Courtney B. Vance

In 1987, August Wilson’s biggest hit, Fences opened on Broadway starring Courtney B. Vance as Cory Maxson. At 27 years old Courtney was receiving his first of three tony nominations alongside James Earl Jones leading the ship as Troy Maxson. After his turn as Cory, Courtney’s career exploded. He began working in the same year on the film, Hamburger Hill and has been consistently working in stage, film, and television ever since.

Hugh Quarshie

In 1989, Hugh Quarshie starred in the first production of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom in the UK. Then Quarshie was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company but his performance as Levee launched him into stardom on the British stage and screen. Since then Hugh has appeared on Doctor Who, Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace, and last took lead the RSC’s Othello.

Laurence Fishburne

In the beginning of his career, Larry Fishburne (his name at the time), was a stage actor that split some time with the screen when he could. In 1988, Laurence starred in Spike Lee’s School Daze and followed it with the 1991 classic Boyz N the Hood but in 1992 his life changed. Laurence opened the original Broadway company of Two Trains Running as Sterling and won the tony for Best Featured Actor in a play. In the same year, He won his first Emmy and the rest is history.

Ruben Santiago Hudson

To many, Ruben Santiago Hudson is known as one of the greatest black directors of all time with greats like George C. Wolfe and Kenny Leon. But Ruben’s first rendezvous with August Wilson’s work was as Canewell in the original Broadway cast of Seven Guitars starring Viola Davis and Keith David. He won the tony in 1996 for Best Featured Actor has not looked back since. Now he’s considered an expert on the Pittsburgh cycle and continues to spread August Wilson’s legacy across the country.

Samuel L. Jackson

Sam’s big break came a little later but without his work, we would not know two of August Wilson’s best pieces. Samuel L. Jackson developed and starred in the first productions of August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson and Two Trains running at Yale Repertory Theatre. He was unable to continue with the projects because he’d developed an addiction to alcohol but after years of rehabilitation and steady work, Samuel L. Jackson became the highest grossing movie star we know him to be today.

Viola Davis

There are few actors to this day that know August Wilson’s work as intimately or fiercely as Viola Davis. Davis’ Broadway debut was in Seven Guitars in 1996 with Ruben Santiago Hudson. In 2001, the Juilliard grad won her first tony playing Tonya in Wilson’s King Hedley II alongside Brian Stokes Mitchell. Nine years later, she became the second black woman to win the tony for Best Actress in a play for her work as Rose Maxson in the 2010 revival of Fences starring Denzel Washington. Then in 2017, Viola won an Oscar for her work as Rose in the film adaptation of Fences. It is hard to find more ways to clearly show that Viola is the greatest of all time, and a true student of August Wilson’s work.

The post 6 Actors that got their “Big Break” doing August Wilson shows appeared first on Broadway Black.

Which is why Broadway Black has no choice but to share the release of Contemporary Plays by African American Women: Ten Complete Works by Sandra Adell. If there is one voice that’s been undervalued on stage, it’s that of the Black woman. That’s what makes this anthology so great. It’s a combined work that includes prominent Black female playwrights and some up-and-coming writers.

It features works from contemporary Black female playwrights including Blue Door by Tanya Barfield; Levee James  by S. M. Shephard-Massat; Hoodoo Love  by Katori Hall; Carnaval  by Nikkole Salter; Single Black Female  by Lisa B. Thompson; Fabulation, or The Re-Education of Undine by Lynn Nottage; BlackTop Sky by Christina Anderson; Voyeurs de Venus by Lydia Diamond; Fedra by J. Nicole Brooks; and Uppa Creek: A Modern Anachronistic Parody in the Minstrel Tradition by Keli Garrett.

The description reads:

African American women have increasingly begun to see their plays performed from regional stages to Broadway. Yet many of these artists still struggle to gain attention. In this volume, Sandra Adell draws from the vital wellspring of works created by African American women in the twenty-first century to present ten plays by both prominent and up-and-coming writers. Taken together, the selections portray how these women engage with history as they delve into–and shake up–issues of gender and class to craft compelling stories of African American life. Gliding from gritty urbanism to rural landscapes, these works expand boundaries and boldly disrupt modes of theatrical representation.

Sandra Adell (Ph.D., UW–Madison) is a professor of Literature in the department of Afro-American Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, Comparative Literature. Her other works include Confessions of a Slot Machine Queen, Literary Masters: Toni Morrison, Dictionary of Twentieth-Century Culture: African American Culture, and Double Consciousness/Double Bind: Theoretical Issues in Twentieth-Century Black Literature.

