# Amas Musical Theatre

Amas Musical Theatre, also known as the Rosetta LeNoire Theatre Academy and the Mainstage Musical Theatre, and formerly known as the Amas Repertory Theatre, Inc. and the Eubie Blake Youth Theatre, is a non-profit Manhattan-based theatre organization founded by Rosetta LeNoire. The name stems from the Latin word "amare", meaning "to love". "Amas" is the active indicative present form of "you love". The Academy puts on both a showcase and an off-off-Broadway performance at the end of the year, featuring inner-city and other teenagers. Amas is an anchor theatre tenant of The Players Theatre, a theatre located in Greenwich Village. The theatre has produced over 60 original musicals, including Bubbling Brown Sugar and Bojangles!.

## History

The organization was founded in 1968 by Rosetta LeNoire as the Amas Repertory Theatre to promote interracial and color-blind casting. In her words, it was a place "where all people could work together, with respect for individual skills and talents, rather than for race or color." In 1997, a newspaper called the New York Beacon wrote that "Rosetta created non-traditional casting before the phrase itself was created." Amas' first production, Soul, Yesterday and Today, which was based on the poetry of Langston Hughes, held its rehearsals in the basement of LeNoire's home in the Bronx. In 1989, the name was changed to Amas Musical Theatre. In 1977, Amas moved to Fifth Avenue and 104th Street, then in 1992 to the West 42nd Street theatre district. The organization's youth program, now known as the Amas Musical Theatre Teen Academy, was known as the Eubie Blake Youth Theatre from the 1970s to 1980s, where training was offered to youths ages 10 to 18.

