In the first month of the year, our imagination has its most powerful opportunity to help us grow beyond the limits of what we know. It’s in this month that we create vision sessions, we cast spells of affirmation, we seek to look at 366 days as stepping stones to manifest our dreams. However, have we really cleared the deck for this manifestation? Do we understand what growth really requires?

Drew has asked me to do something of great honor– to write a love note to this community about leaning into growth. To take time to think about the seeds I want to be sown for this community that I love; that I have personally invested so much time and energy in helping to evolve and empower. I think he is hoping I will provide us a salve of love to possibly be the foundation we root our existence in this year. So with this space, I hope to do justice to the honor of this request, to download my felt wisdom into words. 

To acquire the space of growth, this year has already shown me that the skeletons buried deep within my closet, deep within the crevices of my psyche, have to be purged in order to honor my vision for the future. This year, a year christened with the pregnant possibility of providing 20/20 clarity, is the year to lean into the concept of divine vision. To manifest this vision will require the discomfort of our dreams turning into flesh, the discomfort of our ambition raising our shine, the discomfort of our grace to allow ourselves the space to shift from surviving to thriving. I am asking us to change the lemons into lemonade and lean into our growing edge of becoming not just the humans we have sought to be externally yet honoring our internal power, wisdom, and intuition within. This is the year we can build muscle by first tearing the tissues that will eventually strengthen the core. We should really be sore this year and enjoy that good pain which serves as a reminder that we are ALIVE and growing.

I also know we must, as my pastor said so beautifully, “build an altar of testimonies that we walk past every day” to remind us of the victories we have lived through. And what an alter this community can assemble! What is love if not the way this community rallied to fortify the vulnerability shared in Donja Love’s work? Or the way the community shared their grief, memory, and love of Christine Jean Chambers? Or any time we show up to celebrate someone’s Broadway debut on a show as old as Lion King or as fresh as A Soldier’s Play? The way we champion each other is a miracle; it is a testimony that we are bigger than our individual parts, or followers we have on social media, or positions we helm. And we will need to lean into that found love to get through these unknown days. We will need a flame to guide us. You are the keeper of that flame. This year will test its resilience and I am asking that you all lean into the needs she requires so we can have a lighthouse to guide us in the midst of the fog.  

Together through individual acts of tending to our own needs, WE collectively transform. So what dreams have you let go rotten? What ideas are waiting to be birthed by your courage? If you can allow yourself to lean into the growth,  if you can allow your love testimony to guide your next footsteps as we head into the days of new beginning laden with discomfort, then we the children of ancestral wisdom, we the creators, the producers, the manifestors, the conjurers, the truth-tellers, can change, pivot and manifest the vision of a life we want now! Yet we must first lean into growth required.

The post Lean in… 366 days, not just 31! appeared first on Broadway Black.

Gurira, who is most notably known as an actress — the star of the wildly popular AMC seriesThe Walking Dead — wrote the play fresh out of finishing her studies at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, where she earned her Master’s of Fine Arts. She’s starred on Broadway in the August Wilson play Joe Turner’s Come And Gone but is making her Great White Way debut as a playwright with Eclipsed.

“That’s kind of the thing that excites me the most is the idea that we’re breaking that type of barrier with these types of women and hearing these particular voices on The Great White Way,” she said. “It’s really time to break through those barriers and show that there isn’t a reason for the lack of representation or the under-representation.”

Read the entire Bold & Black On The Great White Way article and view more pictures of the entire cast HERE. Such a great read and gorgeous photography by Marc Baptiste. Below are just a few of our favorites including “Academy Award winner Lupita Nyong’o joined by a stellar ensemble including Pascale Armand, Akosua Busia, Zainab Jah and Saycon Sengbloh, & the playwright Danai Gurira.

The post The Women of Eclipsed Shine in Uptown Magazine appeared first on Broadway Black.

The program is billed as:

Some of Broadway’s top talents are joining forces on one of the most anticipated shows of the season, a star–studded revival of the 1921 musical “Shuffle Along,” with music and lyrics by the legendary Sissle and Blake, a new book by George C. Wolfe, , based on the original by F.E. Miller and Aubrey Lyles, and new choreography by Savion Glover. Don’t miss this exciting opportunity to find out more when New York Times critic at large Wesley Morris talks with the show’s star, six–time Tony Award® winner Audra McDonald, and its writer/director, Tony Award winner George C. Wolfe.

