THE COTILLION
“[a] blistering, all-caps discussion… the world glitches & stutters like a horror film.”
— Helen Shaw, The New Yorker
“[THE COTILLION] is doing its own acidic waltz. Colette Robert … has given it a CVS receipt of a title that keys you in to her absurdist sense of humor… [and] tends to make precise little cuts that extract more blood.” — Jackson McHenry, VULTURE
“Deep reflection and campy fun… sneaks up on you in a way only theater can” — Hayley Levitt, Theatermania
Ooh, THE COTILLION promo video! Watch it!
And here’s the audience talking!
And a little more from that audience!
Show program: read about Cotillion-ettes offstage & on!
It’s the Black high society event of the year. As six high-achieving debutantes interrupt their preparations to peek into the shimmering ballroom, The Harriet Holland Social Club’s esteemed Madam President does her damnedest to ensure it all goes well. She needs no stumbles tonight. No teary-eyed smudges, no unraveling lace, no unraveling ANYTHING. Because if she can’t control these girls, whatever will they think over at Table 4?
Experienced as a Black debutante ball in a large American city in real time—and featuring an all-Black-women company and creative team, down to its three-piece band—The Cotillion interrogates the 
complexities of Black debutante ball culture and finds that beneath all the respectability politics and sweet serenades lie contradictions even quality make-up can’t cover up. It puts us all in our evening shoes—ya know, those fancy ones that start to pinch as the night wears on—to ask how we choose to uplift young Black women in a world that seeks to diminish them.
The Cotillion is the product of a close 5-year collaboration between New Georges and The Movement Theatre Company. It is a recipient of the Edgerton Foundation New Play Award. Additional funding and development support includes an inaugural NYC Women’s Fund for Media, Music and Theatre grant; BOLD Ventures; The Edith Lutyens and Norman Bel Geddes Design Enhancement Fund; Axe-Houghton Foundation; New Georges Audrey Residency; Mabou Mines’ Resident Artist Program; Fuller Road Artist Residency; The Drama League’s Beatrice Terry Residency for Women+ Writer/Directors; New York State Council on the Arts; and the National Endowment for the Arts.
New Georges and The Movement Theatre Company present
THE HARRIET HOLLAND SOCIAL CLUB PRESENTS THE 84TH ANNUAL STAR-BURST COTILLION IN THE GRAND BALLROOM OF THE RENAISSANCE HOTEL
a play with music
written & directed by Colette Robert
music & lyrics by Dionne McClain-Freeney
additional lyrics by Colette Robert
choreography by nicHi douglas
with Caturah Brown, Kayla Coleman, Cherrye J. Davis, Claire Fort, Starr Kirkland, Aigner Mizzelle, Cristina Pitter, Monique St. Cyr, Portland Thomas, Montria Walker, Akyiaa Wilson and Jehan O. Young
music director/keyboard: Dionne McClain-Freeney; drums: Zoë Brecher; bass: Serena Ebony Miller
set: Teresa L. Williams; costumes: Mika Eubanks; lights: Stacey Derosier; Sound: Sadah Espii Proctor
music direction: Dionne McClain-Freeney; band: hair & wigs: Nikiya Mathis; make-up: Fatima Thomas, Senior National Artist, M∙A∙C Cosmetics
production stage manager: Gracie Carleton; assistant stage manager: Keyana Hemphill; production management: Intuitive Production Management; associate director: Ibi Owolabi; associate choreographer: Nile Harris; associate costume designer: Allison Esannason; associate sound designer: Russell Cooper; associate scenic designer: Gabby Irving; hair & wig associate: Ashley Wise; production assistant/Covid compliance officer: BT Hayes; sound A1: Nate Krogel; sound A2: Tony Wilson; wardrobe supervisor: Linnea Soderberg; hair and wigs supervisor: Courtney Horry; marketing/box office/producing associate Sydney Caprio; house manager: Sharai Dottin
Marketing Consultant: PennyMaria Jackson, ArtzVenture
Press Representative: Matt Ross PR
Make-up sponsored by M∙A∙C Cosmetics
PRODUCED IN ASSOCIATION WITH ANN JAMES
The full COTILLION experience in photos…
THE MOVEMENT THEATRE COMPANY (co-producers), founded in 2007, creates an artistic social movement by developing and producing herculean new work by artists of color. Under the leadership of David Mendizábal, Deadria Harrington, Eric Lockley, Taylor Reynolds and Ryan Dobrin, our work engages a multicultural audience in a rich theatrical dialogue, enlightens communities to important issues affecting our world, and empowers artists to celebrate the many sides of their unique voice. Through our work we refuel, affirm, and celebrate our resilience as people of color, embracing theater as a means of community building. The Movement has produced four New York/World Premiere productions, received critical acclaim from The New York Times, an Obie Award, a Drama Desk nomination, 5 AUDELCO Award nominations, and the Game Changer Award by The Common Good. We’ve been an artistic home and launching pad to artists including Whitney White, Aleshea Harris, Sinan Zafar, Jonathan McCrory, Dede Ayite, Harrison David Rivers, Qween Jean, Cha See, David Mendizábal and Antoinette Nwandu. 