Radio City Music Hall, the storied 6,000-seat venue in the heart of Manhattan, welcomed a full-capacity crowd without social distancing on Saturday night for the premiere of Dave Chappelle: This Time This Place, the latest film from Julia Reichert and Steven Bognar, Academy Award-winning directors of American Factory.
The closing-night film of the Tribeca Festival signaled opening night for post-Covid theatergoing in New York City. Those wishing to enter the theater had to show proof of vaccination but were not required to wear masks, according to the Associated Press. Prior to the big finish, the Tribeca Festival’s 11 days of public screenings had all taken place outdoors.
After the film, Dave Chappelle came out to offer condolences to those who had lost loved ones during the pandemic, then gave New York a rallying cry: “But, man, let’s get up.” A who’s who of hip hop acts appeared, including Q-Tip, Talib Kweli, Fat Joe, A$AP Ferg, Redman, Ghostface Killah, DJ Clark Kent, and the group De La Soul.
Mobile phones were checked at the door, which is why Twitter and Instagram were not flooded with videos of the proceedings. Those who suffer from FOMO are undoubtedly grateful.
Before the screening, notables who were photographed (sans masks) include Delroy Lindo, Sharon Stone, Anthony Anderson, Jeremy O. Harris, Hari Nef, and Bob Saget.
Dave Chappelle: This Time This Place documents the stand-up series that Chappelle held outdoors on a friend’s farm in the small town of Yellow Springs, Ohio, during the thick of the pandemic. Chris Rock, Jon Stewart, Kevin Hart, Trevor Noah, and Tiffany Haddish make appearances. However, rather than simply being a concert film, the documentary is also about these unusual times: It shows the strategizing to make performances safe, the efforts to convince community boards to let the performances happen, and scenes of performers getting nasal swabs.
Chappelle has referred to filmmakers Reichert and Bognar, also from Ohio, as his neighbors. “I literally knocked on their door,” he said, according to Deadline.
Distribution and release plans for the film are not yet public, but Chappelle is no newcomer to creative concert films, having made Dave Chappelle’s Block Party in 2005 with Michel Gondry.
Almost exactly one year ago Chappelle, Reichert, and Bognar released a short-form piece directly to YouTube called 8:46 that covers the murder of George Floyd and related protests.
With Chappelle’s Radio City gig announcing open season, New York now finds itself with a full calendar. On Sunday, the Foo Fighters will play the first full-capacity large indoor concert in town at Madison Square Garden. On Tuesday, Trey Anastasio will return to the Beacon Theater. And Bruce Springsteen will kick open Broadway’s doors next Saturday with the next phase of Springsteen on Broadway on June 26.
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