The post WATCH: Times Talks Shuffle Along with Audra McDonald & George C. Wolfe appeared first on Broadway Black.

The history-making all-woman cast, director, and writing team stand behind a program that at its core, is looking to empower girls and women. The program will target 10,000 girls from the Tri-State area who would have otherwise not been able to experience a show on Broadway, and give them the opportunity to do so.

Now that’s a blessing.

Eclipsed playwright and 10,000 Girls Campaign spokesperson, Danai Gurira, champions this movement stating:

I wrote this play and gave it the title Eclipsed for young girls and women to be celebrated, to see their intrinsic value and light despite a world that may tell them otherwise. Ten Thousand Girls pursues that vision by exposing girls and young women to theater they would never otherwise see, and exposing them to women performers who look like them shine onstage. I hope and believe this initiative will spark a mind, an imagination, and awakens the many giants within these young women.

Eclipsed promotes liberation through telling the true story of African women in the midst of turmoil— the Liberian civil war. It is a story that marries the pain and reality of oppression with the humorous undertones of everyday life. It’s the definition of beauty in a struggle.

In the words of Martin Luther King Jr, “a movement that changes both people and institutions is a revolution.” Let’s hope this revolution is televised—broadcasted and supported! But more importantly, influential in shaping a more diverse audience for tomorrow.

Donations can be made to sponsor girls through the Broadway Education Alliance. To find out more on how you can donate and join the revolution visit HERE.

So much great energy on the @eclipsedbway stage! Love this pic via @eclipsedbway

A photo posted by Broadway Black (@broadwayblack) on Feb 11, 2016 at 11:07am PST

 

#BroadwayBlack Moment w/ @lupita_nyongo & Our Founder @drewshade: You should be following @BroadwayBlack today of ALL days! I’m just saying. & if you haven’t gotten your tickets for Eclipsed with this amazingly talented woman you should really do that soon!

 

A photo posted by Broadway Black (@broadwayblack) on Feb 11, 2016 at 8:57am PST

Broadway producer @Lala Anthony & @eclipsedbway star @vintagepopsoul w/ #BroadwayBlack @ Meet & Greet!

A photo posted by Broadway Black (@broadwayblack) on Feb 11, 2016 at 8:16am PST

 

A historic day! @eclipsedbway press meet & greet! Previews start Feb 23!

 

A photo posted by Broadway Black (@broadwayblack) on Feb 11, 2016 at 7:42am PST

Mood. @eclipsedbway

A photo posted by Broadway Black (@broadwayblack) on Feb 11, 2016 at 8:22am PST

 

A model of the @eclipsedbway set we were just standing on! It truly came to life! You’ll find these pictures & more on BroadwayBlack.com later today!

 

A photo posted by Broadway Black (@broadwayblack) on Feb 11, 2016 at 8:25am PST

A model of the @eclipsedbway set we were just standing on! It truly came to life! You’ll find these pictures & more on BroadwayBlack.com later today!

A photo posted by Broadway Black (@broadwayblack) on Feb 11, 2016 at 8:25am PST

The post The Gift of Theatre: Eclipsed Launches 10,000 Girls Campaign appeared first on Broadway Black.

Broadway Black writer Jerrica White had the opportunity to catch up with actors Lakisha Michelle May (Moxie), Chinasa Ogbuagu (Abasiama) and Chinaza Uche (Disciple) to discuss the play.

Chinasa Ogbuagu, Lakisha May, and Chinaza Uche all joined the production after doing workshops of the play. What seemed to draw them to the production was the idea that there were plenty of shows about African-Americans but less of Africans who live in America and what they bring to the culture.

For actress Lakisha May, who earned her MFA from the American Conservatory Theater and also holds a  BA from Spelman College, it was simple. She loved the fight of her character ‘Moxie’ a prostitute from the south who was not content with her station in life. May was able to contrast her personal history as a descendant of slaves and being the first in her family to graduate from college with the struggles of her character. Said May of the character,

She is a young woman that’s really fighting. One of her lines states “Just because I was born this way doesn’t mean I intend on staying this way”. She is trying to get out of this situation. What can you do?

Chinasa Ogbuagu, a Nigerian-American actress brought a different perspective to the play. According to Ogbuagu Nigerian (Ebo) culture has informed much of who she is but when she travels to Nigeria she is also very aware of her ‘American-ness’. Culturally she was able to relate very well to her character.

