Apollo Theater

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Built in 1914 as a burlesque theater, this Harlem landmark changed to its current status as a showcase for African-American talent in 1934, opening the stage on Amateur Night to anyone with the courage to face the notoriously tough audience. One of the first non-professionals to try her luck was a young singer named Ella Fitzgerald; others who have emerged via the same route over the years...

The legendary Amateur Night At The Apollo returns!

Built in 1914, this legendary Harlem theater launched or abetted the careers of countless musical icons—including Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Count Basie, and Aretha Franklin. It also played a vital role in the development and worldwide popularization of black music in America. By the 1970s, the Apollo had fallen on hard times, but a 1986 restoration breathed...

The list of talented and famous musicians to start their careers at the Wednesday Amateur Night is too long to list but includes the likes of Ella Fitzgerald and Michael Jackson. Now the show (taped for TV’s It’s Showtime at the Apollo) is full of comics, R&B and hip-hop that probably won’t achieve that level, but either way it still provides for a raucous good time. Don’t worry about...

The Apollo Theater is a distinguished and legendary landmark in Harlem . Originally it was a burlesque hall for an all-white audience when it opened its doors in 1914, but by the 1930s it became home to legendary jazz greats like Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald and Duke Ellington. The theater has been restored, and every Wednesday at 7:30p the stage is opened to amateurs; when heckling is not...