## Production history

| Year(s) | Title | Director | Choreographer | Book by | Music by | Notes |
| 1973–1976 | Reminiscing with Sissie and Blake | Louis Johnson | Louis Johnson | Louis Johnson | Eubie Blake & Noble Sissle | |
| 1973–1976 | Bubbling Brown Sugar | Robert M. Cooper | Fred Benjamin | Loften Mitchell | | Transferred to Broadway |
| 1977 | Come Laugh and Cry with Langston Hughes | Rosetta LeNoire | Eugene Little | | | Musical Revue |
| 1977 | Save the Seeds, Darling | Arthur Whitelaw | | Helen Powers | William David Brohn | |
| 1977 | Bojangles! | Ira Cirker | Frank Hatchett | Norman Mitgang | | |
| 1977 | Ragtime Blues | Jay Binder | Dennis Karr | Mitch Douglas | Scott Joplin | |
| 1978 | Boston, Boston | William M. Maher | William M. Maher | William M. Maher | William David Brohn |
| 1978 | Adam, the Life of Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. | | | June Ahlert | Richard Ahlert |
| 1978 | Beowulf | Voigt Kempson | Voigt Kempson | Betty Jane Rylie | Victor Davies |
| 1979 | Suddenly the Music Starts | | Henry Le Tang | Johnny Brandon | Johnny Brandon |
| 1979 | It's So Nice to Be Civilized | Jeffrey Dunn | Fred Benjamin | Micki Grant | Micki Grant |
| 1979 | Helen | Lucia Victor | | Lucia Victor | Johnny Brandon |
| 1979 | Sparrow in Flight, The Story of Ethel Waters | Dean Irby | Bernard Johnson | Charles Fuller | |
| 1980 | Mama, I Want to Sing! | Duane L. Jones | | Vy Higginsen | Richard Tee |
| 1980 | Jam, A Jazz Odyssey | William Mooney | Dennis J. Shearer | John Gerstad | |
| 1980 | Dunbar | Ron Stacker Thompson | | Ayanna (adaptation) | Paul Tilman Smith & Quitman Flood, III |
| 1980 | Before the Flood | Billie Allen | Mabel Robinson | Rudy Gray | David Blake |
| 1980 | And Still I Rise | Maya Angelou | | Maya Angelou | Lalo Schifrin |
| 1981 | Will They Ever Love Us on Broadway? | Mable Robinson | Mable Robinson | Osayande Baruti | Osayande Baruti |
| 1981 | Mo' Tea, Miss Ann? | Denny Shearer | Denny Shearer | Bebe Coker | Leander Morris |
| 1981 | A Local Dilemma | | | Frederick MacKinnon | Fred Lederman |
| 1981 | Langston Speaks | Bob Brooker | | | | Based on the work of Langston Hughes |
| 1981 | The Crystal Tree | Billie Allen | | Doris Julian | Luther Henderson |
| 1981 | The Winds of Change | William M. Maher | Robin Reseen | Franklin Tramutola | Joseph D'Agostino |
| 1982 | Louisiana Summer | Robert Stark | Eiko Yamaguchi | Robert & Bradley Wexler | Rocky Stone |
| 1982 | Five Points | William M. Maher | | Laurence Holder | John Braden |
| 1982 | Opening Night | William M. Maher | Mabel Robinson | Corliss Taylor-Dunn & Sandra Reaves Phillips | Corliss Taylor-Dunn & Sandra Reaves Phillips |
| 1984 | Miss Walters to You | Billie Allen | | Loften Mitchell | |
| 1984 | The Buck Stops Here | Regge Life | Tim Mellett | Norman J. Fedder | Richard A. Lippmann |
| 1984 | Sing Me Sunshine | Jack Timmers | Henry Le Tang | Robert E. Richardson & Johnny Brandon | Johnny Brandon |
| 1984 | Blackberries | Andre DeShields | Andre DeShields | Joseph George Caruso | |
| 1985 | Anonymous | Vincenzo Stornaiuolo | | Vincenzo Stornaiuolo | Vincenzo Stornaiuolo |
| 1985 | Northern Boulevard | William Martin | Dennis Dennehy | Kevin Brofsky | Carleton Carpenter |
| 1985 | Manhattan Serenade | Bob Rizzo | Bob Rizzo | Karen Kottrell & Alfred Heller | Louis Alter |
| 1986 | Bingo! | Ossie Davis | Henry Le Tang | Ossie Davis & Hy Gilbert | George Fischoff | Based on The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars and Motor Kings |
| 1986 | The Peanut Man: George Washington Carver | Regge Life | Andy Torres | Melvin Hasman | William Greg Hunter |
| 1986 | La Belle Helene | John Fearley | J. Randall Hugill | John Fearley | Jacques Offenbach | Adapted from Helen |
| 1986 | Sh-Boom | Stuart Warmflash | Audrey Tischler | Eric V. Talt, Jr. | Willex Brown, Jr. |
| 1987 | Hot Sake with a Pinch of Salt | Bill Martin | Audrey Tischler | Carol Baker & Lana Stein | Jerome I. Goldstein | Based on A Majority of One |
| 1987 | Dazy | Phillip Rose | | Allen Knee | Lowell E. Mark |
| 1987 | Prime Time | Marvin Gordon | | R.A. Shiomi | Johnny Brandon |
| 1988 | Conrack | Stuart Ross | | Granville Burgess | Lee Pockriss | Based on The Water is Wide |
| 1988 | Struttin' | Lee Chamberlin | | Lee Chamberlin | Lee Chamberlin | AUDELCO Award: Outstanding Musical Production |
| 1988 | Robin's Band | Anthony Abeson | | Anthony Abeson & Jerry Eskow | Maija Kupris |
| 1989 | Paris '31 | John Fearley | Robert Longbottom | John Fearley | Cole Porter |
| 1989 | Prizes | Lee Minskoff | Margo Sappington | Raffi Pehlivanian | Charles DeForest & Lee Minskoff |
| 1989 | Blackamoor | Kent Paul | | Joseph George Caruso | Ulpio Minucci | Based on I, Juan de Pareja |
| 1990 | Step into My World | Ronald G. Russo | Jeffrey Dobbs | | Micki Grant | Musical revue based on the career of Micki Grant |
| 1990 | Capitol Cakewalk | Tom O'Horgan | Welsey Fata | Elmire Kline & Perry Arthur Koreger | Terry Waldo | NY Outer Critics Circle Award winner |
| 1991 | Juba | Sheldon Epps | Mercedes Ellington | Wendy Lamb | Russel Walden | Richard Rodgers Production Award winner; Mainstage production |
| 1992 | Junkyard | Avi Ber Hoffman | | Manuel Mandel & Michael Sahl | Michael Sahl | Lab Presentation |
| 1992 | Gunmetal Blues | Davis Hall | | Scott Wentworth | Craig Bohmler & Marion Adler |
| 1993 | The River Flows | James L. Moody | Felicia Kennerly | | Holly B. Francis & Andre Orlando Edwards |
| 1994 | Legacy | James L. Moody | Felicia Kennerly | | Holly B. Francis |
| 1995 | Bobos | Luther Fontaine | Monica Johnson | Ed Shockley | James McBride |
| 1995 | Time and the Wind | Louis Johnson | | Norman Matlock | Galt MacDermot | World premiere |
| 1995 | I Have a Name | James L. Moody | | Holly B. Francis | Holly B. Francis |
| 1996 | Bring in the Morning | Christopher Scott | Monica Johnson | | Gary William Friedman |
| 1996 | Paul Robeson | Harold Scott | | | Phillip Hayes Dean | Broadway production in association with Eric Krebs |
| 1997 | Song by Song: The Music of Michael Valenti | Mark Waldrop | | | Michael Valenti | World premiere |
| 1997 | The Princess and the Black-Eyed Pea | Daniel Banks | | Karole Foreman | Andrew M. Chukerman | Richard Rodgers Development Award winner |
| 1997 | Bobos | Daniel Banks | Monica Johnson | Ed Shockley | James McBride | Richard Rodgers Development Award for Playwriting winner |
| 1998 | Out of the Night and into the Light: Miss Havisham's Wedding Night | Nancy Rhodes | | John Olon-Scrymgeour | Dominick Argento |
| 1998 | Out of the Night and into the Light: Ocean Dream | Nancy Rhodes | | Nancy Rhodes | Victor Kioulaphides |
| 1998 | Out of the Night and into the Light: I Will Wait | Nancy Rhodes | | Nancy Rhodes | Arif Mardin |
| 1998 | Barrio Babies | Susanna Tubert | | Luis Santeiro | Fernando Rivas | Richard Rodgers Development Award |
| 1999 | Rollin' on the T.O.B.A. | Ronald Stevens | | | | Transferred to off-Broadway then to Broadway |
| 2000 | Four Guys Named Jose and Una Mujer Named Maria! | Lisa Portes | Maria Torres | Dolores Prida | David Coffman |
| 2000 | Carefully Taught | Christopher Scott | Monica Johnson | | | Musical revue |
| 2000 | A Virtual Woman | Nancy Rhodes | | Marsha Sheiness | Rick Cummins |
| 2000 | The Me Nobody Knows | Christopher Scott | Monica Johnson | Will Holt | Gary William Friedman |
| 2000 | Starmites | Barry Keating | | Stuart Ross & Barry Keating | Barry Keating |
| 2001 | Once on This Island | Christopher Scott | Monica Johnson | Lynn Ahrens | Stephen Flaherty |
| 2001 | Little Ham | Eric Riley | Leslie Dockery | Dan Owen | Judd Woldin | Transferred to off-Broadway |
| 2001 | Stormy Weather: The Lena Horne Story | Billie Allen | Sharleen Cohen | Sharleen Cohen | Sharleen Cohen |
| 2002 | From My Hometown | Kevin Ramsey | Leslie Dockery & Kevin Ramsey | Lee Summers, Ty Stephens and Herbert Rawlings, Jr. | Lee Summers |
| 2002 | The Robber Bridegroom | Christopher Scott | Monica Johnson | Alfred Uhry | Robert Waldman |
| 2002 | Latin Heat | Maria Torres | Maria Torres | | |
| 2002 | Zanna, Don't! | Devanand Janki | Devanand Janki | Tim Acito | Tim Acito | Transferred to off-Broadway |
| 2003 | Godspell | Christopher Scott | Monica Johnson | John Michael-Tebelek | Stephen Schwartz |
| 2003 | Mandela! | Ricardo Khan | | Steven Fisher & Duma Ndlovu | Steven Fisher |
| 2003 | Blackout | Deborah Hurwitz | | Sharleen Cohen | Debra Barsha |
| 2004 | Footloose | Christopher Scott | Monica Johnson | | Tom Snow |
| 2004 | Lone Star Love, or The Merry Wives of Windsor | Michael Bogdanov | | John Haber | Jack Herrick |