School is important to the culture coupled with hard work which is the American dream… which came from immigrants..

For Chinaza Uche, the American dream has always been hard. The actor who holds a BFA from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts states simply,

The American Dream  has been built to challenge you. It is a battle to define “Who am I?” Defining oneself is a huge part of participating in the American Dream.

The actors were asked about how working with Mfoniso Udofia, who is known for her mixture of poetry and prose on stage, challenged them.  Said May,

There is a rhythm that is inherent in the work and while it may sound like the American South coming out of Moxie, it wasn’t easy.  The play is truly language intensive. My classical training was indeed used to approach the character.I feel that as a result of this work, I can now do anything and I look forward to the next language intensive play.

May reflects that she is left feeling she can do anything and do it in her own voice.

I am super grateful to be in this space and do this work.

For Ogbuagu, a deep respect for the genius of Udofia shaped a powerful experience.

She is so smart and she has found a way to write an amazing beautiful story that is also educating people on an experience that they are not familiar with and how could they be? I appreciate her for that.

According to the cast, Udofia was a stickler for punctuation and slash marks to keep the rhythm a certain way and for them, it worked. Said Ogbuagu,

When you adhered to the punctuation as written it flows and starts to work in a way that makes alot of sense.

As Ogbuagu and Uche ran lines together after rehearsals, this wisdom became evident and they both shared humorous moments realizing that if the stopped trying to do it their way, the dialogue worked a lot better. The cast collectively gave off an aura of warmth and respect when describing their impressions of Udofia. The playwright was repeatedly described as compassionate and strong and most importantly that she came through for the actors. Ogbuagu says,

That for me as an actor is everything. It’s really lovely. It’s everything.

The cast erupts into laughter as Uche adds,

You can really see who Mfoniso is as a playwright when you look at the scenes of Moxie!

Uche continues,

But truly, the compassion for the characters is huge. A great writer really takes care of the actor and she (Udofia) really does that by kind of telling us exactly what to do. There was always love and support to really develop what needed to happen. Yeah, she’s awesome.

The cast was also asked how director Ed Sylvanus Iskandar, who is Indonesian, added to the storytelling? According to Ogbuagu,

Ed has an immigrant experience of his own and while its not the same, he can understand some things and some things he had to learn too. He brought an amazing theatricality to this production and an elevation. Ed was able to come from a different experience and truly elevate the production. I loved that he did that.

Finally, the cast was asked what the wanted audience members to take away from Sojourners. 

May stated audience members should reflect on the intersection of Africans and African Americans.

It’s an opportunity for these two groups who are connected by the diaspora to be in the same space and deal with the stereotypes that each have of one other. There is a class story that can be taken away regarding the American Dream, especially from Moxie’s perspective.  The takeaway is that the American dream can’t always come in to fruition for everybody, particularly if you have brown skin.

Ogbuagu adds,

 Compassion and understanding of an experience different from your own. We are talking a lot about immigration with this election and a different understanding of immigrants; that not everybody  who comes to this country and wants to take over. People also have homes that they love. People want to come and they want to have an experience here, but then a lot of people do want to be able to go and come. Yeah, just compassion and understanding of somebody else’s experience.

Uche sums it up by saying,

Compassion is close to the word dimension. There are so many people who we overlook and I think that one of the things this play does is that it shows that if these three immigrants and this Black prostitute can have lives that are so rich and each have so much going on and have their own personal dreams, how many other people are we judging too quickly in our real lives and how many other stories are we not hearing? This is one family’s story and its so rich and so beautiful! There are black holes in our history that we don’t talk about where people were doing important shit! People were living important lives and I hope people leave with thinking, I want to know more about other people that I don’t know about.

Mfoniso Udofia and cast have done a wonderful job with Sojourners. It is a fascinating new way of seeing the immigrant experience and a different look at how we can define the American dream. Sojourners runs thru February 13, 2016, at the Peter Jay Sharp Theater.

The post Sojourners: A Different View of the American Dream appeared first on Broadway Black.

Luckily for me and you, we don’t have to wait until we get to heaven to enjoy the Mykal experience. He’s performing at the Apollo Theater on Friday, February 5 at 10pm, as part of  The Apollo Music Café series. 

Kilgore was recently seen on NBC’s broadcast of The Wiz Live! But he stole my heart with his rendition of “Crush on You” by Lyons & Pakchar. He snatched my edges with the Broadway Black exclusive video of “Defying Gravity.” He slayed me with his rendition of “My Heart Will Go On. And brought me back to life in The First Noel at The Classical Theatre of Harlem. On the stage, Kilgore has been seen in Hair, Motown the Musical, The Book of Mormon, and Marley. 

