Courtesy of The National Center of Afro-American Artists, the song-play “Black Nativity” by Langston Hughes will be performed at the Paramount Center, 559 Washington Street, Boston, this weekend and next at 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, with matinees at 3:30 p.m. each day.

Characterized by the Center as a “gift from the Black community to people of good will from all traditions, the delightful show has since 1970 become a cherished tradition in Greater Boston as well as across much of New England.

With a cast of nearly 75 youth and adults, the Nativity story is retold in the language of ordinary Black people as imagined by Hughes, a Harlem Renaissance poet. While African drums propel the dramatic evocation of the blessed child’s birth, gospel music—intermixed with well-known carols—lifts the spirit of all and excites anticipation for the promise of 2023.

This season’s performances are partially underwritten by the Eastern Bank Charitable Foundation, Museum of Fine Arts, and ArtsEmerson at Emerson College.

Tickets are available through the ArtsEmerson Box Office in person or online. For additional information, visit blacknativity.org.