Freestyle+ Celebrates Hip Hop’s 50th Birthday At Midnight Theatre

Friday, August 11 - Midnight Theatre welcomes Freestyle+ to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Hip Hop, featuring New York’s premiere improv Hip Hop talent. Freestyle+ Celebrates Hip Hop’s 50th Birthday brings you mind-blowing freestyle rap, improv, and audience interaction to pay homage to the 5 elements of Hip Hop: MCing, DJing, Breakdancing, Graffiti, and Knowledge. This month’s cast features Bronx Hip Hop legend Dizzy Senze, Broadway’s Aneesa Folds and Rich Midway, two time world champion beatboxer Kaila Mullady, improv whiz Steph Rae, house DJ Gedun, plus surprise guests! The audience can even join the cast in their show-closing cypher. Freestyle+ Celebrates Hip Hop’s 50th Birthday is on August 17 at 7:00pm. Tickets are on sale here.

From some of the minds behind Broadway’s Freestyle Love Supreme, Freestyle+ combines Tony-award-winning performers with science-backed strategies to inspire confidence and creativity in any audience. Freestyle+ puts the principles of improvisation into daily practice for individuals and beyond looking to build community, equity, and active mindfulness.

In 2018, Anthony Veneziale, Chris Sullivan and Andrew Bancroft, renowned members of Lin Manuel Miranda’s Tony Award-winning Broadway production Freestyle Love Supreme, established the FLS Academy. This institution aimed to nurture diverse creative voices by harnessing the power of improvised freestyle rap. Freestyle+ soon emerged with a shared mission of cultivating authenticity and confidence through improvisation.

The 150-seat venue presents a diverse roster of programming including talent from the Broadway stage, comedy, burlesque, music and other unique special events. Previous acts have included Tony Award Nominee Shoshana Bean, Andrew Barth Feldman (Dear Evan Hansen), Disney’s Laura Marano, musical artistRaye and many more. Also a TV & film industry hub, the venue has hosted premieres, screenings, parties and talk backs for companies such as Showtime, Hulu, Peacock, Paramount +, BAFTA, Mastercard and Peloton and welcomed notables like Pete Davidson, Kaley Cuoco, Shonda Rhimes, Amy Schumer, Busy Philipps, Jessica Chastain, Michael Shannon and more. Tickets for upcoming events available here.

An escape from the everyday, Midnight Theatre is also a culinary destination thanks to the venue’s pan-Asian restaurant and bar, Hidden Leaf. With a kitchen helmed by the innovative Chef Chai Trivedi, the romantic and playfully chic dining room serves polished, table-sharing, pan-Asian cuisine. Both the Hidden Leaf cocktail lounge and the first floor bar serve artisanal cocktails.

About Midnight Theatre & Hidden Leaf:

Midnight Theatre is an intimate performance venue in the heart of New York’s Manhattan West — Brookfield Properties’ latest neighborhood development between 9th and 10th Avenues and West 31st and 33rd streets. The ever-evolving, 150-seat theater features unique experiences of magic, music, comedy, theater, and performance art, while also acting as a Film & TV industry hub, hosting premieres, screenings, private parties and more. Inside the glamorous Midnight Theatre is an equally elegant and lively restaurant and bar, Hidden Leaf. With a kitchen helmed by Chef Chai Trivedi, the romantic and playfully chic dining room serves polished, table-sharing, pan-Asian cuisine.

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Follow Midnight Theatre: 

Website | Instagram | Facebook 

Follow Hidden Leaf: 

Website | Instagram | Facebook 

For more information on Midnight Theatre, please contact Shore Fire Media: 

Rebecca Shapiro (rshapiro@shorefire.com)

Shannon Cosgrove (scosgrove@shorefire.com)

MC Miskell (mcmiskell@shorefire.com)

For more information on Hidden Leaf, please contact The Door: hiddenleaf@thedooronline.com