Contemporary Plays by African American Women: Ten Complete Works was released December 15th and is available for purchase in hardcopy, paperback, and digital copy at Amazon here.

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This year, the theme of Black History Month at the White House is “Honoring the Past While Celebrating the Present; 7 Years of Living African American History.” As part of this celebration, First Lady Michelle Obama will highlight the contributions African American women have made to dance by hosting a day-long dance workshop for local students.

The First Lady will welcome 51 local Washington, D.C. students to the White House. These students will work with iconic leaders in dance, including Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s Judith Jamison, Debbie Allen, the Dance Theatre of Harlem’s Virginia Johnson, and Hip-Hop choreographer Fatima Robinson. Each of these women have played a pivotal role in shaping the landscape of African American women and girls in dance.

12:30pm ET – In the afternoon, the First Lady will join Judith Jamison, Debbie Allen, Virginia Johnson, and Fatima Robinson for a panel discussion. The panelists will take questions from the students in the audience on a variety of topics including self-confidence, health, hard work, and overcoming adversity.

4:15pm ET – Later In the evening, the First Lady will deliver remarks and introduce a student presentation. As a culmination of the workshops, these young dancers will tell the story of African American history and culture through dance.

Excited to be in DC for #DanceAtTheWhiteHouse with @fatima_noir & @dancetheatreofharlem’s Virginia Johnson! #BlackHistoryMonth

A photo posted by Debbie Allen (@therealdebbieallen) on Feb 8, 2016 at 7:25am PST

#ALVINAILEY dancer Jacqueline Green leads a group of young ladies in Mr. Ailey’s signature movement from his “Revelations.” @whitehouse @jagreen711 Stay tuned for more photos from @michelleobama’s #DanceattheWhiteHouse #BlackHistoryMonth celebration! #AILEYinDC #instaAILEY #AILEYontour

A photo posted by Alvin Ailey (@alvinailey) on Feb 8, 2016 at 8:42am PST

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Jada wrote a tweet following the announcement stating, “At the Oscars…people of color are always welcomed to give out awards…even entertain, but we are rarely recognized for our artistic accomplishments. Should people of color refrain from participating all together? People can only treat us in the way in which we allow. With much respect in the midst of deep disappointment.” She followed the tweet later with a video of her expressing this disappointment and calling all Black entertainers to boycott the show.

Spike Lee certainly agreed with her in his own instagram post and a Hamilton quote;

#OscarsSoWhite… Again. I Would Like To Thank President Cheryl Boone Isaacs And The Board Of Governors Of The Academy Of Motion Pictures Arts And Sciences For Awarding Me an Honorary Oscar This Past November. I Am Most Appreciative. However My Wife, Mrs. Tonya Lewis Lee And I Will Not Be Attending The Oscar Ceremony This Coming February. We Cannot Support It And Mean No Disrespect To My Friends, Host Chris Rock and Producer Reggie Hudlin, President Isaacs And The Academy. But, How Is It Possible For The 2nd Consecutive Year All 20 Contenders Under The Actor Category Are White? And Let’s Not Even Get Into The Other Branches. 40 White Actors In 2 Years And No Flava At All. We Can’t Act?! WTF!! It’s No Coincidence I’m Writing This As We Celebrate The 30th Anniversary Of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s Birthday. Dr. King Said “There Comes A Time When One Must Take A Position That Is Neither Safe, Nor Politic, Nor Popular But He Must Take It Because Conscience Tells Him It’s Right”. For Too Many Years When The Oscars Nominations Are Revealed, My Office Phone Rings Off The Hook With The Media Asking Me My Opinion About The Lack Of African-Americans And This Year Was No Different. For Once, (Maybe) I Would Like The Media To Ask All The White Nominees And Studio Heads How They Feel About Another All White Ballot. If Someone Has Addressed This And I Missed It Then I Stand Mistaken. As I See It, The Academy Awards Is Not Where The “Real” Battle Is. It’s In The Executive Office Of The Hollywood Studios And TV And Cable Networks. This Is Where The Gate Keepers Decide What Gets Made And What Gets Jettisoned To “Turnaround” Or Scrap Heap. This Is What’s Important. The Gate Keepers. Those With “The Green Light” Vote. As The Great Actor Leslie Odom Jr. Sings And Dances In The Game Changing Broadway Musical HAMILTON, “I WANNA BE IN THE ROOM WHERE IT HAPPENS”. People, The Truth Is We Ain’t In Those Rooms And Until Minorities Are, The Oscar Nominees Will Remain Lilly White. (Cont’d)