All extraness aside, Kilgore has surpassed someone to take notice of, he’s here. Living his best life.

Mykal Kilgore is originally from Florida and grew up in the church as one of nine children. His gospel roots are evident in his sound, which successfully combines a touch of gospel, soul and doo-wop. He attended Florida State University where he fell in love with theatre. Currently, Kilgore has been making waves with his work with Scott Bradlee’s Post Modern JukeBox, a rotating group of musicians producing covers of pop songs in jazz, ragtime, and swing styles. The group takes modern pop songs from artists like Miley Cyrus, Celine Dion and Lordes and reworks them into amazing vintage jazz and pop renditions. Be on the look out for his solo album coming later in 2016.

The Apollo Music Cafe Series is designed “to bring independent, cutting-edge artists to a forward-thinking audience.” This event was Curated by Dwight Jordan and will feature DJ Hard Hittin’ Harry. Get tickets HERE.

Take a look at what happened the last time Mykal was in concert below. We were there!

The post Mykal Kilgore Brings Life To The Apollo Theater’s Music Cafe appeared first on Broadway Black.

Stop / The madness / Freeze frame / Take a good look at this picture

Three-time Emmy Award-winning choreographer/director extraordinaire Debbie Allen wants those who witness her Freeze Frame production to consider where they fit into the picture on gun violence in America. Written, directed and choreographed by Allen, the U.S. premiere event is described as a live experience and call to action. Stories of the passion and pain of Los Angeles’ toughest streets are set amid a dance-driven musical along with cinema and theatre.

Public performances are Feb. 5-7, at Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills, California. The production run kicks off with a gala performance Feb. 4, presented by Allen and award-winning journalist Maria Shriver. Shriver’s Architects of Change initiative will ignite and reframe the conversation about America’a relationship with violence – a conversation that starts with self and ultimately one that can begin to change the country, according to Shriver.

According to Allen, the Freeze Frame project – which began as a film – was conceived when she was part of the film and television installments of Fame during the 1980s. She was upset about the violence in her community and wanted to use her art to do something about addressing the issue.

In a television news interview, Allen said the project’s title demands and asks: “Stop. Look at this picture. Where do you fit into this picture? How can you change what’s getting ready to happen?” The premise of the show pits an innocent young child against circumstance, as he is in danger of being shot by the police. Inspired by real-life narratives, Allen explained Freeze Frame provides a voice to young people, the police and pro- and anti-gun activists alike.

In January, The White House under President Obama’s Administration ordered executive actions to reduce gun violence and make communities safer. The Office of the Press Secretary released:

Over the past decade in America, more than 100,000 people have been killed as a result of gun violence – and millions more have been the victim of assaults, robberies, and other crimes involving a gun. Many of these crimes were committed by people who never should have been able to purchase a gun in the first place. Over the same period, hundreds of thousands of other people in our communities committed suicide with a gun and nearly half a million people suffered other gun injuries. Hundreds of law enforcement officers have been shot to death protecting their communities. And too many children are killed or injured by firearms every year, often by accident.

Allen considers Freeze Frame – which had its world premiere at the Brisbane Festival in Australia in 2013 – as one of her most important works. The founder of Debbie Allen Dance Academy and sister to Tony winner Phylicia Rashad has been an artist in residence at the Kennedy Center for more than 15 years. In addition to directing for Broadway (Cat on a Hot Tin Roof; Carrie), Allen has contributed her expertise to: Scandal, How To Get Away With Murder, Empire, A Different World, Everybody Hates Chris, That’s So Raven, Stompin’ At The Savoy, and The Fantasia Barrino Story.

Featuring artists from Allen’s dance academy alongside seasoned performers, proceeds will benefit the renowned academy. Shows are 8pm Friday and Saturday, with 3pm and 12 noon matinees on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. The production contains strong language. Purchase tickets HERE.

Join the conversation at #FreezeFrameLA.

The post U.S. Premiere of Debbie Allen’s Freeze Frame At The Wallis appeared first on Broadway Black.

Abasiama came to America with high hopes—for her arranged marriage and for her future—intent on earning a degree and returning to Nigeria. But when her husband is seduced by America, she must choose between the Nigerian and the American dream.

