Predictably, Mr. Sharpton got the Apollo Theater face-off going by raising the specter of police abuse.
During the recession, the theater faced a steep decline in foundation support and ticket sales, and serious financial difficulties were staring it in the face.
There was a plywood enclosure added to the front shortly after it was built because the theater faces the bay and they needed to keep the wind out.
Seated in the first 12 rows of the theater, facing the orchestra, the students lent their ardent voices to several of the work's pivotal choruses.
Like the rapidly approaching deadline to appoint electors who will settle the outcome of the nation's presidential race, Crossroads Theater faces its own ticking clock that may determine whether the region's premier black theater can overcome several obstacles and put on a season of plays beginning next fall.
At Oasis 2007, a festival of modern dance in which choreographers present short works twice every weekday, audience members can sit comfortably in the space's Manhattan theater facing 42nd Street, between Second and Third Avenues, or watch from the sidewalk.
The theater faces the west side of the Villa and uses its entrance as a stage.
Both theaters face the same challenges.
On a smaller stage and with a smaller budget, some nonprofit theaters face similar problems.
Admissions to theaters in the U.S. and Canada dropped 6% to 1.27 billion tickets sold, continuing a long-term slide in domestic attendance as theaters face more competition from Netflix Inc. and other entertainment options in the home.
