Our mission matters... to ignite the artistic freedom of performing artists of the Global Majority (85% of the global population) who are poised to create new artistic works, new ideas, and a new world in which ALL people can flourish.
Due to persistent and longstanding inequitable systems and structures, artists and institutions of the Global Majority remain the underinvested communities of the 21st century and yet...
Harlem Stage is forged in a crucible of a creative fire whose flames and embers may waver, still — undeterred by overwhelming odds — we will continue to be a conduit for freedom, a lens to focus the issues of our time, and a light to illuminate any darkness.
Dr. Indira Etwaroo | CEO & Artistic Director | Harlem Stage
BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND!
SISTERING: THE EVER-PRESENT PRESENCE OF
ANGELS
Thu, Nov 14 at 7pm ET I Harlem Stage
Running Time: 120 mins
SISTERING: The Ever-Present Presence of Angels is High-Church storytelling featuring Liza Jessie Peterson’s unorthodox, speak-truth-to-power/liberation-by-any-means-necessary, unapologetically Black and bold, voice. In an evening of poetry, theater, music, and film, Peterson tells of navigating frequent bouts of faltering faith through connection to angels, divine guidance, bursts of miracles, and a lil’ mojo. Representing the angelic realm, singer/songwriter Hannah Lemmons creates a musical landscape evoking the call and response between flesh and spirit.
This performance received a one-minute standing ovation at its October 12 premiere. We are thrilled to present the continued evolution and the creative genius of Peterson’s work that also features Maritri Garrett and now Divinity Roxx.
Liza Jessie Peterson is an artivist, actress, playwright, poet, author, and youth advocate who has worked steadfast with incarcerated populations for more than two decades. Her critically acclaimed one woman show, The Peculiar Patriot, had successful runs at the National Black Theater (NY), Arts Emerson (Boston), Woolly Mammoth (Washington, DC) and Detroit Public Theater. The play was nominated for a Drama Desk Award Elliot Norton and a recipient of a Lilly Award. It is available on Audible. Liza performed The Peculiar Patriot in 35 prisons across the country and a documentary, Angola Do You Hear Us; Voices from a Plantation Prison, features her historic performance of The Peculiar Patriot at Louisiana State Penitentiary (aka Angola) which is streaming on Paramount Plus and Amazon Prime, and was shortlisted for an Academy Award. The Peculiar Patriot is currently in development for a feature film. Her memoir, ALL DAY; A Year of Love and Survival Teaching Incarcerated Kids at Rikers Island (Hachette publishing) was commissioned by The Old Globe Theater to adapt the book into a stage play, and she has developed a TV pilot based on the book. Liza was featured in Ava DuVernay’s Emmy award winning documentary, The 13th, and was a consultant on Bill Moyers documentary Rikers (PBS). Also known for her exceptional poetic skills, Liza began her poetry career at the Nuyorican Poets Café and appeared on two episodes of HBO’s Def Poetry.
Liza appeared in Showtime’s mini-series, Everything’s Gonna Be All White, by Sacha Jenkins. She can be seen in A Luv Tale (BETplus), Love the Hard Way (co-starring with Pam Grier and Adrien Brody) Spike Lee’s Bamboozled, and K. Shalini’s A Drop of Life.
Liza wrote and starred in two short films, MERLINA and Black Love Manifesto, both won several festival awards.
For more info on her projects, including MERLINA and Black Love Manifesto, visit her website at www.lizajessiep.com.
Hannah Lemmons, also known as LEMMONS, is a singer/songwriter from Denver, Colorado. She has worked with Esperanza Spalding, Yosvany Terry, Don Braden, and Craig Derry. She is a recipient of the 2021 Emerging Visionary Grant from SheaMoisture x GOOD MIRRORS, and was featured in Raveena’s artist spotlight series in 2021. Most recently, she opened for acclaimed vocalist Amber Riley and was featured in Citizen Magazine Issue 002, covered by Kendrick Lamar. Her debut EP, Like The Fruit, released on October 15, 2022 and is available on all platforms.
LEMMONS hopes her music will empower people who imagine worlds — those who seek to create impossibilities.
Her musical inspirations include Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, and Norah Jones. Her style is characterized by ethereal, layered vocals and bouncy production with an alternative beat, reminiscent of the likes of Moses Sumney, Lianne La Havas, and Ms. Lauryn Hill.
Hannah is also a Harlem Stage 2023 Waterworks Emerging Artist.
