Reynolda Noir

The Reynolda Noir event is now sold out. Please consider joining us for a matinée performance on Saturday, September 30. Click here for more details.

Join us for a festive evening exploring the life and music of Libby Holman. Holman was sultry, smart, and bluesy. It is said she changed the way America sang and then promptly was forgotten. Or, perhaps, she was remembered for the wrong reason. For forty years, she was known as the woman indicted for the murder of her husband, Smith Reynolds, in a case that was never solved. For one night only, Reynolda Noir shines a spotlight on Ms. Libby Holman—the wife, mother, Civil Rights activist, and “smokiest torch on Broadway.”

Your Reynolda Noir ticket includes:

Conversation Over Cocktails
Arrive early for flowing cocktails as doors open at 6 p.m. Mix and mingle with fellow attendees, enjoy smooth sounds reminiscent of the 30s, and take a moment to experience our newest exhibition, “Smith & Libby: Two Rings, Seven Months, One Bullet“ (opening September 9) in the Babcock Wing Gallery.

Dinner, Drama, and Delight
Hear the remarkable story of Ms. Libby Holman as told by Dr. Michele Gillespie, historian and provost of Wake Forest University, and Phil Archer, curator and Betsy Main Babcock Deputy Director. Experts uncover some of the lesser-known truths of Libby’s life, including details of her activism during the Civil Rights Movement and the undeniable impact she made as a Broadway performer.

A Selection of Libby Holman’s Hit Songs
As the story unfolds, enjoy several of Libby’s hit songs performed by Soprano Jodi Burns with arrangements and accompaniment by Kenneth Frazelle.

What Shall I Wear?

Guests are invited and encouraged to don their “after five” attire. Cocktail and business formal are fitting for this evening dinner theatre experience.

This event is for adults ages 21+.

Questions? Call Sarah Blackwell at 336.758.5889.

Smith & Libby: Two Rings, Seven Months, One Bullet
This exhibition, curated by Betsy Main Babcock Deputy Director of Reynolda House Museum of American Art Phil Archer, presents archival objects, news articles, and other primary sources to lay bare the mystery in all its fascinating complexity. There is more than one way for a house to be haunted, and this story has hung over Reynolda for ninety years, at once the most tragic and infamous day in its history. Smith & Libby draws back the curtain on an event that shocked the nation and echoed down the generations, still inspiring speculation and curiosity in visitors of all ages today.