Legendary theater-film actress Ruby Dee
was at The Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation’s Billie
Holiday Theatre on Wednesday to celebrate the organization’s
acceptance of an unprecedented $900,000 commitment from Brooklyn
Borough President Marty Markowitz’s capital budget funds.
The money will be used for theater renovations that include an
upgrade in lighting and sound systems, which will allow the theater
to stage a broader range of theater and dance as well as more
performances in a given season, according to the theater’s executive
director, Marjorie Moon.
"We’re going to make the magic happen in fantastic ways,"
Moon said, explaining that the theater is considerably behind
the times in special effects capabilities and technological efficiency.
The theater, which is now in its 34th season, has never been
renovated.
The Billie Holiday Theatre, which has produced or presented more
than 175 productions over the years, stages mostly new work by
young African-American and Caribbean-American writers, giving
exposure to aspiring minority actors, directors and designers.
"It’s a getting-started place," Dee said at the event.
Dee, who has been a Billie Holiday Theatre board member since
its founding, said it is theaters like this that help "us
to define and find ourselves in the arts." Dee lamented
that public money, such as Markowitz’s allocation, is made available
to minority venues so infrequently.
On behalf of the theater, actor Peggy Alston presented Dee with
an honorary seat plaque in appreciation of "her brilliance
and profound commitment to the black theater and the arts."
Dee compared the mission and accomplishments of the Billie Holiday
Theatre to that of the theater where she got her start, Harlem’s
American Negro Theater, which she called "a small but steady
light."
"The [Billie Holiday] theatre is a springboard," said
actor-playwright Joyce Sylvester, who wrote a tribute poem for
Dee and presented it at the event. "It got me to Broadway."
The Billie Holiday Theatre’s stage has been tread on by the likes
of Samuel L. Jackson, who made his New York theater debut there
in 1978; Tichina Arnold, who now plays Chris Rock’s mother on
UPN’s "Everybody Hates Chris"; and Debbie Allen, who
has acted in nearly 30 films and television shows since the late
1970s.
The intimate theater has a capacity of 200, attracting about
30,000 patrons each year, and more than 900,000 over the course
of its 33 years. The seats are arranged in steeply-stacked rows
to offer a close look at the stage, which is high and deep enough
to allow for modest sets. Although the theater’s lobby remains
appealing with its skylights, courtyard, chandeliers and original
sculptures and paintings, the theater itself suffers from three
decades of use. The chairs’ upholstery is tattered; the carpet
is worn and stained; the aisles lack functioning floor lights;
and the wallpaper is faded, dirty and peeling.
"We deserve better support for the cultural institutions
of Brooklyn – especially in central Brooklyn," Colvin Grannum,
president of the Bedford-Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation,
said. Grannum said the Billie Holiday Theatre is an important
forum for the Brooklyn community, and "an important place
for expression and growth."
"You deserve it," Markowitz said of the renovation
to the approximately 100 people who attended the event. He called
the Billie Holiday Theatre "a true Brooklyn landmark"
and was pleased to make possible "the renovation that will
give this theater all the splendor of the singer it’s named for."
Grannum presented Markowitz with an honorary plaque.
The Billie Holiday Theatre’s 2005-2006 season begins on Nov.
4 with "Otis and Zora," a drama about a guilt-ridden
couple grieving the loss of their child. The play runs through
Dec. 18. The season continues with "Storm Stories: A Multimedia
Dramatic Event," a series of personal accounts of Hurricane
Katrina’s aftermath and "Love and Marriage and New York
City," a comedy about two Jamaican-born couples who marry
each other to acquire green cards.
More improvements
The $900,000 allotment from the borough president is the first
phase of a two-phase renovation plan for the theater, according
to Tracey Capers, senior vice president of the Bedford Stuyvesant
Restoration Corporation. In addition to the technological upgrades,
the theater renovation’s first phase, which will begin in the
summer of 2006, includes new seats, carpeting, aisle lights,
wallpaper and chandeliers.
In the second phase, which Capers said is tentatively slated
to begin sometime in 2007, the corporation plans to expand the
wing and fly spaces of the theater’s stage, further diversifying
the theater’s staging capabilities. The corporation also plans
to increase the theater’s seating capacity by about 50.
Although the exact details and cost of the second phase are still
in development, Capers said it is likely to cost another $1 million.
That money will come from the corporation’s budget and potentially
from additional fundraising.
The corporation’s Restoration Plaza, of which the Billie Holiday
Theatre is a part, occupies over 300,000 square feet and, in
addition to the theater, houses an art gallery and a youth academy
of the arts. The corporation anticipates renovations for the
entire plaza, made possible by $12 million committed by the City
Council and the Department of Small Business Services that will
be disbursed over the next three or four years.
"We want Restoration Plaza to be a first-class destination
for art, culture and commerce," Capers said. "We want
people of Brooklyn to see this as their place."
The Billie Holiday Theatre is located
at 1368 Fulton St. at New York Avenue in Bedford-Stuyvesant.
Performances during the season are held Thursday through Sunday,
with two performances on Saturdays. Ticket prices range from
$12 to $20, depending on the day and theater section. For more
information, call the box office at (718) 636-0918 or visit the
theater’s Web site, www.thebilliehoilday.org.
