On Saturday, December 5, the cast and crew of Six the Musical in London’s West End reopened to an audience at half capacity due to government restrictions and safety protocols surrounding COVID. Their Instagram account posted a curtain call in celebration of successfully reopening the show since it’s closure earlier this year due to the pandemic.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by SIX (@sixthemusical)

Although there are joy and celebration from their audience and followers online, the partially empty theatre is a reminder that we are still in a pandemic. It brings into question, outside of the steps the Nimax Theatres has put into place, which includes face masks, contactless ticketing, and limited capacity, what additional safety measures are in place and how successful they will be in keeping the cast and crew safe?

We need theatre, theatre is important. Art enriches our lives and provides us with a moment of comfort when there is nowhere to go, but at what cost? Don’t be confused. No one is going to sit here and lie and pretend like they are perfect. Here is hoping we are past the part of the pandemic where we constantly judge the choices that are being made based on the little we see or know. No one has been without fault and every mistake has varying degrees of costs. Some we get away with, others not so much.

COVID doesn’t leave you alone when you’re eating at a restaurant. COVID does not respect boundaries, plans, or families. A negative test today does not guarantee that you’ll remain negative the next. It simply means that at that time it could not be detected. Every contact we make with the outside, we are at risk. COVID is outside, y’all and there are people out here literally raw dogging the air while others quarantine their mail and wash their groceries. I am “others”.

The worst part is that we have choices to make. If we can’t do our jobs if we cannot perform, how do we pay rent, mortgages, feed ourselves, and our families? Not to mention the mental health toll on a community without art and a world where we are only able to come together through a device.

…all of this we already know. So, for now, we make a choice and ask ourselves if it’s worth it. Only hindsight will tell.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Nimax Theatres (@nimaxtheatres)

The post Six the Musical Reopens on West End appeared first on Broadway Black.

BB: So is this a good transition for you into the theatre community?

AR: Yes. (laughs) I already knew you were gonna ask me that. 

BB: Is there an ideal role that you have?

AR: Yes there is and I can’t talk about it yet. 

BB: For another time?

AR: (Still laughing) Yes for another time. 

The post Amber Riley Will Play Effie in ‘Dreamgirls’ on the West End appeared first on Broadway Black.

The play, written by Lanie Robertson and directed by Lonny Price, tells the story of the legendary jazz icon’s loves and losses through a turbulent but extraordinary life. Providing the backdrop to these stories are the moving and stirring songs that Holiday is most famous for – “God Bless the Child,” “What a Little Moonlight Can Do,” “Strange Fruit,” “Crazy He Calls Me,” and “Taint Nobody’s Biz-ness.” The production will play at Wyndham’s Theater from June 25 to September 3. The official opening is scheduled for July 5. 

In Shuffle Along, McDonald will take on the role of “Lottie Gee” and Brian Stokes Mitchell will appear in the role of “F.E. Miller.” Billy Porter takes on the role of “Aubrey Lyles,” with Brandon Victor Dixon and Joshua Henry as “Eubie Blake” and “Noble Sissle.”

McDonald made Broadway history with a record-setting sixth Tony Award for her perfomance in Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill. She also has the distinction of being the first person to receive awards in all four acting categories. She has also won Tony’s for Carousel, Master Class, Ragtime, A Raisin in the Sun, and Porgy and Bess. We’ll cross our fingers and hope that her performance in the West End production will wow British audiences as much as it did those on Broadway and bring her an Olivier Award.

For tickets and more information about the West End production of Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill visit here.

BREAKING! @audraequalitymc will take a break from #ShuffleAlong to do @LadyDayWestEnd! #br… https://t.co/ud5ogDQFZn pic.twitter.com/IYpDc6lh1n

— Broadway Black (@BroadwayBlack) January 15, 2016

The post Audra McDonald To Make West End Debut In Lady Day appeared first on Broadway Black.

Now the one-man show is making its New York premiere Dec. 16-20, at Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM). The North American debut began in October at John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. The tour will culminate at Chicago Shakespeare Theater in February as part of the Shakespeare 400 Chicago, a yearlong international arts festival commemorating the 400 years since his death in 1616.