Still, Broadway Black got the chance to sit down with Udofia and discuss why she took a break from singing, how she defines her work, and what exactly is “Nigeria-dar.”

Broadway Black (BB): You’re just like…a master of everything!
Mfoniso Udofia (MU):  Oh, my mother is like ‘Be careful Mfoniso, don’t become a jack of all trades and master of none!’  Because I did, I liked to dabble!

BB:  What’s the last incredible show you saw?
MU: I just saw The Color Purple and Cynthia Erivo… it’s like my Nigeria-dar went off! She was so good, like incandescent. From this little body came this gorgeous, gorgeous voice.  The Color Purple itself, by Alice Walker, the book tore me up. The movie destroyed me. Then watching it… I think I forgot how deep the story was and the type of healing that story demands.  Alice Walker is a beast.  Reading her canon is good for the Black body.

BB: So did seeing Color Purple inspire you at all [to want to return to acting/singing]?
MU: For a hot HOT second!  But I don’t sing like that, and that was a big thing when I was auditioning.  I think people want me to sound a very particular way, because of what I look like.  So it’s gonna demand a breaking of our gaze which sometimes is easy and sometimes is not.

BB: There’s been a lot of talk about the white gaze over the different productions.  What would you say to someone who is trying to work under what we might veil as a “white gaze?”
MU: Having the uncomfortable conversations, in the beginning, is important and right at the start dismantling privilege.  I do think that is something that Playwrights Realm was wonderful working with me going, ‘Listen, the play I’m writing right now, the gaze from which I’m writing it is not the gaze that most western theatergoers might understand and I am not interested in changing the internal heartbeat that way’ and I was actually listened to.  But, you can’t make an assumption that you are understood. I push from the beginning so that in the middle when I’m pushing it can’t be like ‘Oh, I didn’t know this might be coming one day.’ I’m pretty upfront.

BB: What is unique to you and your storytelling?
MU: I make sound. It’s poetry, really. I may break the form of what feels like spoken word. My father was giving me narratives to read when I was young and I think I started thinking in poetry and it’s leaked into my writing. I love it because it confounds itself.  The line will play on six different levels.   The way poetry and prose fuse…

BB: If you had to give it a name…?
MU: If I had to give it a name… [You can hear her struggling to create the vocabulary for her art] You’re asking me to create on the spot, you’re watching the creative mist [she laughs]…. It is “true north.” My poetry is the container in Sojourners and is true north in Run Boy Run.

BB: What do you want your audience to take away from Sojourners?
MU: I want them to have critical sight into what the African-Nigerian body actually is. How certain immigrants might have come here to build a life.  Especially since now, we’re having really interesting conversations on immigrants and there’s a particular sense of phobia in certain pockets, so to really understand what it’s like. I want audiences to understand that the WAY immigrants come into this country, they’re varied, there might not even be a desire to stay, and that building within the Amerian dream is a particular crisis.  I hope this play complicates the idea of the American Dream and makes us understand that when immigrants are coming in they’re coming in with their own dreams and will become a fuel for the American Dream.
Also, I do hope people start to grapple with the African body vis-à-vis the African American body and we start to build language and see where connections fail and where connections can be made between those two communities.

Sojourners is currently playing at the Peter Jay Sharp Theater through Feb. 13.  For tickets, visit TicketCentral.com.  For more on what Mfoniso is up to, check out her website mfonisoudofia.com.

On the set of #Sojourners today with playwright @mfudofia! Tonight the first preview for her stellar new play happens at @playwrightsrealm! This off-Broadway play is a dynamic debut for a playwright who is bound to have many more produced! Can’t wait to share all of what we talked about today. Look for it on BroadwayBlack.com! #BroadwayBlack

A photo posted by Broadway Black (@broadwayblack) on Jan 21, 2016 at 11:23am PST

The post Sing Girl Sing: One on One with Sojourners Playwright Mfoniso Udofia appeared first on Broadway Black.

I sat down with Broadway performance artist Grasan Kingsberry to find out just what the key to his success and longevity on Broadway is. 10 Broadway credits to his name including Motown the Musical, Catch Me If You Can, The Color Purple, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and Aida and one of a very small handful (he makes the fifth) of Broadway artists to ever, and I mean ever, reprise a role that they originally created, Grasan Kingsberry has set himself apart with great distinction. I went looking for just what his recipe might be, just what WAS his special ingredient?  I expected the usual litany of hard work, dedication, and focus, but instead I found a man who has attained so much more than commercial success. He has a purpose and truly as the old folks say a calling. Kingsberry’s focus is on so much more than the next show, accolades or fame. He has turned being different into making a difference both in himself and through his art.

