Melissa Haizlip

Pretty Dead Girl

Shawn Ku

Christian Campbell, Christina Souza

In this twisted musical comedy, Mortie falls in love with the corpses who come through his morgue until a vulnerable nurse teaches him to love a woman who is alive.

Mr. SOUL!

Sam Pollard, Melissa Haizlip

Ellis Haizlip, Sidney Poitier

On the heels of the Civil Rights Movement, one fearless black pioneer reconceived a Harlem Renaissance for a new era, ushering giants and rising stars of black American culture onto the national television stage. He was hip. He was smart. He was innovative, political, and gay. In his personal fight for social equality, this man ensured the Revolution would be televised. The man was Ellis Haizlip. The Revolution was soul!

Contact High: A Visual History of Hip-Hop

Melissa Haizlip

Created for the exhibit at the Annenberg Space for Photography.

Jammin': Jelly Roll Morton on Broadway

Gregory Hines, Tonya Pinkins

A behind the scenes look at the Broadway production of Jelly's Last Jam, including a tribute to jazz musician and composer Jelly Roll Morton. Gregory Hines and George C. Wolfe, who wrote the book for Jelly's Last Jam, are interviewed. Includes scenes from the show.

Bojangles

Joseph Sargent

Gregory Hines, Peter Riegert

The life of Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, African-American tap-dancing star of stage and screen. In 1916, Robinson was a successful vaudeville performer and considered the finest tap dancer of his generation. At the peak of his career, he was the highest paid Black entertainer, but for all the joy he gave others, his life was anything but happy, there was a great deal of tragedy in himself. He died broke and penniless.