” Voices from the Providence Music Scene 8.14.20 Providence, RI, capital of the tiniest state in the U.S., makes up for its small size with an overflowing personality and a fertile arts community. Many of its residents are quick to remind you that this city is the self-proclaimed “Creative Capital” of the country, and the nickname is hard to deny. Artists of all kinds, and especially talented BIPOC (Black, indigenous, and people of color) musicians, have long made ...

Beloved musician, Black Rep musical director Charles Creath dies at 68 To truly understand the scope of the musical gifts of longtime Black Rep musical director Charles Creath, one would need to watch him sing through a musical theater production for the first time and then return for opening night. Each time, the transformation was stunning.  Charles Creath Talented individuals would become a musical family — and create a musical experience that was impossible for audiences to disengag...

Arts and culture leaders pen letter in support of sparing Sumner High School from closure The St. Louis board of education will vote Tuesday on a proposal to close 10 schools, including Sumner, the first African-American high school west of the Mississippi. Sumner High School, ca. 1908 On Tuesday, members of the St. Louis board of education will vote on a proposal to close 10 schools within the school district. On December 1, St. Louis Public Schools Superintendent Kelvin Adams recomme...