Kingsberry has always been different. Growing up as a kid with a dream in Charlotte, North Carolina, he had long been preparing for the stage. As a child, he fell in love with music and found himself picking through tunes by ear. By the time he was in high school, he had made his way into Northwest School of the Arts and also had been a stellar athlete throughout his matriculation through secondary school. Kingsberry spent his time at Northwest studying dance, music theory, musical theater, voice, piano, and acting.

Deciding that performance art was going to be his focus, he moved away from being an athlete, replacing that love of playing with becoming a super fan of the Carolina Panthers. But music and dance were calling him and his next stop would be at Julliard. He graduated from Julliard with a BFA and role in Broadway’s Aida. The tone had been set and Kingsberry was ready.

Today finds Kingsberry still making history. He is currently performing in the revival of The Color Purple. This is noteworthy because it’s such a rare occurrence that an actor reprises an original role. As an African American male his accomplishments are somehow brighter, somehow more inspiring simply because of his ability to stand out in what has always traditionally been “the Great White Way”.  But talent as sumptuous as Kingsberry defies boundaries and heralds a new day where African American performers are more and more frequently receiving their just recognition for their contributions to the arts. Kingsberry has been a two-time recipient of the coveted gypsy robe; he received the first during On A Clear Day You Can See Forever and receiving the second on opening night of the revival of The Color Purple. Amazing enough he received his second robe four years and a day apart. “Timing is everything,” he says with the warmest of chuckles. Whatever Kingsberry puts his talent to just seems meant to be.

These synergistic themes of timing, mindfulness and intentional thinking pepper our conversation. It underscores Kingsberry’s deeply spiritual musings and convictions. Kingsberry is a man who has put a lot of thought into his purpose and his spiritual beliefs. Beliefs that he says became solidified during his very first run of The Color Purple and continue into the revival ten years later.

“This piece is really special to me. It was special to me ten years ago and it rings even more true to me now; in terms of a lot of things that I believe and things that have changed my heart from this show. Being a part of this show again just reconfirms my belief and my faith that you are where you are supposed to be. This show changed my life. The lyric content, the subject matter, the story… it raised questions of faith and self-love and finding joy through pain.”

As he circles around to breathe life into the revival, I ask him how the two shows are different. Kingsberry shares that the current revival is sharply pared down compared to the original. There are 17 actors on stage and 3 swings and this time, no choreographer. In fact, there is only one set piece and chairs that are used as props. Kingsberry doesn’t discount the previous lavish set replete with 30 actors. He says,

“I think we needed that production to know what this production was going to be, we needed the original to come to this, to what we have now. We approach it like a play. Things really move at the pace a traditional Broadway play would. And that’s how I approach it as an actor, too.”

I asked Kingsberry what else was different in his approach to his character.

“So to do it ten years later with ten years of life experience, ten years of career experience, I get to apply those things that I have learned and give new life to this character and new life to this show. I have the unique position of having been in both shows so I can apply the things I have learned that I didn’t apply to this one. I had to approach it in a new way.”

For the audience, particularly those who have seen both productions the intent is to focus on Celie. The play has an intimate feel and there is no doubt there is an element of God in the show. The relationships between the characters, the emotional content are all focal points in the revival of a show that has a storyline that spans forty years. The emphasis in this production is a desire to trust the audience to imagine what they needed to and to get rid of the superfluous to hone in on what is truly an awe-inspiring story. According to Kingsberry, this approach is effective. He adds,

“Theater is a world of imagination and we don’t need to be too literal because we have to trust the audience will understand what’s going on. We as actors have to make sure we do our job and understanding the intention behind the story.”

Kingsberry says that in the revival, audiences have been able to get closer to the characters and the storyline. Being able to absorb more of the emotional elements sans a fancy set allows them to really hear the story and it hits them harder. It’s a spiritual experience that Kingsberry shares.

“What opened my spiritual door, so to speak, was me asking questions. Once I got the show ten years ago, with Oprah coming on board, with just all the goodness surrounding the show, I just kept asking the question, why me? God, why me? What have I done to receive all of these amazing blessings and beautiful things? The more I asked that and the more I sat still with that, answers began to reveal themselves to me. So, it deepened my spiritual practice and thusly I had an awakening. Because of the show.”

