Through five productions, "Just Beyond the Horizon" explores identity, belonging, love, self-determination, healing, and hope.

Together, these works affirm a truth that has guided National Black Theatre since its founding: the future is not something we inherit, it is something we create. Just beyond the horizon lies the possibility of a more liberated world, and through art, community, and collective action, we move toward it together.

Please Note: National Black Theater Season Passes will be available for purchase beginning July 7, 2026 Pricing starts at $200.

North American Premiere, National Black Theatre and Theatre for a New Audience In Association with Foment Productions & Jayson Jackson present: AMERICA, WHO HURT YOU? Written and Performed by Sarah Jones
Directed by Eric Ting
Limited Engagement--Sept. 11-Sept. 27 (Polonsky Shakespeare Center)

WHAT IT'S ABOUT:
In a nation divided by competing narratives, who gets to tell the story of America? Tony Award winner Sarah Jones returns to the New York stage with a virtuosic new solo show directed by OBIE winner Eric Ting ("The Comeuppance") that is hilarious, provocative, and deeply human.
Called "a once-in-a-lifetime artist" by Meryl Streep and "a master of the genre" by The New York Times, Jones embodies a remarkable cast of characters spanning 250 years of America's history. Through her singular blend of comedy, storytelling, and transformation, she invites us to reckon with the myths we inherit, the realities we share, and the future we are creating together.

World Premiere: The Shed & National Black Theatre Present--"IMITATION OF LIFE"
Book by Lynn Nottage
Music and Lyrics by John Legend
Directed by Whitney White
Runs November 21, 2026-January 3, 2027/ Griffin Theater @ The Shed

WHAT IT'S ABOUT:
Inspired by the 1933 best-selling novel by Fannie Hurst and the beloved 1934 and 1959 Universal films, "Imitation of Life" follows two single mothers, one Black and one White, as well as their daughters, who build a shared life while each strives for success and love in a society divided by race and class. Set across the vibrant backdrop of 1920s Atlantic City and 1930s New York, this new, profoundly moving musical explores themes of identity, the American Dream, and what we leave for future generations.
National Black Theatre, John Legend and Mike Jackson of Get Lifted Film Co., Liesl Tommy and Jennifer Mudge of Crocodile Eyes, Universal Theatrical Group (UTG), Sue Wagner, John Johnson, Mickey Liddell and Pete Shilaimon of LD Entertainment and The Shed serve as producers.

"(HOME) GOING" (Radio Play)
Written by Zola Dee
Directed by Josiah Davis
Runs December 10-13, 2026

"WHAT IT'S ABOUT:
Twelve-year-old Presence is on a quest to break a generational curse. For as long as she can remember, "the sadness" has plagued her family, culminating in her mother's latest mental breakdown after the forced sale of their ancestral home on the Carolina Sea Islands. Believing the answers to "the sadness" lie in the past, Presence escapes into the dreamworld, a fluid realm where time and space dissolve. Through this dream-state, Presence journeys back to Reconstruction-era South Carolina to confront her forefather, Ernest, and untangle the history currently unraveling her mother.

EGG; or anything dipped in egg gone soften
Written by Jeremy O'Brian
Directed by Sideeq Heard
Runs January 28-31, 2027

WHAT IT'S ABOUT:
A lovesick songwriter arrives in New York City with a notebook of love songs and a bad habit of choosing men who make him feel small. But when a game night forces him into the same room with his situationship and his gym crush, he must confront the unsettling truth that he might be bringing the poison to the party himself.

THE GRIORAPHET SPEAKS ON SUNDAYS
Written by Calley N. Anderson
Directed by Jerrica D. White
Runs Spring 2027

WHAT IT'S ABOUT:
A century has passed since the United States' tech-fueled Icarian collapse. Many new things emerged in its wake, from cults and guerrilla groups to quasi-utopias and mutual aid societies. One presence has outlasted them all: the Grioraphet--a lineage of orators with an enduring purpose of looking back in order to move forward. But, on this Sunday, as the Grioraphet speaks to their gathering of followers, naysayers, and the generally curious, the world as they know it has shifted again, and the legacy of care they've built their life on may no longer exist. In The Grioraphet Speaks on Sundays, apocalypse & human connection, bunkers & saviors, and past & present all collide as the Grioraphet asks: what becomes of us in an unmade world?

MORE ABOUT THE NATIONAL BLACK THEATRE:

The National Black Theatre was founded in 1968 byDr. Barbara Ann Teer and is a Tony Award-winning institution and the first revenue-generating Black art complex in the United States. It is located at 2031 National Black Theatre Way (formerly 2031 Fifth Avenue) New York, NY. 10035. Cross Streets: Between 125th and 126th Streets.

For tickets and more information call The National Black Theatre at (212) 722-3800 or reach via email at info@nationalblacktheatre.org.

For Season Passes and Memberships: membership@nationalblacktheatre.org. The official website for the National Black Theatre is nationalblacktheatre.org.