Great Performances: Black Lucy and The Bard

(Rochester, NY) — A cross-disciplinary tour de force performed by Nashville Ballet, Great Performances: Black Lucy and The Bard explores the love life of William Shakespeare and his muses, the “Dark Lady” and the “Fair Youth,” presenting the idea that these subjects and inspirations in his love sonnets were a Black woman and a young man. It airs September 16, 2022 at 10 p.m. on WXXI-TV.

Exploring themes of love, otherness, equality and beauty, the cast includes an ensemble of Nashville Ballet dancers. Claudia Monja leads the cast as Lucy along with Owen Thorne as Shakespeare and Nicolas Scheuer as Fair Youth. Choreographed and directed by Nashville Ballet’s artistic director Paul Vasterling, the ballet was recorded in March 2022. Playing onstage alongside the dancers in front of a minimalist set, musicians Rhiannon Giddens and Francesco Turrisi play several instruments including violin, banjo, mandolin and piano. 

Photo: Claudia Monja Guedes as Lucy, Owen Thorne as Shakespeare
Credit: Courtesy of PBS