Hattiloo Season 19
(2025-2026)

This project is being supported, in whole or in part, by federal award number SLFRP5534 awarded to the State of Tennessee by the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

JUBILEE

July 25 – August 24, 2025

Written by
Tazewell Thompson
Regional Premiere 

The world-renowned Fisk Jubilee Singers shattered racial barriers in the U.S. and abroad, entertaining kings and queens. For centuries, the bold a cappella African American ensemble born on the campus of Fisk University has blended their rich voices together sharing a heritage of suffering, strength and endurance. With uplifting spirituals and hymns including “Wade in the Water,” “Ain’t That Good News,” and “Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen,” this a cappella performance with more than three dozen songs is sure to ignite audiences.

May 27, 2025 – Subscribers/Donors can Reserve Seat(s)
June 10, 2025 – Tickets on Sale 

JAJA’S AFRICAN HAIR BRAIDING

Written by Jocelyn Bioh
September 12 – October 12, 2025
Regional Premiere 

Hattiloo welcomes you into Jaja’s bustling hair braiding shop in Harlem where every day, a lively and eclectic group of West African immigrant hair braiders are creating masterpieces on the heads of neighborhood women. During one sweltering summer day, love will blossom, dreams will flourish, and secrets will be revealed. The uncertainty of their circumstances simmer below the surface of their lives and when it boils over, it forces this tight-knit community to confront what it means to be an outsider on the edge of the place they call home.

July 22, 2025 – Subscribers/Donors can Reserve Seat(s) 
August 5, 2025 – Tickets on Sale 

MADAGASCAR

October 31 – November 9, 2025

Book by Kevin del Aguila
Original music & lyrics by George Noriega & Joel Somaliland

Alex the lion is the king of the urban jungle, the main attraction at New York’s Central Park Zoo. He and his best friends — Marty the zebra, Melman the giraffe and Gloria the hippo — have spent their whole lives in blissful captivity before an admiring public and with regular meals provided for them. Not content to leave well enough alone, Marty lets his curiosity get the better of him and makes his escape — with the help of some prodigious penguins — to explore the world.

September 23, 2025 – Tickets on Sale
Note: Not included in any subscription.

IF SCROOGE WAS A BROTHER

Written by Ekundayo Bandele
November 28 – December 21, 2025

It’s Christmas Eve and Eb Scroo is seeking to snuff out the season’s cheer by demanding all debts owed him be satisfied before nightfall. Facing imprisonment, a Christmas without presents and a feast, the residents are desperate. In this urban spin of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, the ghosts and characters are icons of Black culture.

October 7, 2025 – Subscribers/Donors can Reserve Seat(s)
October 21, 2025 – Tickets on Sale 

DREAMGIRLS

Book and Lyrics by Tom Eyen
Music by Henry Krieger
January 30 – March 8, 2026

A smash-hit Broadway musical that became an Oscar-nominated film, Dreamgirls follows an all-girl Motown singing group on the path from obscurity to superstardom in the 1960s and ’70s. Along the way, the rising stars must question the price of their success and the meaning of family. It’s a whirlwind ride through the highs and lows of showbiz in an era of change in American pop music.

December 2, 2025 – Subscribers/Donors can Reserve Seat(s)
December 16, 2025 – Tickets on Sale

MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM

Written by August Wilson
April 10 – May 10, 2026

It’s 1927 and Ma Rainey, the “Mother of the Blues,” is recording new sides of old favorites in a rundown studio in Chicago. Fiery and determined, Ma Rainey fights to retain control over her music, while her cocky trumpet player Levee dreams of making his own name in the business. More than music goes down in August Wilson’s riveting portrayal of rage, racism, self-hatred and exploitation.

February 27, 2026– Subscribers/Donors can Reserve Seat(s)
March 3, 2026 – Tickets on Sale