## Theatre programs

In the past 10 years, Amas has worked with over 60 creative teams in the development of new musicals.

### Six O'Clock Musical Theatre Lab

This is a development program for writers, lyricists, and composers to mount staged readings of new musicals. Each work generally receives three or four performances.

### Workshop Program

This is a program which lets composers, lyricists, and librettists work on a more polished and complete version of a new work. The productions generally entail a two to three-week rehearsal period with a series of performances.

### Mainstage Program

This is a program which gives select musicals a fully produced off-Broadway run for four to six weeks with attendance by critics. The productions generally run under an Equity Letter of Agreement contract.

## Educational programs
### Rosetta LeNoire Musical Theatre Academy

This is a performance and training program which enrolls up to 30 teenagers and young adults between the ages of 14 and 21 in all-day classes and rehearsals on Saturdays and some Sundays from October through May. Sixty percent of students receive full or partial Scholarships. The program ends with a musical which runs for two weeks in an off-off-Broadway theatre.

### Immigration Experience

This is an in-residence set of workshops for middle and high school students consisting of 32 visits specializing in playwriting, theatre, and musical composition. Students also research their families' and communities' immigration histories which are turned into writings and songs performed in front of their school and extended community.

### Broadway Babies

This is an in-residence program which runs from 4 to 12 weeks for younger children. Students make a mini-version of a Broadway show which relates to themes or curriculum being studied in their class.

### Our America: The Civil Rights Movement through Song and Story

This is an in-residence program which explores the Civil Rights Movement, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and Protest and Peace Songs, among other things. Eventually, there is a presentation.

### Passport Around the World

This is an in-residence program with 18 artist visits based on the social studies curriculum of the classroom. Students create their own US Passport which includes a picture and stamped with flags which they will "visit"/study. The program concludes with a final presentation of the pieces studied.

### Urban Mythography: Journey of the Hero

This is a program for elementary and middle school students to study Native American, Asian, classical Western and European mythologies and heroic icons. The class creates a piece to be rehearsed and presented to their school.

## Awards

* Mayor's Award of Honor for Art and Culture
* Manhattan Borough's President Award – Excellence in Theatre
* Audience Development Committee (AUDELCO) Award – 1979, 1982, 1984, 1986
* National Medal of Arts (given to LeNoire) – 1999