Leland Gantt News

AMERICAN ROT – a new play by Kate Taney Billingsley, directed by Estelle Parsons – will be given its world-premiere production at La MaMa’s Ellen Stewart Theatre. Find out who is starring in the production here!

The Actors Studio will continue its 75th Anniversary celebration with a three-day celebration of one of its most influential members, Academy Award winner and Co-Associate Artistic Director of The Actors Studio, Estelle Parsons.

The first line you'll hear when noted actor LeLand Gantt brings his inspirational life story to the Gracie Theatre on Friday, February 24, 2023 at 11 a.m. and 7 p.m., in celebration of Black History Month is, 'I just want to start a conversation.'

As with most intelligent and clever actors struggling to find paying work during difficult times, LeLand Gantt readily admits that he was inspired to create Rhapsody in Black, which has been described as “a powerful personal narrative on racism, identity, and self-image” to provide some work for himself, allowing him to “stay in town to do more tv and film.” Now, however, as acclaim for his one-man show continues to grow, he’s finding himself “out of town” – he's based in New York – to give theater-goers all over the country a chance to see his the result of his creativity on his personal journey to transcene racism in America.

The Gracie Theatre's 11th season is upon us.

Nashville's Tennessee Performing Arts Center (TPAC) today announces its non-Broadway programming lineup for 2022-23, including the launch of new series for dance, theater, and family presentations as well as the return of its Cabaret On Stage series, co-presented with Studio Tenn.

New, provocative works by John Sims and James E. Reynolds will debut at La MaMa’s Ellen Stewart Theatre (66 E. 4 St.) in December.

The Cincinnati Arts Association will present LeLand Gantt in his one-man show, Rhapsody in Black, streaming May 4-17, 2021. Written and performed by LeLand and developed at NYC’s Actors Studio by Academy Award-winner Estelle Parsons, the show explores his personal journey to understand and eventually transcend racism in America.

The Lied Center is presenting one of the most diverse programs of events in the nation this spring, featuring the world's top artists. Responding to the COVID19 pandemic, nearly all spring season events will feature both in-person and virtual attendance options.

Spruce Peak Performing Arts Center, in a unique partnership with regional racial justice organizations, presents Rhapsody in Black on November 7th at 7pm.  Rhapsody offers a prismatic look at life on the color line as Leland Gantt presents a poignant, engaging, and often hilarious travelogue through the psyche of the perpetual a?oeother.a??  This one-man show is directed by Oscar winner and American Theatre Hall-of-Famer Estelle Parsons. 

Stick season will be busy this year! Spruce Peak Arts has lots of performances and cultural events to entertain you! From exquisite ballet performances and soulful blues bash to a fun family afternoon of magic and an unforgettable celebration of lights on the mountain. Reserve your fun NOW!

On Thursday, November 7 at 7pm, Spruce Peak Performing Arts Center presents Rhapsody in Black, a powerful personal narrative on the subjects of racism, identity, and self-image.

Bay Street Theater and Divaria Productions have announced a live opera presentation of Othello: The Opera and Play Enmeshed on Saturday, September 14 at 8 pm. This production is an exploration of the timeless classic though theater, opera & dance. The project will feature selections from Verdi's opera in Italian, parts of Shakespeare's text with professional actors and dancers, all three of which will transmit the essence of the story through different mediums. The story of Othello concerns themes of jealousy, misplaced trust and exclusion, all of which, though crafted 400 years ago, are extraordinarily relevant today.

Bay Street Theater and Divaria Productions announce a live opera presentation of Othello: The Opera and Play Enmeshed on Saturday, September 14 at 8 pm.

The Spruce Peak Performing Art Center's Student Matinee Series connects children, teachers, and schools with the performing arts in deep and meaningful ways bringing  performances to Vermont that both complement school curriculum, and introduce students to new worlds they have never known before.

I AM is a coming of age musical theatre piece with music by Lauren Stamm, book by Ben Gouldthorpe, and story by Stamm, Gouldthorpe, and Ted Watts Jr. The premier reading for this show will be held on June 30 and will be directed by Watts. The show will feature a seven-piece orchestra with arrangements and orchestrations by Jacinta Clusellas.

I AM is a coming of age musical theatre piece with music by Lauren Stamm, book by Ben Gouldthorpe, and story by Stamm, Gouldthorpe, and Ted Watts Jr. The premier reading for this show will be held on June 30 and will be directed by Watts. The show will feature a seven-piece orchestra with arrangements and orchestrations by Jacinta Clusellas.

I AM is a coming of age musical theatre piece with music by Lauren Stamm, book by Ben Gouldthorpe, and story by Stamm, Gouldthorpe, and Ted Watts Jr. The premier reading for this show will be held on June 30 and will be directed by Watts. The show will feature a seven-piece orchestra with arrangements and orchestrations by Jacinta Clusellas.

On Tuesday, June 5th, the United Palace of Cultural Arts will host 'Rhapsody in Black,' the autobiographical one-man play written and performed by LeLand Gantt (best known for his roles in the Oscar-nominated Requiem for a Dream, Law and Order, and more). Developed at NYC's Actors Studio with Academy Award-winning actress Estelle Parsons as Directorial Consultant, 'Rhapsody in Black' is a searing portrait of Gantt's personal journey to understand and eventually transcend racism in America - following him from his underprivileged childhood in the ghettos of McKeesport, Pennsylvania, to teenage experiments with drugs, to his eventual rise in acting and a bittersweet success that often finds him as the only African-American in the room.

The Billie Holiday Theatre, in association with The Frank Silvera Writers Workshop, presents a reading of STIILL LIFE GOES ON by Christine Melton, directed by Count Stovall, on December 11, 2017 at 7 p.m. at the Billie Holiday Theater (1328 Fulton Avenue, Brooklyn, NY).