Past Productions
A Legacy on Stage
Since 2000, the Anthony Bean Community Theater has built season after season of plays, musicals, youth productions and television that celebrate Black culture and identity. From Steal Away in our first season to the 504 Youth Hip-Hop Musical at the Orpheum in our 25th and the world premiere of ON DA BLOCK! and a full season of ABCT Teen Talk TV in our 26th, this is the full record of our work on stage and on screen.
- 26Seasons
- 104Productions
- 10 of 10August Wilson plays
Featured Productions
Production Archive
Season 262026
ON DA BLOCK! and a full season of Teen Talk TV
2 productions
Only on My54 WUPL-TV · Stream at my54.com
ABCT Teen Talk TV: The Full Season
Six episodes in which ABCT teens take the interviewer's chair and put New Orleans leaders, artists and legends on the record. Real topics. Real conversations. Real impact.
- 1Madam Mayor, What About Us?New Orleans Mayor Helena Moreno
- 2Justice Today, Opportunities TomorrowDistrict Attorney Jason Williams
- 3From the Sketchbook to the RunwayNew Orleans fashion designers
- 4From Mr. Bean's Acting Class to Broadway & HollywoodWendell Pierce, award-winning actor, director and entrepreneur
- 5Still Reigning: A Celebration of Irma ThomasIrma Thomas, the Soul Queen of New Orleans, at the historic Dew Drop Inn · 60-minute TV special
- 6Before the Courtroom: Prevention. Purpose. Potential.Judge Clinton Smith
World Premiere · July 10–12, 2026 · SUNO Performing Arts Center
ON DA BLOCK!
An original hip-hop musical by Anthony Bean, performed by more than 75 young people from across Greater New Orleans. Set on a New Orleans block, it follows kids navigating friendships, social media, first crushes and family expectations, and the parents, grandparents and neighbors who want to keep them safe. One block. Many voices. One future.
Written & directed by Anthony BeanChoreography by Real WashingtonOriginal music by Mecca Notes
Season 252025
25th Anniversary Season
2 productions
One Night Only · August 30, 2025 · Orpheum Theater
504: The Hip-Hop Musical
On the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, more than 75 young people from across New Orleans took the Orpheum stage to tell the stories of Black teens who lived through the storm and dared to dream again. Hip-hop, bounce, spoken word and movement turned the stage into a mosaic of neighborhood survival, teen resilience and generational hope.
“It’s a reclaiming of voice, identity, and place. Our young people are not only surviving, they are leading, creating, and transforming pain into power.”Anthony Bean
Written & directed by Anthony BeanIn partnership with Councilmen Oliver Thomas & Eugene Green, iHeartMedia and the Orpheum Theater
ABCT Teen Talk TV — 12 Episodes
2025 · My54 WUPL-TV
Season 242024
1 production
Grandma, Grandpa & Sunday Morning
Jul 2024
Season 232023
1 production
The Bodyguard The Musical
Aug 2023
Season 222022
1 production
ABCT Teen Talk TV — 6 Episodes
2022 · My54 WUPL-TV
Season 212021
1 production
El-Hajj Malik: The Life and Times of Malcolm X
Feb 2021
Season 202020
COVID-19 · 20th Anniversary
20th Anniversary
2020
The stage went dark during the COVID-19 pandemic. ABCT marked twenty years of Black theatre in New Orleans and returned to live performance in February 2021.
Season 192019
1 production
504 Youth Musical
Jul 2019
Season 182018
1 production
Soulsville Youth Musical
Jul 2018
Season 172017
1 production
ME The Musical
Jul 2017
Season 162016
4 productions
The Dance on Widow's Row
Nov 2016
The Lion King
Aug 2016
Southern Knight: The New Musical Show
May 2016
Jungle Kings
Feb 2016
Season 152015
7 productions
Christmas Television Variety Show
Dec 2015
Simply Irma
Nov 2015
Fences
Sep 2015
The Glove
Jul 2015
The Color Purple
May 2015
The Glass Menagerie
Apr 2015
William Shakespeare's Measure for Measure
Mar 2015
Season 142014
7 productions
A Christmas Carol
Dec 2014
I'd Rather Be Rich
Nov 2014
Two Trains Running
Sep 2014
Candy Land
Jul 2014
Say Amen
Jun 2014
Reflections 2: Oliver Thomas Off Probation; Ready to Talk
Apr 2014
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Feb 2014
Season 132013
6 productions
The Mountaintop
Nov 2013
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
Sep 2013
Old School / Nu Skool
Jul 2013
Sanctified
Jun 2013
Spell #7
Apr 2013
El-Hajj Malik: The Life and Times of Malcolm X
Feb 2013
Season 122012
5 productions
Seven Guitars
Nov 2012
High School Musical
Jul 2012
For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf
Jun 2012
Blues for an Alabama Sky
Apr 2012
The Amen Corner
Jan 2012
Season 112011
6 productions
The Blood
Dec 2011
The Good Negro
Oct 2011
Jitney
Sep 2011
CATS
Jul 2011
Marrero Action
Mar 2011
Reflections: A Man and His Time
Jan 2011
Season 102010
10th Anniversary Season
7 productions
If You Know HIM, Say Yeah!
Dec 2010
Ceremonies in Dark Old Men
Oct 2010
504
Aug 2010
The Wiz
Jul 2010
Our Town
Jun 2010
God's Trombones
Apr 2010
Steal Away
Jan 2010
Season 92009
7 productions
The Reason
Dec 2009
A Raisin in the Sun
Oct 2009
The Piano Lesson
Sep 2009
Run It!
