The Paul Robeson Theatre is getting ready for a full season of 2023-24 productions for the first time since the pandemic, and it’s doing so with a boost from Erie County.
Legislature Chairwoman April Baskin on Tuesday announced that the African American Cultural Center, which houses the theater, will receive a $20,000 grant for the upcoming season.
Artistic Director Verneice Turner, who succeeded Yao Kahlil Newkirk after his resignation earlier this year, said four of the five plays in the upcoming season will be premieres by Western New York playwrights. After this year’s abbreviated season and the long shadow cast by the pandemic, the grant was another sign that the theater is “back on track,” she said.
“The Paul Robeson Theatre is looking forward to bringing forward a season that no one will ever forget,” Turner said.
A veteran actress who has performed in a dozen Robeson productions, Turner was part of the cast for a play written by a local playwright in 1987 and performed at Ujima Theatre. A New York City producer saw the play and took the show and cast to perform for several months at Off-Off-Broadway and Off-Broadway theaters.
“Coming out of the May 14 tragedy, we need something to show that the future is bright,” Executive Director James Pitts said.
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