Joseph – whose credits abound with Royal Shakespeare Company (Julius Caesar, Othello, Henry IV, Hamlet, King Lear) and National Theatre in London (Royal Hunt for the Sun, The Emperor Jones) – “inhabits the curious, daringly determined life” of a composer, social satirist, poet, playwright and general man of refinement. Sancho, a distinguished man of letters who wrote two plays, would quote Shakespeare more than any other author. Among Sancho’s friends were Shakespeare actor and theatre owner David Garrick. Sancho himself became a grocery owner and property owner.

Written and performed by Joseph, the show is billed as an opportunity to cast new light on the often misunderstood narratives of the African-British experience. According to UK’s The Public Reviews, “Joseph is a superb storyteller… he brings Sancho to life in a revealing, poignant and funny show.”

Joseph’s experience involves working-class parents who emigrated to England from the Caribbean’s St. Lucia. He trained at Studio ’68 of Theatre Arts in London before attending the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. In an interview, Joseph recalled being asked what he would like his legacy to entail. His answer was to inform Black youth about Black Britain before 1948 so they “would know something of what came before.” When Joseph came across the Thomas Gainsborough painting of Sancho in the book “Black England” by Gretchen Gerzina, he had found his calling. Joseph, 51, now is the same age as when Sancho died. Sancho was 39 when Gainsborough created his portrait – a sitting of about 100 minutes. In just under that time, Joseph re-creates a picture of noteworthy history.

In his author’s note, he writes:

“Charles Ignatius is quite simply a perfect example, and by no means the only one in British history, of the strange, sometimes uncomfortable relationship that the UK has always had with its colonies and colonial peoples. On the one hand exploitation was rife and unbridled, and on the other, the natural and common humanity of the British would not allow them to fully embrace the horrors of the American model of slavery, at least on British soil. And so Sancho’s life was filled with the joy and pain of being at once free and simultaneously caged within his race and place in eighteenth-century society.”

Performances will be at the BAM Fisher Theatre, 321 Ashland Place, in Brooklyn. Click HERE to purchase tickets. Get updates on the show’s Facebook page.

Newsnight on BBC talks about the impact of British theatre, including a brief interview with Joseph and excerpts from Sancho.

The post UK’s Paterson Joseph Paints Sancho’s Life In One-Man Show appeared first on Broadway Black.

The biographical musical about the history-making record label is set to hit London’s Shaftesbury Theater in early 2016.  As previously announced, Cedric Neal (After Midnight, Porgy & Bess) will be taking on the lead role of Berry Gordy and Lucy St. Louis (Beautiful, Book of Mormon, Ragtime) will join him as Diana Ross.  Sifiso Mazibuko will also join the cast as Marvin Gaye.

Motown the Musical opened in the spring of 2013 to mixed critical reviews, but global appreciation for its legendary music helped make it a box office success.  While the first U.S. National Tour made its debut in April of 2014, the Broadway production cited “retooling” efforts to minimize production costs as it temporarily closed the Broadway version this past January.  It was recently announced that Motown will return to Broadway for an 18 week run in July next year.

Brown’s portrayal of Smokey Robinson in the original Broadway cast of Motown earned him a 2013 Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Musical.  The Sister Act and Jersey Boys vet was one of the few original cast members to remain a part of Motown for the entire duration of its Broadway run.

Further casting for the West End production includes Keisha Amponsa Banson (Mary Wells), Cindy Belliot (Anna Gordy), Samuel Edwards (Jackie Wilson), Portia Harry (Teena Marie), Aisha Jawando (Martha Reeves), Joshua Liburd (Eddie Kendricks), Simeon Montague (Jermaine Jackson), Cleopatra Rey (Gladys Knight), Brandon Lee Sears (Tito Jackson), Jordan Shaw (Stevie Wonder), Cherelle Williams (Mary Wilson).  The UK has enlisted young locals Eshan Gopal, Kwame Kandekore, and Joshua Tikare to alternate the role of Young Michael Jackson.  Additional casting includes Daniel Bailey, Edward Baruwa, Tanya Nicole Edwards, Eddie Elliott, Christopher Fry, Alex Hammond, Edward Handoll, Simon Ray Harvey, Elias Hendricks, Brian JamesLeys, Jayde Nelson, Simone Mistry Palmer, Carl Spencer and Marcel J Whyte.  Final casting will be announced shortly.

