THE YORK THEATRE MARKS 50 YEARS OF YOUR ARMS TOO SHORT TO BOX WITH GOD WITH A FREE CONCERT AT THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS

NEW YORK, NY (November 4, 2026), The York Theatre (Joseph Hayward, Producing Artistic Director, Wendy Hall, Managing Director, Stephanie Prugh, Director of New Works and Development), in association with PAC NYC, will present a free 50th anniversary concert of Vinnette Carroll's YOUR ARMS TOO SHORT TO BOX WITH GOD on Thursday, December 10, 2026, at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. in the Bruno Walter Auditorium at The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. Marchánt Davis directs the concert as part of his 2026 Micki Grant Artist Residency at The York, with Jermaine L. Hill as the music director. The show has a book by Vinnette Carroll, music and lyrics by Alex Bradford, and additional music and lyrics by Micki Grant.

Fifty years after it first lit up Broadway, a beloved gospel musical landmark returns for two special performances on Thursday, December 10th. ​ Admission is free and open to the public.

YOUR ARMS TOO SHORT TO BOX WITH GOD retells the Gospel of Matthew as a joyful, rafter-shaking Black church service. From the Passion to the crucifixion and resurrection, a company of preachers and congregants sing, dance, and testify through the parables. Humor, heartbreak, and hallelujah share the same pew.

The original production ran on Broadway from December 1976 to January 1978, totaling 429 performances, and returned in revivals in 1980, with Jennifer Holiday and 1982, with Al Green and Patti Labelle. Its title echoes a sermon line in James Weldon Johnson's The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man, a phrase that has become a touchstone about humility before something larger than ourselves.

That is the heart of its legacy. Carroll and her collaborators put Black gospel, Black artistry, and Black faith at the center of the Broadway stage, and opened doors for the generations of performers who came after them. Davis, who directed an earlier workshop production of the piece, honors that lineage by passing the torch to a new generation of artists and audiences.

The concert cast features Nick Rashad Burroughs (Goddess, Tina: The Tina Turner Musical), Maiesha McQueen (Waitress, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, Jade Milan (Hell's Kitchen, The Lion King), Jay Copeland (The Wiz, American Idol), Evan Tyrone Martin (The Wild Party at Encores!, Dreamgirls), Benjamin H. Moore (Harmony, Hell's Kitchen), Cristina Raè (The Wiz, America's Got Talent), Cyniah Elise (The Wiz Tour, American Idol), and Aisha Jackson (Great Gatsby, Wonderful Town at Encores!). Sound design by Taylor J. Williams, production stage manager is Bess Glorioso.

Join The York Theatre, in association with PAC, to celebrate a half-century of joy, testimony, and song. Bring your voice. You may need it!

Media Kit: Headshots | Concert Poster

Marchánt Davis is a Brooklyn-based actor, writer, director, and author. As a director, his work includes 2 x 2 at the NYU Graduate Acting Program Freeplay Festival, workshop production of Your Arms Are Too Short to Box With God at The Mercury Store, Purlie at The Boston Conservatory, and audio productions for Playing On Air, including JFK Taxi, The Wayfarer's Code, and Did I Miss Anything Important? As an associate director, Davis has worked on productions and workshops at some of the nation's leading theaters: The Saviors at Atlantic Theater Company, Other at Greenwich House Theater, Wine in the Wilderness at Classic Stage Company, American Eclipsed with Tony Award-winning director Bill Rauch, and the Tectonic Theater Project Cabaret. He also served as a Directing Observer on Wedding Band at Theatre for a New Audience. Davis was a Reason to Go Places Directing Fellow at Theatre for a New Audience under Bartlett Sher and was selected as a 2023 Mercury Store Directing Lab Fellow.

As an actor, Davis appears in HBO's Peabody Award-winning film Reality and starred in the feature film The Day Shall Come. Broadway credits: Ain't No Mo', Good Night, Oscar, and The Great Society. Davis holds an MFA from the NYU Tisch Graduate Acting Program.

If you’d like to support The Micki Grant Artist-in-Residence Program, please consider making a tax-deductible donation at: https://ci.ovationtix.com/34375/store/donations/44746

THE YORK THEATRE, “Where Musicals Come to Life,” is the only theatre in New York City—and one of very few in the world—dedicated to developing and fully producing new musicals and preserving notable shows from the past. For over five decades, York’s intimate, imaginative approach to producing both original and classic musicals has earned critical acclaim and recognition from artists and audiences alike. Since 1997, The York has focused on new musicals in its Mainstage Series—most of them world, American, or New York premieres—by some of the field’s most esteemed creators and has also helped launch the careers of many talented new writers. Over 47 cast recordings from York Theatre productions are now available, including its acclaimed revival of CLOSER THAN EVER (2013 Off-Broadway Alliance Award for Best Revival). Commercial transfers of such York premieres as THE MUSICAL OF MUSICALS (THE MUSICAL!), SOUVENIR (Tony Award Nomination for actress Judy Kaye), and JOLSON & COMPANY, and revivals of PACIFIC OVERTURES and SWEENEY TODD (four Tony Nominations including Best Revival) have all showcased the importance of The York and its programs.

The York is the recipient of an Emmy Nomination, a special Drama Desk Award for “Developing and Producing New Musicals,” and a special Outer Critics Circle Award for “50 Years of Producing New and Classic Musicals.” Most recently, Stephanie Jae Park received a Lortel Nomination for her performance in The York’s Monte Cristo. The York is currently producing at The Theatre at St. Jean’s at 76^th Street and Lexington Avenue.

www.yorktheatre.org | www.facebook.com/yorktheatrecompany

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