Jul 2009
Crowns
Jun 2009
The Women of Brewster Place
Apr 2009
The Member of the Wedding
Mar 2009
Season 82008
6 productions
Jamal's Special Christmas Gift
Dec 2008
Radio Golf
Sep 2008
Give Up Da Funk
Jul 2008
Unplugged
Jun 2008
The Bluest Eye
Apr 2008
A Soldier's Play
Feb 2008
Season 72007
9 productions
How Santa Got His Groove Back
Dec 2007
The Sty of the Blind Pig
Nov 2007
504: A Hip Hop Drama
Sep 2007
Soulville II
Jul 2007
Morning, Noon, and Night
Jun 2007
Gem of the Ocean
May 2007
New Orleans Is the One I Love
Apr 2007
Finding the Enemy
Mar 2007
The Papaya Man
Jan 2007
Season 62006
8 productions
Living All Alone: The Phyllis Hyman Story
Nov 2006
Dreamgirls
Oct 2006
Fences
Sep 2006
Annie Mae's Cafe
Jul 2006
Shut Up 'n' Dance
Jul 2006
Little Bit
Jun 2006
The Old Settler
Mar 2006
Joe Turner's Come and Gone
Jan 2006
Season 52005
4 productions
Ol' Skool
Jul 2005
The Story
Jun 2005
Your Arms Too Short to Box with God
Apr 2005
Housewarming
Feb 2005
Season 42004
4 productions
King Hedley II
Sep 2004
Grandpa, Grandma, and Sunday Morning
Jul 2004
Eubie!
Jun 2004
Crowns
Feb 2004
Season 32003
4 productions
Little Ham
Sep 2003
Soulville
Jul 2003
The Moving of Lilla Barton
Mar 2003
Birth
Jan 2003
Season 22002
6 productions
Mahalia, A Gospel Musical
Nov 2002
No Niggers, No Jews, No Dogs
Sep 2002
Grown Ups
Jul 2002
Misery, the Play
Jun 2002
Good Night, Irene
Apr 2002
Jar the Floor
Feb 2002
Season 12001
The first season
5 productions
Simply Irma
Nov 2001
Mr. Rickey Calls a Meeting
Sep 2001
CandyMan
Jun 2001
Two Trains Running
Jun 2001
Steal Away
Jan 2001
The August Wilson Century Cycle
August Wilson wrote ten plays, one for each decade of the 20th century, telling the story of Black American life. ABCT has staged all ten. In 2014 the Big Easy Entertainment Awards gave the theater a Special Recognition Award for completing the cycle, and in 2018 ABCT received the August Wilson American Century Cycle Award.
- 1900sGem of the OceanABCT 2007
- 1910sJoe Turner's Come and GoneABCT 2006
- 1920sMa Rainey's Black BottomABCT 2013
- 1930sThe Piano LessonABCT 2009
- 1940sSeven GuitarsABCT 2012
- 1950sFencesABCT 2006 & 2015
- 1960sTwo Trains RunningABCT 2001 & 2014
- 1970sJitneyABCT 2011
- 1980sKing Hedley IIABCT 2004
- 1990sRadio GolfABCT 2008
Awards & Recognition
ABCT Honors
- 2025The Giving Gracefully AwardThe OMBI Group · Mothers of NFL Players
- 2024Celeste Seymour Judell Arts AwardWYES
- 2023Outstanding Contributions to Black TheatreNew Orleans City Council
- 2023Outstanding Community ServiceAshé Cultural Arts Center
- 2020Living Legends AwardCenter for African and African American Studies, Southern University at New Orleans
- 2018The August Wilson American Century Cycle AwardPittsburgh Post-Gazette and the August Wilson House / Daisy Wilson Artist Community
- 2012Trailblazer AwardSouthern Black Theatre Festival
- 2010Community Arts AwardNew Orleans Arts Council
- 2010Anthony Bean DayNew Orleans City Council
Big Easy Entertainment Awards
- 2017Lifetime Achievement Award in TheaterAnthony Bean
- 2016Best Actress in a DramaGwendolyne Foxworth, The Glass Menagerie
- 2014Special Recognition AwardCompletion of the August Wilson Century Cycle
- 2010Best Supporting Actor in a DramaAnthony Bean, Ceremonies in Dark Old Men
- 2009Best Supporting Actress in a DramaSamantha Beaulieu, A Raisin in the Sun
- 2006Best Supporting Actor in a DramaHarold X. Evans, Fences
- 2003Best DramaNo Niggers, No Jews, No Dogs
- 2003Best Set DesignChad Talkington, No Niggers, No Jews, No Dogs
- 2003Best Performance by a ChildKatherine Raymond & Anastacia Scott, No Niggers, No Jews, No Dogs
- 2002Best Supporting Actress in a PlayGwendolyne Foxworth, Two Trains Running
New Orleans Ambies
- 2007Best DramaThe Sty of the Blind Pig
- 2006Best Original WorkLittle Bit, John Grimsley, playwright · ABCT and Dog & Pony Theater Co.
- 2006Best Actor in a PlayWilbert Williams Jr., Fences
- 2006Best Actress in a PlayPatricia McGuire-Hill, The Old Settler
- 2004Best DramaKing Hedley II
- 2004Best Director of a PlayAnthony Bean, King Hedley II
- 2004Best Actor in a PlayWilbert L. Williams Jr., King Hedley II
- 2004Best Actress in a PlayGwendolyne Foxworth, King Hedley II
The Story Continues
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