BEDFORD-STUYVESANT — Legendary activist and performer Harry Belafonte will speak at a performance of a rare Edward Albee play inside Interfaith Medical Center on Saturday, organizers said.
Belafonte, known for popularizing Calypso music in the 1950s as well as being at the forefront of the Civil Rights Movement, is one of a number of speakers discussing "hospitals, health care and human rights" during the play's run, according to the New Brooklyn Theater.
The celebrated singer and actor last year stumped for Bill de Blasio on the campaign trail, backing the new mayor's promise to support city hospitals, among other things.
"He's always been a supporter of health and labor, he campaigned a lot for hospitals with Bill de Blasio last year during the mayoral campaign," said New Brooklyn Theater chairman Jeff Strabone.
"He's a natural [choice] for someone to talk about health care and human rights."
Edward Albee's "The Death of Bessie Smith" is set inside a whites-only hospital and focuses on the real-life car crash of the jazz singer and the legend surrounding her demise.
After each performance at Interfaith, local politicians and activists participate in a discussion surrounding health care and its effects on the community. Other speakers include Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, Public Advocate Letitia James and Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams.
The show is sold out, though organizers said they would accept some walk-up theatergoers.
The Bed-Stuy hospital has struggled to stay open over the past few years since the state reduced Medicaid reimbursements in 2010. Most recently, Interfaith and the state agreed on a deal to temporarily keep it open.
But de Blasio and Gov. Andrew Cuomo this week warned that struggling Brooklyn hospitals may be forced to close if the state doesn't approve a $10 billion Medicaid waiver by the end of February.