London previews begin on Feb. 11, 2016 and is set for a March 8 opening.

The post Charl Brown Joins West End Production of Motown appeared first on Broadway Black.

http://youtu.be/zqV2Md6qLsM

When the show closed in January, producers already had plans for a New York return. The opening date and venue have been set: July 12. Nederlander Theatre. The number of weeks: 18.

At the end of its debut run, which began in April 2013, 738 performances and 37 previews graced the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre. The musical frequently reached $1 million a week in box office sales prior to its hiatus; it netted four Tony nominations; and by April 2014, it embarked on a national tour – which is still underway.

Capturing Gordy’s autobiography “To Be Loved: The Music, The Magic, The Memories of Motown,” the musical has had audiences mesmerized by its set list of 66 numbers. CBS Sunday Morning called it “more than a Broadway show… a celebration of music that transformed America.” Other reviews have bcalled Motown:

“A joy ride!” – The New York Times

“Stunning!” – Associated Press

“Something close to a rapture spreads through the audience!” – The New York Times

“Sets the theatre on fire!” – Time Out New York

“This hit machine is running on all cylinders!” – USA Today

Some production and creative changes (casting has yet to be announced) are expected to streamline the show before it sets the New York stage afire again. Yet, it surely will still have a hold on all who participate in listening to “the beat of a generation, the soul of a nation.”

Tickets now are on sale HERE for the West End premiere, which opens February 2016 at London’s Shaftesbury Theatre.

The post Motown The Musical Returns To Broadway Summer 2016 appeared first on Broadway Black.

A new radio 10-part documentary series hosted by British comedian, actor and Bluesman Sir Lenny Henry seeks to spotlight the influence of unsung actors of color and their influence in British theatre, television and film. According to Sir Lenny (as he is called in the British Media),

This Radio 4 series covers a huge span of Black British theatre, TV and film – from Ira Aldridge to Steve McQueen and Nina Baden-Semper to Bola Agbaje – it’s a great sweep of history that excites and stimulates the imagination. It is easy to forget that there were precedents to our current age of BAME (Black, Asian and minority ethnic) breakthroughs and by talking to the likes of Roy Williams and Mustapha Matura, we acknowledge that the young reach their current heights by standing on the shoulders of those that went before.

.@BBC puts theatre centre stage with major season this November https://t.co/6Ts17HY4gZ @LennyHenry @BBCArts pic.twitter.com/YXeHG7Svat

— BBC Press Office (@bbcpress) October 22, 2015

Sir Lenny could very well be considered a part of Black British entertainment royalty. Recently receiving his knighthood from the Queen for his contribution to the arts, he has been in the spotlight since 1975. He first became known for his comedic impersonations and stand-up comedy and has steadily expanded his presence through television, movies, advertisements and voice over work. While many Americans may still remain unfamiliar with his name, he is the co-founder of Comic Relief, a British charity that was created in response to the famine in Ethiopia and raises a large part of its funds through its event “Red Nose Day.” Over the years, in addition to his humanitarian efforts, Sir Lenny has made it a priority to highlight the need for diversity in British entertainment.

The series is a part of the BBC’s On Stage season and is entitled “Raising the Bar.” It will be broadcast on BBC Radio 4 throughout the month of November.

It’s certainly an exciting time for Black people in entertainment, both in America and Britain. As we continue to see the achievements of people of color highlighted, we not only hope but strive for more diversity and acknowledgement across all platforms of entertainment.

The post Sir Lenny Henry to Present BBC Radio Series on Black Contribution to Arts appeared first on Broadway Black.

Aladdin will begin previews at the Prince Edward Theatre on May 27, 2016 and open on June 9. So, far no other cast members have been announced.