Divinity Roxx is a Grammy-nominated recording artist, composer, and musician, with five solo albums (Ain’t No Other Way – 2003, The Roxx Boxx Experience – 2012, ImPossible – 2016, Ready Set Go! – 2021, World Wide Playdate – 2024). In addition to her own work, she is well known for touring and performing with Beyoncé Knowles (2006–2011) as her bassist and Musical Director. Her career as a bass-player skyrocketed after attending a bass camp led by the legendary 5-time Grammy award-winning bass virtuoso, Victor Wooten where she was invited to join him on tour. Divinity has appeared on countless television shows including SNL, Good Morning America, and more, with personal highlights including a special performance at The White House Easter Egg Roll 2023. Her 2021 Family Music Album release, Ready Set Go! received a Grammy nomination and Scholastic Inc. published two songs from the album as full-color picture books. She composed the theme song for the PBS Kids show, Lyla in the Loop. Her original compositions can be heard in YTA theatre, (The Boy Who Kissed the Sky, Into the Burrow: A Peter Rabbit Story), as well as television shows like Jersey Shore, The Bold Type and others. Divinity is currently performing worldwide, composing music for theatre and television, writing multiple projects, and developing her solo stage play, Starchild, which premiered at Crossroads Theatre in 2023. Divinity is serving her second term on the Board of Governors with the New York Chapter of the Recording Academy, where she is co-chair of the Advocacy Committee.
Maritri Garrett is a classically trained and self-taught multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, and composer who lived in New York for over twenty years as a full-time working musician. She sang backup for Barbra Streisand and Michael Amante, composed music for the Washington ballet and is in the Soulfolk Experience, a band comprised of multi-instrumentalists, vocalists, and writers. She has scored several films, theater pieces, apps and many live theater shows in New York and traveled extensively as a solo musician and with ensembles. She currently resides in Southern California.
For more info on her projects, visit her website at www.maritri.com.
YOUR SUPPORT MATTERS
Due to persistent inequitable systems and structures, institutions focused on artists and audiences of the Global Majority remain the underinvested communities of the 21st century. We will not rest until all artists and arts institutions of and for the Global Majority have achieved equity! We hope you will join us in our quest.
Click here to
Land Acknowledgement
The Harlem Stage Gatehouse sits on land that was stewarded by the Lenape Tribes and was violently overtaken, leading to the death and displacement of countless original inhabitants and stewards of this land. The colonial initiative of the United States of America not only invaded the land stewarded by Indigenous tribes, it also enslaved and exploited millions of Africans stolen from their land to build a free labor force under barbaric conditions that included the separation of families, brutal beatings, rape, and lynching. Harlem Stage seeks to partner with all communities, artists, and institutions of the Global Majority in the struggle for true equity and freedom.
Harlem Stage encourages all people to see this acknowledgment as a call to action to join our efforts and our mission to ignite the artistic freedom of performing artists of the Global Majority who are poised to build new artistic works, new ideas, and a new world in which ALL people can flourish.
Our Commitment to the Planet
Harlem Stage’s values are rooted in ensuring a sustainable planet. Because we see climate change as one of the most pressing issues of our time – an issue that disproportionately impacts Black and Brown communities across the globe - we will continue to honor environmental initiatives both in our operations and programming. Our efforts in using less paper, transitioning to LEDs in our tech and operational spaces, and leaning into digital communications, we have reduced our carbon footprint by 2.5 tons this 2024 – 2025 season alone. Finally, we are proud to work with artists, such as Bebe Miller, who will explore the dynamic and thriving ecology of forests, as necessary to a sustainable planet, as part of our Spring 2025 E-Moves Festival.