And we are back to this idea of having a sense of worship and understanding of the true nature of God. Kingsberry cites listening to the lyrics Shug sings to Celie about God being inside of each of us. This was a poignantly different picture of the God of Kingsberry’s childhood who was often portrayed as an overbearing, distant deity somewhere off in the sky. The simple message of God and love has had a profound effect on the way Kingsberry views God. He now says that we are the essence of God and that our work is to glorify the creations of God, the beauty of God and the love of God.

“It was truly this show that broadened my spiritual awakening… You do this eight times a week and you really start to believe what you are saying, to really take in what you are saying and naturally it manifested into me having a really deepened spiritual practice now. What I do on stage is all of God’s work.”

Speaking with Kingsberry is much like sitting by a small relaxing brook with an old friend, far away from the bright lights and buzz of the big city. His intelligence, humility, and deep spirituality stand in stark contrast to the hustle and bustle that defines the life of a Broadway entertainer.  Kingsberry has managed to forego the ego and bravado and his humanity shines through powerfully in every word.

Thematically, a pattern seems to present itself in his recent work. One of artistic activism that gently points to what he truly believes is the intersection of all of the societal ills. Prior to joining the cast (again) of The Color Purple, Kingsberry played Sam Cooke in a play called One Night in Miami. The story was about Sam Cooke, Malcolm X, Cassius Clay and Jim Brown electing to forego a celebration after Clay wins the heavyweight championship. The four friends skip the pompous festivities and instead spend the evening together in a hotel in the heart of the Black neighborhood that Clay trained in for the bout. The play is an imagining of what happened during that night in 1964. I asked Kingsberry who would he spend his ‘One Night in Miami’ with and his answer was powerful, thoughtful and sentimental. Alice Walker whom he says he could talk with for hours, his reverend Dr. Michael Bernard Beckwith who is the Founder and Spiritual Director of the Agape International Spiritual Center and his own father. I can hear the strong emotion in his voice when he talks about what such a night might entail. When speaking about why he chose to include his father he gets a bit teary eyed.

“I would want him to experience it and I would also want to learn more from him and his upbringing. It would be a cool way for us to bond.”

Grasan Kingsberry is a history maker. There is no denying his success on Broadway but in truth, his real heroism comes from how he views the world and the importance of everyone in it. His loving approach to the work he does and his commitment to select thoughtful pieces communicate important  and complex ideas at a time where truthfully, he could focus on doing anything he wants. Grasan Kingsberry has a calling and we are definitely better for listening to what he has to say through his artistic expressions.

You can catch Kingsberry in the ensemble and as Adam/Buster on Broadway in The Color Purple. Meanwhile, we will be on the lookout for upcoming music projects and other performances showcasing his musical talent.

The post Grasan Kingsberry: A Man Called to Dream, Create, & Love appeared first on Broadway Black.

Well, if you’re in New York January 26, you’re in luck. Lincoln Center will be hosting two Broadway Black favorites in an intimate discussion about the craft, career, and WERK of 6 time Tony winner, Audra McDonald.

Carousel, Master Class, Ragtime, A Raisin in the Sun, The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess, Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill. These are the 6 shows that have pulled Audra McDonald into Broadway heavyweight status. While we love her on the stage, her talent spans to telvesion and the big screen, too. She’s always working and everything she touches turns to gold.

The Wiz Live! alum, Shanice Williams has let it be known that she loves everything Audra McDonald (just like we do) and wants to follow in her path. It’s as if the stars have aligned because not only does Williams get to be coached and mentored through Q&A by her role model, but we get to sit in the audience with our No 2 pencils and college lined notebooks (aka iPhones), soaking up all of this wisdom! Theatrical Director Lonny Price will handle introductions and formalities, but after that it’s all in the hands of Williams. Go Shanice!

Lincoln Center continues to make arts accessible to the community on a large scale. Directors Lonny Price and Matt Cowart have a few new programs up their sleeves. They are rolling out LC Dialogues, LC Originals, and Late Nights at the Atrium; and because of them we have this gem! If this speaks to the caliber of events to come, we can’t wait to see the rest of the programs for this year.

This event is free and admission is first come, first serve. It will be held at the David Rubenstein Atrium at 7:30pm.

The post Shanice Williams Interviews Audra McDonald at Lincoln Center appeared first on Broadway Black.