Nicholas began his career in high school and while attending West Virginia University. He’s appeared in several regional musical theatre productions, including The Wizard of Oz, Ragtime, and Rent. He’s also no stranger to Disney-produced theatre, having performed at Walt Disney World in Festival of the Lion King and Finding Nemo: The Musical. Nationally, Nicholas performed in Big River as “Jim.”

In addition to his stage career, Nicholas is also a singer, musician and songwriter who’s appeared with the bands Fake Eddie, The Ascension, and Modern Mutiny, who are currently awaiting the release of their debut album.

Aladdin opened on Broadway in March 2014 and more than one million people have seen the Disney show so far. The musical, based on the 1992 animated film, received five Tony nominations in its opening year. James Monroe Iglehart won the Tony award for best performance by an actor in a featured role in a musical, for his performance as “Genie.”

Currently, there’s a Japanese version of the musical running in Tokyo and the European premiere is set for December in Hamburg. After the London opening, the production is set to open in August at the Capitol Theatre in Sydney, Australia.

Aladdin is directed and choreographed by Casey Nicholaw and composed by Alan Menken. It features lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice, with book and additional lyrics by Chad Beguelin.

The post Trevor Dion Nicholas to Star in West End’s Aladdin appeared first on Broadway Black.

Across the pond, Oyelowo is best known for his stage performance as King Henry VI in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s 2001 productions of Shakespeare’s trilogy of plays about the king as a part of its season This England: The Histories. In a major landmark for color-blind casting, Oyelowo was the first Black actor to play an English king in a major production of Shakespeare. Although this casting choice was initially criticised by some in the media, Oyelowo’s performance was critically acclaimed and later won the 2001 Ian Charleson Award for best performance by an actor under 30 in a classical play. – source

Othello will be directed by the Tony Award-winning Fun Home director Sam Gold, who said he chose Othello because it interested him and the actors. However, it was Craig that sought out Gold because he wanted work on a project together. It ended up being Othello which led Gold to reach out to Oyelowo through a friend. The actors did a table read of the play and it took off from there.

According to the artistic director at NYTW, the company has not presented anything by Shakespeare since 1990. This production definitely feels right since the company is known for producing great works that focus more on direction and telling the story than anything else. Recall that this is same theatre that gave us Dael Orlandersmith’s FOREVER. This is bound to be great and we cannot wait to be in the house. The theater has not yet announced the production dates or further information on the run. As soon as it’s released, you’ll find it right here!

The post David Oyelowo to Star in Othello Off-Broadway with Daniel Craig appeared first on Broadway Black.

Malcolm Sinclair, the president of Equity U.K., commented, “Whilst wishing every individual actor in the production well, can it be acceptable best practice in 2015 to cast a project such as this with 22 actors but not one actor of color or who apparently identifies themselves as having a disability?”

Equity U.K.’s Minority Ethnic Members Committee released a statement that read in part, “To present this benchmark of British heritage in a way that effectively locks minorities out of the cultural picture [literally] flies in the face of the huge conversation taking place in British media at present, of the very real progress made in recent years to increase diversity in our industry.”

In response to criticisms, Nunn told The Independent that he would “cast, whenever possible, according to the principle of diversity”, but in this case of The War of The Roses he had made an “artistic decision” to choose actors based on “historical verisimilitude.”

He added, “The connections between the characters, and hence the narrative of the plays, are extremely complex, and so everything possible must be done to clarify for an audience who is related by birth to whom. Hence, I decided that, in this instance, these considerations should take precedence over my usual diversity inclination.”

Julia Horan, a member of the Casting Directors Guild of Great Britain, commented: “I think that everybody in the industry supports the idea of inclusive casting and it is part of a constant conversation about who we should cast which is taking place in theatres across Britain.”  Horan continued that, “There’s a wider issue of a lack of diversity which extends beyond casting to the entire industry itself. Diversity only moves forward when the people doing the picking are diverse and if there’s no diversity in that then there will never be any true diversity in terms of who’s on stage.”

The post Thorny Start for Upcoming War of the Roses Production appeared first on Broadway Black.