Upcoming Smithsonian exhibit to center on historic Apollo Theater - washingtonpost.com: Their names are part of the cultural vocabulary: Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, Sammy Davis Jr., Lionel Hampton, James Brown, Michael Jackson, Marvin Gaye, Redd Foxx, Duke Ellington, Diana Ross.
What they all have in common is the hot spotlight on the famed Apollo Theater stage. Though many of the artists are gone, the Apollo moments endure. And soon their songs, dance steps, dresses, suits, jokes and instruments will be gathered together in Washington to tell the story of the Apollo's special place in American life.
The theater, a national landmark in New York's historic Harlem neighborhood, stands as one of the 20th century's best-known entertainment spots. For its two-year 75th anniversary celebrations, the National Museum of African American History and Culture and the current administrators of the Apollo have organized an extensive exhibition about the theater and the performers; a list of artifacts that will probably be displayed was released Thursday.
