Black Empire Productions

02/18/2026

02/18/2026

West Virginia State University hosted a free educational presentation Tuesday on the history of Black theater.

More: https://www.wsaz.com/2026/02/17/black-theater-history-event-wvsu/

02/13/2026

I’m excited to present the history of black theatre at West Virginia State University🎭

Come learn about the transformative power theatre has, honor the trailblazers, and discover what comes next!

Join us this Tuesday for The History of Black Theatre, presented by Stuart Frazier, founder of Black Empire Productions. This event features selected monologues and an in-depth look at Black theatre’s impact, followed by a catered reception in the Art Gallery.
📅 Tuesday, February 17, 2026
🕧 12:30–1:15 p.m. | Davis Fine Arts Theatre
🥧 Reception: 1:15–1:45 p.m. | Art Gallery

02/10/2026

Shuffle Along is a landmark 1921 Broadway musical that played a pivotal role in launching the Harlem Renaissance. It was the first major hit on Broadway to be written, directed, and performed entirely by African Americans.

The show featured music by Eubie Blake, lyrics by Noble Sissle, and a book by the comedy duo Flournoy Miller and Aubrey Lyles.

The production launched the careers of legendary performers like Josephine Baker, Paul Robeson, and Florence Mills.

Its most enduring hit is “I’m Just Wild About Harry,” which later became the campaign song for President Harry S. Truman in 1948.

02/07/2026

The Black Arts Movement (BAM), active from 1965 to roughly 1975, was the cultural, artistic, and aesthetic arm of the Black Power movement. Initiated by Amiri Baraka in Harlem, it aimed to create politically charged, accessible art—poetry, theater, and visual arts—that promoted Black self-determination, pride, and liberation, often described as a “second Harlem Renaissance” with more radical, nationalist, and socialist views.

02/05/2026

In Dahomey (1903) was a landmark American musical comedy, notable as the first full-length Broadway musical written, produced, and performed entirely by African Americans. Starring comedians Bert Williams and George Walker with music by Will Marion Cook, the show played 53 performances in New York and toured successfully in England. It featured a plot involving a, "back to Africa" theme, blending vaudeville comedy with sophisticated music.

02/04/2026

Lorraine Hansberry was a trailblazing American playwright and activist best known for her landmark play, A Raisin in the Sun. She became the first Black woman to have a play performed on Broadway and remains a central figure in American literature and the civil rights movement.

02/03/2026

The Drama of King Shotaway (1823) is widely considered the first play written by an African American, produced by William A. Brown at the African Grove Theatre in NYC. This lost, full-length historical drama depicted the 1795-1797 Second Carib War, specifically the revolt led by Paramount Chief Joseph Chatoyer (King Shotaway) against British rule in St. Vincent.

02/01/2026

The African Grove Theatre opened in New York City in 1821. It was founded and operated by William Alexander Brown, a free black man from the West Indies. It opened six years before the final abolition of slavery in New York state. The African Grove Theatre was attended by "all types of black New Yorkers -- free and slave, middle-class and working-class"[1] along with others.