Some Black Boy Joy and Black Girl Magic for your world today! Category is… Black Theatre Excellence! The 48th Annual Vivian Robinson AUDELCO Awards streamed virtually via Facebook on November 30th. The AUDELCO Awards, which honors Black Theatre and its artists in New York City, was hosted by LaChanze and Roger Guenveur Smith. Several awards went to some of the most talked-about shows of the season including The Dark Star from Harlem: The Spectacular Rise of Josephine Baker, One in Two, The Wrong Man, and For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow is Enuf.
Winners included Donja R. Love for his play One in Two, Joshua Henry for his role in The Wrong Man, the Billie Holiday Theatre for their production of Reparations, and The Public Theater for the revival of For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow is Enuf. Lifetime Achievement Awards were given to Broadway Black royalty, Andre De Shields, and Voza Rivers.
Congratulations to all the nominees! Watch the show and check out all the winners listed below.
2019 – 2020 Theatre Season “The VIV” Winners & Honorees
LIGHTING DESIGN Alan C. Edwards (The New Englanders
Toni-Leslie James (For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow is Enuf)
SOUND DESIGN
David D. Wright (Reparations)
DIRECTOR OF A PLAY
Michele Shay (Reparations)
DIRECTOR OF A MUSICAL
Tai Thompson (The Dark Star from Harlem: The Spectacular Rise of Josephine Baker)
CHOREOGRAPHER Leslie Dockery (a photograph / lovers in motion) PLAYWRIGHT Donja R. Love (One in Two)
FEATURED ACTOR IN A PLAY Benjamin Mapp (Leaving the Blues) FEATURED ACTRESS IN A PLAY Lisa Arrindell (Reparations) LEAD ACTOR IN A MUSICAL Joshua Henry (The Wrong Man)
LEAD ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL
Iris Beaumier (The Dark Star from Harlem: The Spectacular Rise of Josephine Baker)
FEATURED ACTOR IN A MUSICAL
James A. Pierce III (The Dark Star from Harlem: The Spectacular Rise of Josephine Baker)
OUTSTANDING MUSICAL DIRECTOR
Mario E. Sprouse (The Dark Star from Harlem: The Spectacular Rise of Josephine Baker)
OUTSTANDING MUSICAL COMPOSER Martha Redbone (For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow is Enuf)
BEST MUSICAL The Dark Star from Harlem: The Spectacular Rise of Josephine Baker (Glynn Borders and La Mama ETC)
OUTSTANDING ENSEMBLE PERFORMANCE (TIE)
One in Two (The New Group) Sassy Mamas (Black Spectrum Theatre Company)
SOLO PERFORMANCE
Douglas Wade (Thurgood)
LEAD ACTOR IN A PLAY (TIE)
Kamal Bolden (Reparations)
Teagle F. Bougere (The New Englanders)
LEAD ACTRESS IN A PLAY (TIE)
Rosalind Brown (Leaving the Blues) Liza Colon-Zayas (Halfway Bitches Go Straight to Heaven)
BEST REVIVAL OF A PLAY
For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow is Enuf (The Public Theater)
BEST PLAY
Reparations (Billie Holiday Theatre)
LEGACY AWARD Vinie Burrows
Robert Hooks
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD Voza Rivers
André De Shields
PIONEER AWARD Oz Scott
Vivian Reed
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT AWARD Blair Underwood
Tina Fabrique