New Horizon Theater Inc., opened its 30th anniversary season with a bang, presenting a unique performance on an outdoor basketball court with the “Kings Of Harlem.”
This play portrayed the lives of seven men who overcame adversity to win more than 2,000 games while barnstorming throughout the segregated country in the 1930s despite not being officially accepted professionally or socially.
“KINGS OF HARLEM” actors at New Horizon Theater Inc., following a successful run.
Written, choreographed and directed by Layon Gray, Renaissance Big Five was one of the most successful renowned all-Black professional basketball teams in the 1920s and ‘30s that added grace and style to the game of basketball.
The team was formed five years before the Harlem Globetrotters, and provided African American men the opportunity to compete against White athletes equally on the court. They toured the country competing against Black and White teams, and in the process, compiled the most impressive winning streak in basketball history.
DETROIT, MICHIGAN ATTENDEES take a photo with actor Thaddeus Daniels, second from left.
In 1963, the entire team was inducted into the Professional Basketball Hall of Fame. In 2015, the play performed for the NBA Legends for All-Star Weekend in New York City. Layon Gray has written a screenplay version of the stage play, so you will see “Kings Of Harlem” on the big screen soon. – Joyce Meggerson-Moore
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