Three artists, a band and a building walk into the Kennedy Center.
Well, that’s probably not how it’ll happen. But in an unusual twist, storied Harlem theater the Apollo, New York’s gravitational center for Black arts which turns 90 this year, is among the 47th class of Kennedy Center honorees.
The honor “certainly wasn’t expected,” said the Apollo’s president and CEO, Michelle Ebanks. “Artists receive this award. But then the Apollo is an iconic stage for artists.”
The class announced by the arts center Thursday also includes some famous human names: renowned filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola; blues-rock star Bonnie Raitt; celebrated Cuban American trumpeter and composer Arturo Sandoval; and beloved band the Grateful Dead, whose living honorees are Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, Phil Lesh and Bob Weir.
Kennedy Center President Deborah F. Rutter said there isn’t a theme when selecting the honorees, but one often emerges organically. This year, that accidental theme is “a reflection of American culture through its music and how music is used to create American culture,” she said, pointing to the Grateful Dead as a cultural institution, the Apollo as a musician maker and the use of music in Coppola’s films.
The Dec. 8 ceremony will take place in the 2,364-seat Opera House, where celebrity guests, top secret until the night of, will celebrate the honorees from the stage. The center has not decided whether the evening will follow tradition and include a host (last year’s was previous honoree Gloria Estefan). The show will be broadcast on CBS and streamed on Paramount Plus on Dec. 23.
The Apollo — which launched the careers of Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday, James Brown, Stevie Wonder and Gladys Knight, among many others — is the first physical institution to receive the honor, but the Kennedy Center has zagged before. In addition to honoring full bands (Led Zeppelin, U2, the Eagles), it has celebrated “Sesame Street” (all of it) and the cast of the Broadway sensation/D.C. catnip “Hamilton.”
The award will cap a year-long 90th birthday celebration for the theater, which included its first major expansion a few doors down on 125th Street with the opening of the Apollo Stages at the Victoria. Plans are also underway for a full-scale restoration of its historic theater, which includes an expansion of the lobby and a new cafe.
“This is a wonderful spotlight on the exciting work that continue to happen at the Apollo Theatre as we propel ourselves forward for the next 90 years,” Ebanks said. “The work continues.”
Well, that’s probably not how it’ll happen. But in an unusual twist, storied Harlem theater the Apollo, New York’s gravitational center for Black arts which turns 90 this year, is among the 47th class of Kennedy Center honorees.
The honor “certainly wasn’t expected,” said the Apollo’s president and CEO, Michelle Ebanks. “Artists receive this award. But then the Apollo is an iconic stage for artists.”
The class announced by the arts center Thursday also includes some famous human names: renowned filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola; blues-rock star Bonnie Raitt; celebrated Cuban American trumpeter and composer Arturo Sandoval; and beloved band the Grateful Dead, whose living honorees are Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, Phil Lesh and Bob Weir.
Kennedy Center President Deborah F. Rutter said there isn’t a theme when selecting the honorees, but one often emerges organically. This year, that accidental theme is “a reflection of American culture through its music and how music is used to create American culture,” she said, pointing to the Grateful Dead as a cultural institution, the Apollo as a musician maker and the use of music in Coppola’s films.
The Dec. 8 ceremony will take place in the 2,364-seat Opera House, where celebrity guests, top secret until the night of, will celebrate the honorees from the stage. The center has not decided whether the evening will follow tradition and include a host (last year’s was previous honoree Gloria Estefan). The show will be broadcast on CBS and streamed on Paramount Plus on Dec. 23.
The Apollo — which launched the careers of Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday, James Brown, Stevie Wonder and Gladys Knight, among many others — is the first physical institution to receive the honor, but the Kennedy Center has zagged before. In addition to honoring full bands (Led Zeppelin, U2, the Eagles), it has celebrated “Sesame Street” (all of it) and the cast of the Broadway sensation/D.C. catnip “Hamilton.”
The award will cap a year-long 90th birthday celebration for the theater, which included its first major expansion a few doors down on 125th Street with the opening of the Apollo Stages at the Victoria. Plans are also underway for a full-scale restoration of its historic theater, which includes an expansion of the lobby and a new cafe.
“This is a wonderful spotlight on the exciting work that continue to happen at the Apollo Theatre as we propel ourselves forward for the next 90 years,” Ebanks said. “The work continues.”
