The Will and Jada Smith Family Foundation has announced that it will sponsor the June 20 performance of the world premiere of Nia Akilah Robinson's Push Party, presented by The Hearth at Theaterlab. The Foundation will sponsor all tickets for the performance, as well as a stipend to cover a round trip subway fare and a snack for each patron.
The Hearth's partner organizations will have first access to tickets, after which any remaining tickets will be made available to the public.
Push Party is a lively ensemble comedy about six Black women trying to uphold 15 years of friendship at a post-birthing party in Harlem. Tensions among the group rise and then explode when an unhoused person lands in the community room. Performances will continue through June 23.
“I’m overjoyed, filled with gratitude and simultaneously befuddled by Mr. Smith’s unwavering dedication and continuous support of my work as an artist,” actor and Associate Producer Mikayla LaShae Bartholomew, who worked with Will Smith on the film King Richard, said in a statement. "It is a testament to the man and artist he is. He’s helped me learn that it is an immense privilege to tell stories about our people, for our people, centering our people and with this collaboration, Push Party will get to do just that. We get to make sure that this play has the audiences it deserves, the people of Harlem, birth workers, mamas, the unhoused, Black women—all of the people the theatre usually forgets. I thank Mr. Smith and the whole team for trusting in Nia Akilah Robinson’s work, The Hearth and me. In times like these, it is a gift beyond words to give people a chance to see themselves represented onstage, to give people a night at the theatre, a night to escape.”
The Hearth is dedicated to stories from women, trans, and non-binary artists and artists of underrepresented genders.
Added playwright Robinson, “I’m so happy that this comedy starring six Black women has garnered this attention. “The Hearth took this dream of mine and actualized it so beautifully. Thank you, Mikayla, for spreading the word, and thank you to the Will and Jada Smith Family Foundation for amplifying this community room.”
Visit TheaterLabNYC.com for more information.
