Crosstown Theater

Following the success of Ballet Memphis’ 2022 production of SOUL, the company returns to Crosstown Theater with another unique and immersive theatrical experience. Rising choreographic stars Alia Kache of Alvin Ailey Dance Theater and Ballet Memphis’ own Julie Niekrasz and Brandon Ramey each present new works performed to musical selections that celebrate the vast and exciting landscape of Americana music. A spotlight on the diversity of American dreams, this production features a live house band that just may have you dancing in the aisles!

Following the success of Ballet Memphis’ 2022 production of SOUL, the company returns to Crosstown Theater with another unique and immersive theatrical experience. Rising choreographic stars Alia Kache of Alvin Ailey Dance Theater and Ballet Memphis’ own Julie Niekrasz and Brandon Ramey each present new works performed to musical selections that celebrate the vast and exciting landscape of Americana music. A spotlight on the diversity of American dreams, this production features a live house band that just may have you dancing in the aisles!

Following the success of Ballet Memphis’ 2022 production of SOUL, the company returns to Crosstown Theater with another unique and immersive theatrical experience. Rising choreographic stars Alia Kache of Alvin Ailey Dance Theater and Ballet Memphis’ own Julie Niekrasz and Brandon Ramey each present new works performed to musical selections that celebrate the vast and exciting landscape of Americana music. A spotlight on the diversity of American dreams, this production features a live house band that just may have you dancing in the aisles!

Giuseppe Tornatore, director of the beloved Cinema Paradiso, turns his camera on his longtime collaborator Ennio Morricone (1928-2020) in a moving and comprehensive profile of an indefatigable composer. Tornatore’s documentary portrait explores the breadth of the maestro’s career, from his early Italian pop songs to the fistful of unforgettable film scores that he wrote, including The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, The Thing, Days of Heaven, and hundreds of others. The examination thoughtfully captures insightful commentary from Morricone’s closest collaborators and contemporaries, featuring testimonies from artists and directors such as Bernardo Bertolucci, Marco Bellocchio, Giuliano Montaldo, Dario Argento, Clint Eastwood, Joan Baez, Quentin Tarantino, and more. Ennio affords the master one last chance to recount his career and deconstruct the artistic process that led him to win two Academy Awards and author over 500 unforgettable soundtracks.

After coming in under budget at the completion of SMOKE, Wayne Wang and screenwriter Paul Auster managed to convince their producers to make an immediate sequel, this time shot almost entirely on the fly with no script in just five days. Despite the constraints, Wang and Auster, serving as co-directors, deliver a satisfying follow up, returning once again to Auggie Wren’s Brooklyn tobacco shop, and assembling another impressive cast, including Harvey Keitel, Victor Argo, Keith David, Giancarlo Esposito, Roseanne Barr, Michael J. Fox, Lily Tomlin, Mira Sorvino, Lou Reed, Mel Gorham, Jim Jarmusch, Malik Yoba, and Madonna. What emerges is yet another funny, moving, and authentic portrait of a Brooklyn neighborhood.

Bounty hunter Mack “Truck” Turner (Isaac Hayes) almost always finds his target, but his latest prize — a pimp called Gator (Paul Harris) — is killed while Turner is chasing him. Gator's girl, Dorinda (Nichelle Nichols), vows to avenge his death and offers ownership of her successful call girl operation to anyone who can knock off Turner. Upscale pimp Harvard Blue (Yaphet Kotto) steps in, upping the ante with professional assassins. Turner, however, isn’t going down easily.

This program, which includes award-winning and audience-favorite films from their most recent festival, intends for youth audiences to gain global awareness through the medium of film. From intergenerational friendship, to discovering and rescuing a friend from an alternate dimension, to learning how to honor your ancestors, these films beautifully cover a broad range of ages and experiences. 

Continuing the autobiographical story he began in The Dance of Reality, Endless Poetry is an ode to the quest for beauty and inner truth, as a universal force capable of changing one’s life forever, written by a man who has dedicated his existence to creating spiritual and artistic awareness, told through Jodorowsky’s unique surreal and psychedelic visual language.

Join director Jamila Wignot in person for a preview of the first episode of the new HBO docuseries STAX: Soulsville U.S.A., followed by a panel discussion with Wignot and key participants. After the film and post-film discussion, please join HBO, Crosstown Arts, and Indie Memphis for a reception for all ticket-holders. The post-film reception will be held in the Crosstown Arts East Atrium (above the red staircase). Complimentary food and drinks will be provided.

A sequel of sorts to Romero’s 1968 film Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead tells the story of a group of survivors during a zombie outbreak who take refuge in a suburban shopping mall while mass hysteria wreaks havoc on their town.