BEYOND THE STARDUST
WORLD PREMIERE
SEP 17 - NOV 1, 2026
Conceived by The Illustrious Blacks and Niegel Smith
Original Music by The Illustrious Blacks
Directed by Niegel Smith
New York City. Tonight. The Stardust Club at The Flea is flying high. Except…well… Honey, with all the shit going down, we’re gonna need some assistance from The Ancestors plus some intergalactic help to stay in the groove.
Soaring down from space and crashing through the roof, two Afro-Futurist planets - Black and Monstah - take human form and descend on The Stardust to shake our booties, raise our consciousness, and lift our status to Dancing Queens.
Conceived by Flea Artistic Director Niegel Smith and The Illustrious Blacks, Beyond the Stardust is an album-length live music video featuring 12 original songs, stunning visuals, and a host of nightlife’s most enchanting aerialists, dancers, go-go boys, girls, and they/thems.
CREATIVE TEAM
CO-CREATOR & ORIGINAL MUSIC
The Illustrious Blacks
CO-CREATOR & DIRECTOR
Niegel Smith
SCENIC DESIGNER
Oscar Escobedo
LIGHTING DESIGNER
Kate McGhee
COSTUME DESIGNER
DeShon Elem
SOUND DESIGNER
German Martinez
“The Illustrious Blacks have arrived to save the world one beat at a time!” — Broadway World
“…you get one part rock show and one part theatrical experience.” — Billboard
“[The Illustrious Blacks] take some of the most joyous genres of Black music — funk, disco, soulful pop — and put them in a blender to create a fresh, intoxicating message.” — Paper Magazine
“Monstah’s theatrical flair and punk aesthetic, combined with Manchild’s commanding soul singing, dancing and deejaying, have earned them raves… — The New York Times Style Magazine
“The Illustrious Blacks…channel the androgynous glamour of Prince, David Bowie, and Grace Jones.” — Tidal Magazine