Photo by Jenny Plevin
Black Nativity - Black Arts MKE
Black Arts MKE’s Black Nativity has joined the Rep’s A Christmas Carol and Milwaukee Ballet’s The Nutcracker as a holiday perennial. Written by Langston Hughes, one of the last century’s eminent African American authors, the musical was among the first Off-Broadway shows by a Black playwright. Over the past nine years the Milwaukee production passed through a relay of prominent local directors, including Dimonte Henning and Malkia Stampley, with the torch taken this year by Sheri Williams Pannell.
“I was a cheerleader and supporter of the project,” says Pannell, a UWM theater professor whose credits include everything from the Florentine Opera to First Stage. “I knew all of the past directors and worked with them at one time or another. I always admired the vision each director brought to the project.”
Photo by Jenny Plevin
Black Nativity - Black Arts MKE
She’s referring to the distinctiveness of each year’s production. “I believe it was Langston Hughes’ intention that the story would have a tradition, in Act One, but in the Second Act, an opportunity to live in the moment of the people who were reimagining the story being told. Act Two is contemporary— right now! It’s the people in our community coming together to celebrate and have joy—to enjoy the rich quality of our African American music and dance.”
In Act One, the gospel account of Jesus’ birth is enacted in the context of Black American culture. “The Second Act is traditionally a church service, but I’m approaching it from a place of incorporating more African American cultural traditions connected with the time between Christmas and New Year. We honor Kwanza and we celebrate Watch Night,” she continues.’
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Watch Night began during the Civil War as the enslaved secretly gathered before midnight on New Year’s Eve, 1862, to celebrate the rumored Emancipation Proclamation, Abraham Lincoln’s decree freeing slaves in rebel-held territory. Pannell grew up with Watch Night at Milwaukee’s Calvary Baptist Church. “There were songs, testimonials, praying into midnight, the tolling of the midnight bell and fellowship around food at the conclusion of the service,” she recalls. “It’s a time to remember the blessings that came during the year.”
Photo courtesy of Black Arts MKE
Black Nativity Rehearsal 2025 - Black Arts MKE
Rehearsal for Black Arts MKE's 2025 production of Langston Hughes' 'Black Nativity'
Black Nativity has always been a convergence of poetry, music and dance, but if Langston’s poetry has been consistent, the music and dance has evolved with changing times. Along with spirituals and gospel music, Pannell says this year’s production includes blues, jazz, hip-hop, “music from across the generations.” Music director Antoine Reynolds Sr. “has a history with this production and was raised in the church and exposed to all this music. He’s a wonderful arranger of instrumental and choral music.” Choreographer Davien Holton, a recent graduate of UWM’s Peck School of the Arts, was “trained in ballet, modern dance, hip-hop—we’ll see aspects of all of it, including tap.” The music for singers and dancers will be performed by a live band.
“The audience will see an explosion of color and patterns. Our design is based on West African fabrics and images in both the costumes and the projections,” she explains, citing costume designer Amy Horst and scenic designer Ron Scot Fry. “It has a very organic feel, a minimalist quality.”
For people familiar with the gospel narrative but have never seen Black Nativity, “they might be surprised to see how universal the story is,” Pannell says. “They will also enjoy the soulful expression of the singing and dancing—how the music touches the soul, communicating without any words. I’d like the audience to take away the sense that we can still believe and have hope despite the darkness of our times. I want them walking out singing and dancing!”
Black Nativity will be performed December 11-14 in the Marcus Performing Arts Center’s Wilson Theater at Vogel Hall. For tickets visit marcuscenter.org/event/black-nativity
