Crosstown Theater

In memory of the great actor Sidney Poitier, Crosstown Arts is excited to screen TO SIR, WITH LOVE. Poitier plays Mark Thackeray, an immigrant from British Guiana who wants to be an engineer but takes a job as a teacher in an inner city school in London. Without experience, Thackeray (Poitier) powers through changing the lives of his young and troubled charges, as well himself.

The Memphis Symphony Orchestra presents Vaughan-Williams Fantasia, with works by Fela Sowande, Ralph Vaughan-Williams, and Camille Saint-Saëns. Featuring pianist Maxim Lando. 

Eighth Blackbird, hailed as “one of the smartest, most dynamic ensembles on the planet” (Chicago Tribune), began in 1996 as a group of six entrepreneurial Oberlin Conservatory students and continues today under the leadership of founding members Lisa Kaplan (executive director) and Matthew Duvall (artistic director).

Crosstown Arts and Indie Memphis are thrilled to be hosting the first combined MicroCinema and Shoot & Splice experience: An Evening with Hope Tucker! Join us as we dive into the experimental documentary shorts and filmmaking practice of filmmaker and Memphian Hope Tucker – whose most recent short, What Travelers Are Saying About Jornada Del Muerto, screened at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival and here in Memphis as part of our Sundance Satellite Screenings!

In the '70s, mad genius producer Roger Corman took his crew to the Philippines to create the most enduring women-in-prison films in cinematic history. Inside the hellish women's prison called THE BIG BIRD CAGE, inmates like Terry (Anitra Ford, THE PRICE IS RIGHT) struggle to survive. They get their chance to escape when scheming revolutionary Blossom (Pam Grier, COFFY; FOXY BROWN) engineers a prison break… from the outside in! “Half of you won't get ten steps before you get a boobful of lead!” Also starring Carol Speed (ABBY THE BLACK EXORCIST) and directed by the legendary Jack Hill (SPIDER BABY; THE SWINGING CHEERLEADERS).

Vittorio De Sica’s follow-up to his international triumph Bicycle Thieves is an enchanting neorealist fairy tale in which he combined his celebrated slice-of-life poetry with flights of graceful comedy and storybook fantasy. On the outskirts of Milan, a band of vagabonds work together to form a shantytown. When it is discovered that the land they occupy contains oil, however, it’s up to the cherubic orphan Totò (Francesco Golisano)—with some divine help—to save their community from greedy developers. Tipping their hats to the imaginative whimsy of Charles Chaplin and René Clair, De Sica and screenwriter Cesare Zavattini (adapting his own novel) craft a big-hearted ode to the nobility of everyday people. Restored from the original camera negative by Cineteca di Bologna and Compass Film, in collaboration with Mediaset, Infinity, Arthur Cohn and Variety Communications at L’Immagine Ritrovata laboratory.

Join Crosstown Arts and filmmaker and Memphian Craig Brewer in the Crosstown Theater on Friday March 25th for a special, mystery screening of one of Craig’s most favorite films! What is the film? You will have to come and find out as Craig will be on hand to introduce the film himself! GUARANTEED TO BE A GOOD TIME!! With music by LUCKY 7 BRASS BAND. $5 DOLLAR TICKETS, CHEAP! 

In Memphis, one of the USA’s most distressed city, the Stax Music Academy is an oasis. Founded in 2000, the academy continues the legacy of Stax Records, the legendary 60s soul label which was a refuge and an active space for dialog during the Civil Rights movement. By learning and understanding soul music in after school programs, teenagers embark into Black Americans legacy and open themselves to new future prospects. Soul Kids is a musical odyssey through history and the concerns of a new generation.

Crosstown Arts presents Arooj Aftab at Crosstown Theater with an opening performance by Ouri. This concert is presented in part by Sonosphere, Inc.

Born and raised in Lahore, Pakistan, Arooj Aftab came to prominence in Pakistan in the early 2000s when she developed a style that combines Sufi-mystical poetry with the spirit of independent rock. This sound catapulted her to stardom from a then-fledgling underground and online music community in Pakistan.

Formed in 1992, the Bang on a Can All-Stars are recognized worldwide for their ultra-dynamic live performances and recordings of today’s most innovative music. Freely crossing the boundaries between classical, jazz, rock, world and experimental music, this six-member amplified ensemble has consistently forged a distinct category-defying identity, taking music into uncharted territories. Performing each year throughout the U.S. and internationally, the All-Stars have shattered the definition of what concert music is today.

Join Grammy-winning saxophonist Kirk Whalum for Kafé Kirk, a jazz series in Crosstown Theater featuring musical and spiritual collaborations with special guest artists. This month’s performance will feature singer-songwriter Avery*Sunshine.