U Street Theatre Foundation
| WISH LIST
$100: 20 tickets for at-risk youth or elderly people on fixed incomes;
$5,000: 2 youth literacy performances
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In the 1920s, the Lincoln Theatre and Colonnade, a first-run movie and vaudeville house, welcomed the city’s black patrons who were excluded from segregated downtown theatres. They were also the anchor institutions of "Black Broadway," home to legendary artists like Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, and Ella Fitzgerald, and the social center of the African American community – until they went dark in the early 1970s. Now reemerging as a community-based site, the recently renovated facility is taking on a new life of its own. Managed by the U Street Theatre Foundation, and referred to as "the Jewel on U," the Lincoln Theatre takes a curatorial approach to its work. Promoting cultural awareness and connecting with multicultural communities, it has formed presenting partnerships with groups both small and large - from Dashinka Dance, Joy of Motion Dance, Reel Affirmations and Gospel Grammys to WPAS, Washington National Opera, Washington School of Ballet, and the Smithsonian. A wide range of cultural enrichment programs, and access for at-risk youth, low to moderate income families, the elderly, and persons with special needs, rounds out the picture. An historic city treasure has regained its former glory. Now you can be part of the renaissance.
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