HARLEM STAGE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Angela Glover Blackwell
Jenna Bond
Jamila Ponton Bragg
Jamie Cannon, Vice President
JoAnn K. Chase
Hugh Dancy and Claire Danes
Dr. Indira Etwaroo
LaChanze Sapp-Gooding
Jenette Kahn
Courtney F. Lee-Mitchell, President
Channing Martin
Rebecca Robertson
Mark Thomas, Treasurer
Tamara Tunie
Blair Washington
Michael Young, Secretary
HARLEM STAGE STAFF
Acey Anderson – Maintenance Associate
Lamont Askins – Operations Manager
Jelani Buckner – Innovation Business Operations Management Director
Bethany Cintron – Community, Education, and Social Initiatives Manager
Dr. Indira Etwaroo – CEO & Artistic Director
Julianna Friedman – Associate Director of Individual and Foundational Giving
Deirdre May – Chief Content Communications Officer
Sarah McCaffery – Programming Manager
Andre Padayhag – Marketing Manager & Graphic Design
Carl Hancock Rux – Associate Artistic Director
Shanté Skyers – Director of Development
Karlvy Smith – Strategic Planning Manager
CONSULTANTS
Das, IT
Lutz & Carr/Chris Bellando, Accountants
Katie Burk, Graphic Design
Aon/Albert G. Ruben Company (NY)/Claudia Kaufman, Insurance
Margaret Hunt, Development
Dwight Johnson, Gala Consultant
Deniz Kofteci, Social Media & Website
Madison Consulting Group, Matt Lawrence
Manchester Benefits, Greg Martin
Jess Medenbach, Digital Video Services
Squire Media & Management, Public Relations
Marc Millman, Photography
Ncheng, LLP
Donna Walker-Kuhne, Community Engagement
HARLEM STAGE FAMILY OF SUPPORTERS
Endowment
Fan Fox & Leslie R. Samuels Foundation
Leonard and Sophie Davis Estate
Rockefeller Brothers Fund
Public Support
National Endowment for the Arts—Chair, Maria Rosario Jackson,PhD
New York State Council on the Arts—Chair, Katherine Nicholls
The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs—Mayor Eric Adams and Commissioner Laurie Cumbo
The New York City Council—Councilmember Shaun Abreu and Councilmember Yusef Salaam
Manhattan Borough President– Mark Levine
Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone
Foundation Support
Altman Foundation
The Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation, Inc.
The Black Seed Fund
Bloomberg Philanthropies
Columbia Community Service
Joseph and Joan Cullman Foundation for the Arts
Davis/Dauray Family Fund
Fan Fox & Leslie R. Samuels Foundation
Francena T. Harrison Foundation
The Ford Foundation
The Harkness Foundation for Dance
The Hearst Foundations
The Howard Gilman Foundation
Jerome Foundation
Jewish Communal Fund
The Diana King Memorial Fund Presented by the Charles and Lucille King Family Foundation
Lambent Foundation/Tides Foundation
Lucille Lortel Foundation
(Foundation Support continued)
Mellon Foundation
Mertz Gilmore Foundation
Metzger-Price Fund
Miranda Family Fund
Pierre and Tana Matisse Charitable Foundation
Rockefeller Brothers Fund
The Scherman Foundation, Inc.
SHS Foundation
The Shubert Foundation, Inc.
The Thompson Family Foundation, Inc.
The Leonard and Robert Weintraub Family Fund
Corporate Support
ABC7
BET Networks
Berklee NYC
Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Aids
Citi
City Winery
Consolidated Edison Company
The Estée Lauder Companies
Hell’s Kitchen The Musical
The Interpublic Group of Companies
JoAnn Chase Company
Leuchtturm1917
LCM/247
Manhattan Beer Distributors
Penguin Random House
The Public Theater
Pure Green
SESAC
Uncle Nearest
United Talent Agency
West Harlem Development Corporation
INDIVIDUAL SUPPORT
Randy Adams
Laura Aden
Charlene Adhiambo
Benjamin Angeloni
Jamison Antoine
Ngozi Anyanwu
Deborah Archer
Bernard Aronson
Lisa Arrindell
L. Kelly Atkinson Jr.
Roland Augustine
Arno Austin
Neal Baer
Catherine Baker-Pitts
Clare Baren
Betsie Becker
Stefany & Simon Bergson
Stephanie Berry
Jacqueline Beverly
Nilanjana Bhattacharjya
Robert D. Bielecki
Susan Bird
Richard Bizier
Daniel Black
Angela Glover Blackwell*
Patricia Blanchet
David Bogen
Bill Bragin
Andrea Brecker
Enrique Brown
Ronald K. Brown
Ben Brown
Richard Buery
Khephra Burns
Terry Burrell
Todd Steven Burroughs
Angela Butler
Arcell Cabuag
Megan Callari
Mary Schmidt Campbell
Jamie Cannon*
Patrice & William Cannon
Joe Capotorto
Gayle Capozzalo Heil
Hillary Carlip
Amy Cassello
Denis Cavanagh
JoAnn Chase*
Nancy Clipper
Michelle Coffey
Honeychild Coleman
Sharon Combs
Anita Contini
Stephanie Cook
Erica Corbin
Barry Cohen
Caroline Cronson
Pat Cruz
Joan Daidone
Sandra Daley
Hugh Dancy* & Claire Danes*
Milly Hawk Daniel
Zenzele Daniels
G. Jean Davis
Dolores Day Gilliard
Paul F. Dean Jr.
