Show Finder

The 22nd annual Downtown Urban Arts Festival will feature NYC premieres by two-time Tony winner Savion Glover, Tony nominee reg e gaines and some of the best new and emerging playwrights from across the country.  In celebration of the 30th Anniversary of James Earl Hardy's best-selling novel B-Boy Blues, which was first adapted for the stage at DUAF 2013, they will present Real Talk, a free humanities event with the author.

SoUNdZ.SaCRoSaNCt
Two-time Tony winner Savion Glover returns to The Public Theater with SoUNdZ.SaCRoSaNCt, his latest creation of dance and theater mastery honoring the legends of “The Dance” who mentored him while exploring the intersection of self-expression and mental health.

A Diseased Feeling
written by Tenaj Smith
directed by Marie Diamond
A coming of age story. Do you remember those moments, at the end of adolescence? I mean, we were never taught how to be men, to be good sons, good lovers; It’s just expected of us. So maybe we become sick through the searching, through the worry, through this diseased feeling.

Collective Empathy Formation from 1968 and 2018
written by Calley N. Anderson
directed by Nigel Semaj
Five research study participants gather in a conference room. Their task appears simple and straight-forward: select 10 events from the year 1968 that they feel impacted the nation’s conscious and view of empathy. What transpires is a reflection of what is seen, heard and missed when history, memory and living bodies must merge in unflinching ways.

Langston Used
written by Alano P. Baez
directed by Omar Villegas
Langston Used is an allegorical Hip Hop battle rhyme between good and evil, right and wrong, corporations and culture and man versus the machine.

Record
written and directed by Eduardo Pavez Goye 
Valerie and Eric are a young political power couple whose day is derailed when a stranger picks up their son from school. When the stranger returns the son to their home, the three spend a tense and at times surreal evening together, where the truth about their history is revealed.

Extrajudicial
written by Sheila Duane
directed by Renee´ Flemings
There’s a world that fate plans for us. Then there’s the real world: stained, twisted, and broken by hate.

On/Off
written by Elizabeth Shannon 
directed by Katie Michelle Stahl
Delilah is a lesbian, and Claire is confused. She could never say that, though. What started off as a friendship everyone secretly believed would lead to Claire’s coming out is majorly disrupted when Claire gets a boyfriend,.

Self Tape
written by Daniel Duren
directed by Marc David Wright
Anna gets more than she bargained for as her coaching session with renowned actor, Robert Keusch, comes to an end. In her desperation to get the perfect take, she pleads with him to extend the session. What begins as a heated discourse spirals into deeper conversations about Robert’s checkered past.

Trite and True
written by Jane M. Lee
directed by Jenn Susi
Two strangers.  One subway station.  Not just another New York City cliché.

Searching for Abuelo
written by Gretchen Suárez-Peña
directed by Magaly Colimon-Christopher
A heartwarming, comedic and powerful production that has garnered numerous awards for its poignant storytelling and exceptional performance. Dubbed a Ted Talk overtaken by the ancestors, this one-woman show about identity is framed in the Puerto Rican musical style of Bomba.

Final Straw
written by Alan Stolzer
directed by Gha'il Benjamin
The Faithfuls, an African-American upper middle class married couple are at odds over their (only) child's violent death at the hands of a police officer. They debate behavior: the mother, Sally, not yet attending the funeral and husband, Rafe, looking to bring her there after seeing to its preparations.

People Don't Shoot Up Schools in 1930.
written by Annie Brown
directed by Jackson Bradshaw
Daily, gun violence takes the lives of 12 American children, many being gun violence in American schools. This piece follows the lockdown journey of Auggie as they seek safety in an empty classroom. We share an hour of numbness, distractions, art, news coverage and jazz as they ache to be okay.

Jessie's Blue
written and directed by Brandice Peltier
It's the Harlem Renaissance, and Jessie is a lonely jazz singer who has lost her "star power" and is now being haunted by many things, including her depression. When a younger amateur singer steps in to take Jessie's place, Jessie is forced to confront her and her own demons in order to fight and get back to living and not just surviving.

Salt Flats
written by Juan Ramirez, Jr.
directed by Omar Perez
In Death Valley Desert, salty Luis embodies the angry people in his life who have left behind negative thoughts in his mind, in hopes of ridding them, to find his own voice and yet, when he’s finally able to speak for himself, what will he say?

One Week From Paradise
written by Cris Eli Blak
directed by Sabrina Lassegue
Imprisoned for a crime he didn't commit, a young man learns he will be released in seven days. He must keep his head down and stay out of trouble, which becomes increasingly difficult as his personal relationships begin changing and he becomes hyper-aware of the effects of the prison system.

Tiers
written and directed by reg e gaines
Set in 1972 Jersey City, Tiers follows the friendship of four young black men: Angelo, Earl, ‘Heads’ and ‘Ice.’ What starts out as a simple night of cards, drinks and jokes among close friends quickly turns.

Sweet Lorraine
written and directed by Rajendra Ramoon Maharaj
Sweet Lorraine is a play inspired by the enduring friendship of Lorraine Hansberry and James Baldwin.

Shake the Disease
written by Leif Larson
directed by Matthew Pezzulich
River, a server at a resort, opens a vortex of Queer power and rage after subverting a gay bashing.

REAL TALK
From The Page to The Stage to The Screen: Celebrating the 30th Anniversary of B-Boy Blues
Years before “homo thug” and “down low” became infamous catchphrases and Li’l Nas X was crowned an international pop star … there was James Earl Hardy’s B-Boy Blues. 

Charting the romance between a college educated journalist from Brooklyn and a homeboy/bike messenger from Harlem, the novel was released in November 1994 and surprised many when it became an out-the-gate hit, topping indie bestseller lists and setting a LGBTQIA+ press record. Praised as the first gay hip hop love story, the novel has given birth to seven bestselling sequels; the BroadwayWorld award-winning stage play produced by DUAF; and the GLAAD Media Award nominated film adaptation (which is currently streaming on BET+).

This DUAF-sponsored event will serve as the official kick-off for Mr. Hardy’s tour to celebrate the novel’s 30th anniversary. Mr. Hardy will trace the book’s journey from the page to the stage to the screen; share fan favorite excerpts and anecdotes; and explore its cultural impact (an influence that can be seen in the television series Noah’s Arc and the Oscar-winning Best Picture Moonlight) with actors from both the theatrical and screen versions.