“Ted Fox and James Otis Smith’s beautifully realized, updated graphic novel brings this rich history to life…this graphic version is a beautiful, heartfelt, and rich tribute to a musical form, a vital location, and a pure American vision of connecting with the audience in the theater and everywhere else. We can feel the Apollo’s heartbeat on every page, and that sensation will make a true believer of even the most jaded reader.”https://www.popmatters.com/showtime-apollo-fox-otis-smith-2628565755.html

Showtime at the Apollo; The Epic Tale of Harlem’s Legendary Theater “…brings Harlem’s legendary theater to gorgeous life. It’s a fizzy, entertaining, jubilant window into a space where so many artists became icons, overcoming hate and ignorance. It’s an essential guide to one of New York City’s greatest cultural institutions.”  http:// https://ew.com/books/black-history-month-new-books-to-read/#showtime-at-the-apollo-by-ted-fox

Happy 90th birthday to the legend behind the Apollo legend: Bobby Schiffman. I owe so much to him and his generosity towards me as I researched my book. Amazing is an overworked word these days, but Bobby’s life growing up in and running the Apollo can only be described as just that: Amazing. He spent endless hours regaling me with fabulous stories and thoughtfully explaining his perspective on the theater and it’s uniquely crucial role in African American history, and more than we may realize, in all our lives. He’s still a brilliant raconteur today — may he continue telling his fantastic tales for years to come! 

This NPR interview capped a wild and wonderful week of media, starting with major full page article in the New York Times Arts and Leisure section (they said the book “is like a sprawling Hollywood biopic,”) an exclusive 5-page preview of our new graphic novel in the Hollywood Reporter, and a full page in AmNY. I was particularly thrilled that TV legend Pat Kiernan read the Times piece into his In The Papers segment on NY1 last Friday! We were also featured on the Fox 5 NY evening newscast: they interviewed me and James just before our SRO book launch and signing at Rizzoli Bookstore in NYC…

“The graphic novel “Showtime at the Apollo: The Epic Tale of Harlem’s Legendary Theater” is like a sprawling Hollywood biopic. A sea of boldface names — James Brown, the Jackson Five, Dionne Warwick and countless others — make their way through the theater.

The work, adapted by Ted Fox from his 1983 history of the same name, and illustrated by James Otis Smith, goes beyond the singers, dancers, comedians and other entertainers who have taken the stage of the Apollo, which celebrates its 85th anniversary this month. The book also shines a light on Harlem and black culture in America.

Fox said he reworked his Apollo history into a focused narrative told in three acts, beginning years before the first performance at the theater.”

Read the full article from the New York Times Arts Section here: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/02/arts/design/apollo-theater-graphic-novel.html