Anne Delaney
Janet Dewart Bell
Vijay Dharmapuri
Ingrid Doyle
Abigail Ehrlich
Michelle Elliott
John Ellis
Lauren Elmore
Cristina Enriquez-Bocobo
Dr. Indira Etwaroo*
Sehra Eusufzai
Joni Evans
Courtney Lee-Mitchell*
Susan Feder
Tovah Feldshuh & Andrew Levy
Tanya Fernando
Laura Flanders
Joy A. Flynt
Donald G. Fornoff
Neil Fox
Ian Friedman
Vivian & Paul Friedman
Viola Fulton
Neil Gaiman
Alex Gansa
Edward L. Geffner
Stuart Gelwarg
Dolores Day Gilliard
Lyn Godley
Arlene Gooding
Indira Goodwine-Josias
Todd Gordon
Porsha Grant
Elaine L. Greene
Steve Greer
Laura Greer
Michael Greif
Agnes Gund
Sharon Hall
Yvonne Hall
Eugene & Nora Hamond
Jody Harrow
John Haworth
Patrick Heaphy
Ruth & Stephen Hendel
Leon Henderson
Robert Hill
Navasha Hill
Hallie Hobson
Kinshasha Holman Conwill
William Holtzman
Winnie Holzman
Debra James
Ginger Johnson
Melissa Jones
Edward L. Jones
John Josephson & Carolina Zapf
Jenette Kahn* & Al Williams
Jeanette Kastenberg
Michael Kenny
James King
Steven Kirkpatrick
Laurie Klatscher
Daniel Klaus
Tim Knowling
Juan Lara
Brad Learmonth & Jon
Gilman
Kenneth Lee
Kenny Leon
Karen & Danny Lerner
Paul Levitz & Jeanette Cusimano
Loida N. Lewis
Jim & Beth Lewis and Family
Yang Li
Jeanine Liburd
Todd London
Mino Lora
Carey Lovelace
Contstance Maitland
Channing Martin*
Lucinda Martinez
Richard Massey
Gay McDougall
Kevin McNeal
Sherman & Chris Meloni
Linda Meresman
John Metzner
Elizabeth Minnich & Si Kahn
Bonnie J. Monte
Colin Montgomery
Justin Garrett Moore
Carol Wood Moore
Alexis Moore
Iona Morris Jackson
Matthew Morrison
Michael Mosley
Kelly Myers
Lynn Nottage
David O’Brien
Cynthia Oliver
Courtney O’Malley
Dan Osheyack
Gina Paige
Estelle Parsons
Richard D. Parsons
Marguerite Pitts
Will Pitts
Lisa G. Podulka
Stan Ponte
Jamila Ponton Bragg* & Alvin Bragg
John & Maxine Potts
Michelle Potts
Terri Prettyman Bowles
Ben Reese
Adaa Reyes
Diana Richardson
Adam Richman
Dee Dee Ricks
Rebecca Robertson* & Byron Knief
Verdery Roosevelt
Golda Rosheuvel
Gretchen Rubin
Judy Rubin
Tyhessia Salgado Perez
Kathryn Shattuck
Robinregina Shaw
Michelle Shay
Stefanie Siegel
Barbara Simino
Catherine Slade
Kenneth Small
Fran Smith
Ted Snowdon & Duffy Violante
Cleveland Solomon
Michael Sommerfield
Jason & Beth Spector
Devon Sprunk
Kenneth Stallings
Grace Stanislaus
Elizabeth Streb
Carol Strom
Hiroko Takada
Mark Thomas*
Michelle Thornhill
Teri & Lloyd Trotter
Tamara Tunie*
Melissa Vander Plaats
Reginald Van Lee
Deborah Velazquez
Blair Washington*
Jason Watt
Erica Webber
Theis Weckesser
Carrie Mae Weems
Fran & Barry Weissler
Charles Whelan
Cherl Williams
Naina Williams
Greg Williamson
Michael Young*
*Board Members
The above list reflects gifts received between July 1, 2023 and September 19, 2024. If your name has been omitted or misprinted, please accept our apologies and contact Development Manager, Julianna Friedman at jfriedman@harlemstage.org
