Black Musical Theater Designers Panel

This panel, moderated by scenic designer Riccardo Hernandez,  features Broadway designers’ perspectives on the historical and current Black musical theater. Join us for a lively discussion of both classic and contemporary Black musical theater works through the lens of scenic design, lighting design, costume design, sound design, and more.

This celebration of design in Black musical theater is being held in conjunction with the Library for the Performing Arts' exhibition on the history of Black musical theater, curated by the late Michael Dinwiddie. 

Tracing the evolution of Black musical theater from its early roots to contemporary works, the exhibition highlights the contributions of groundbreaking artists such as Eubie Blake, Vinnette Carroll, Micki Grant, George C. Wolfe, and Langston Hughes, along with iconic productions including Shuffle Along, Don’t Bother Me, I Can’t Cope, The Wiz, and A Strange Loop.

SEATING POLICY | Programs are free and open to all, but registration is requested. Check-in line forms 45 minutes before the advertised start time. Registered guests are given priority check-in 15 to 30 minutes before start time. Five minutes before the advertised start time, all seats are released, regardless of registration, to our patrons in the stand-by line. If you arrive after the program starts, you will be seated at the discretion of our front-of-house staff.

STANDBY LINE | If registration is sold out or has ended, do not fret! We welcome you to come to the Library regardless of registration status and wait in our standby line, which forms 45 minutes before the advertised start time. Five minutes before the program starts, all remaining seats are released. While this is not guaranteed, we will do our best to get you into any of our programs.

ASSISTIVE LISTENING AND ASL | ASL interpretation and real-time (CART) captioning available upon request. Please submit your request at least two weeks in advance by emailing [email protected].

BRUNO WALTER POLICY | Please note that any unoccupied seat will be released five minutes before the show begins and holding seats for anyone beyond that is prohibited. There is no food or drink allowed inside the venue.

AUDIO/VIDEO RECORDING | Programs may be photographed and recorded by and at the discretion of the Library for the Performing Arts and will post signs indicating as such. If you would prefer your image not be captured, please let us know and we can seat you accordingly. Attending any program indicates your consent to being filmed/photographed and your consent to the use of your recorded image for any and all purposes of the New York Public Library.

PRESS | Please send all press inquiries to Alex Teplitzky at [email protected]. Please note that all recording, including professional video recordings, are prohibited without expressed consent from the Library.

Host or Publisher New York Public Library for the Performing Arts