Movies by Debbie Allen

Everything's Jake

Everything's Jake

A homeless man takes a newly homeless man under his wing and teaches him how to survive on the streets.

A Star for Rose

A Star for Rose

Small town girl Marcy comes to LA with stars in her eyes, thinking she can make it big on Search for a Star. Instead, with little money and no friends, she finds herself sleeping in her car. Things dramatically change when she meets Rose, living in a cardboard box, and Mort, a wheelchair-bound Gulf War veteran. After first fighting over territory, these three lost souls bond in friendship, protecting and supporting each other in a story that is at once profoundly funny, heart-warming and poignant.

Alice at the Palace

Alice at the Palace

Meryl Streep stars as Alice in this production of Elizabeth Swados' musical, which was adapted from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll. Based on the acclaimed New York Shakespeare Festival production by Joseph Papp, Alice at the Palace follows Alice's surreal adventures with The Mad Hatter, The March Hare, The Queen of Hearts, and The Cheshire Cat, among many others.

Maurice Hines: Bring Them Back

Maurice Hines: Bring Them Back

Maurice Hines, a charming, gay African-American entertainer navigates the complications of show business while grieving the loss of his more famous, often estranged younger brother, tap dance legend Gregory Hines.

Ebony, Ivory and Jade

Ebony, Ivory and Jade

In this prospective pilot, Mick Jade, a tennis bum-turned-Las Vegas-song-and-dance man, doubles as a private eye with two female dancers, Ebony and Ivory. The trio go undercover to protect a lady scientist from international hitmen as she heads for Washington D.C. from the near-East with her super-secret formula.

Women of San Quentin

Women of San Quentin

A young female prison guard finds out that her first assignment is to San Quentin, one of the toughest prisons in the country.

Spike Lee & Company: Do It a Cappella

Spike Lee & Company: Do It a Cappella

A 1990 PBS documentary around the topic of A cappella music. Artists that performed as part of the documentary include The Mint Juleps, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Rockapella and The Persuasions. It also stars Spike Lee, Debbie Allen and a cameo appearance by Samuel L. Jackson.

The Old Settler

The Old Settler

The Old Settler is the story of two middle-aged sisters, Elizabeth and Quilly, who share an apartment in Harlem in 1943. The sisters quarrel amiably, but they share a wounded history that becomes revealed as the tale unfolds. An earnest but unworldly young man named Husband travels up from the South to board with the sisters while he searches for his beloved Lou Bessie, who left their small town a few years back to find a new life. Husband would like to bring Lou Bessie back home, but she's enamored with the excitement of the city, and her...

Uprooted: The Journey of Jazz Dance

Uprooted: The Journey of Jazz Dance

Follow the fascinating evolution of jazz dance from its origins in Africa, through to its modern-day interpretations which reveal the political and social influences affecting the dance form today.

A Place for Us: West Side Story's Legacy

A Place for Us: West Side Story's Legacy

A documentary with stars from the original cast.

Soul of a Nation Presents: Screen Queens Rising

Soul of a Nation Presents: Screen Queens Rising

Exploring how Black actresses, a historically overlooked and under-valued group in Hollywood, have in recent years begun to ascend to the top echelons of entertainment and American culture. The special examines how Black actresses of Hollywood have become power brokers and the iconic moments and roles have paved the way for them today.