Anacostia Playhouse presents Black Nativity
by Langston Hughes
Directed by Stephawn Stephens
Music Direction by William Knowles
2020 Shannon Place, SE

December 29, 3:00 PM
January 2, 7:30 PM
January 3, 7:30 PM
January 4, 2:00 PM
January 4, 7:30 PM
January 5, 3:00 PM

Black Nativity
Langston Hughes’ song-play is a retelling of the Christmas story from an Afrocentric perspective, infused with rich gospel, blues, funk, jazz music and dance, with griot-style storytelling from an ensemble cast. Using the sounds, energy and the enthusiasm of Gospel music to tell the Nativity story. The original title of the play was Wasn’t That a Mighty Day, but was changed to Black Nativity before the show’s opening. On December 11, 1961 the show was first performed Off-Broadway, and then performed at President Kennedy’s International Jazz Festival. Later the show had tours through Europe including in Spoleto, Italy, where it performed at the Festival of Two Worlds. The show then toured London, Oslo, Brussels, Copenhagen and Rotterdam before returning to America. Since the sixties, the show has been performed annually at several theaters around the holiday season, and was performed annually at the Kennedy Center before moving to perform with H Street Playhouse and Theater Alliance.