A photo posted by Spike Lee (@officialspikelee) on Jan 18, 2016 at 5:03am PST

There have been huge debates all over social media whether or not actors should boycott the Oscars or would it even make a difference at all. Similarly, should we even care about the Oscars or should we just make our own? Here’s the danger with that- I think society as a whole has often equated Oscars exclusively with whiteness when in fact it shouldn’t represent that. It should represent the best in film. Period. Point blank. I’d also add, we already have shows that recognize Black entertainers on the regular but even in our own communities we don’t respect them and some A-list black celebrities don’t bother to even show up.

For some, an Oscar simply represents the highest honor in ones film career field. While I am one who thinks that art is super subjective and  already wary of awards in performances, it doesn’t diminish the fact that there are many performances from Black actors that were are “award worthy.” One place I’ve noticed Black actors having some achievement in is on the stage and at the Tony Awards.

I will never forget the 2013 Tony’s when four out the eight acting categories were given to Black men and women (Cicely Tyson, Patina Miller, Coutney B. Vance and Billy Porter). Or in 2010 when it was a Fences and Fela! takeover. Even when Audra McDonald became the first person in Tony’s history to win one in every acting category possible and has the title of having the most Tony Awards as a performer.

While this isn’t to say the Tonys are completely perfect and without fault, I think over the years the Tony’s has gotten better at being more inclusive. Their nominations are usually on the money, and I can guarantee you this year Black actors will be winning again. So what makes the Tony’s so different? What are they doing right?

Well for one, I think the theatre world is more diverse and open to things that differ from the typical white storytelling narratives. I also think because the voting pool is so small and the voters actually go to the shows, their nominations are much more valid. So why can’t the academy admit their current system is broken and find ways to fix it? Well Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs responded to the Oscar boycott saying they would look into what qualifies for membership to help diversify the pool, so I guess that’s a step in the right direction. My only problem with that is, how long will it last?

The post Have The Tonys Been More Fair Than The Oscars? appeared first on Broadway Black.

As a young girl, Wilhelmina Louise picketed her neighborhood supermarket when it refused to hire Black workers and participated in voter registration drives. Her parents – Mamie Wimbush Allen, a teacher, and William Allen, an actuary – surely integral in her fervor. During her 70s, she is quoted: ”The saying goes, if you want to date any of Ms. Allen’s daughters, first you have to picket something.”

The saying also could go: If you want brownie points with Ms. Allen, don’t even think about a retirement plan.

Allen had a non-stop career. One that started in 1943, when the 18-year-old star in the making arrived in New York ready to become immersed in the world of theatre. One that undoubtedly was propelled upon witnessing opera singer Marian Anderson perform in 1939 at the Lincoln Memorial. Allen recalled the Daughters of the American Revolution refused to allow Anderson to sing at Constitution Hall. Her protest came in the form of name calling, as the venue would forever be known to her as “Constipation Hall.” Allen had the opportunity to present a rose bouquet to Anderson when she received the NAACP Spingarn Medal in 1940, as well as watch her idol – or “secret queen” as she described her – become the first African-American performer at the Metropolitan Opera in 1955.

In an interview, Allen said of that moment: “We were so elated but most of all proud. Proud because I knew her. Proud because she knew me.” As a trailblazer in her own right, those who have been inspired by Allen voice the same sentiment. They, too, are proud to know her.

For his column piece in The New Yorker, theatre critic Hilton Als wrote:

“Billie was talented and beautiful during an era when the world wasn’t really looking out much for Black female performers… And as she persevered, her world opened up; she worked in Black theatres in Harlem when the place had yet to become a thing, all the while earning her bread and butter with artists ranging from Phil Silvers to James Baldwin and everyone in between.”

After graduating high school, Allen attended Hampton Institute (now Hampton University) and was mentored by namesake Billie Davis and inspired by Romare Bearden. Bound for New York, she was part of 1944’s On The Town a year after landing in the big city. She was offered a scholarship to study ballet and acting at Lee Strasberg Actors Studio and was soon dancing professionally and auditioning for roles. Her Broadway premiere came in 1947’s Caribbean Carnival. By 1949 she was featured in the film Souls of Sin with Jimmy Wright and William Greaves. During the early 1950s and 1960s, she performed in the Broadway plays Four Saints in Three Acts and My Darlin’ Aida (1952); Take A Giant Step (1953) with Lou Gossett Jr., Godfrey Cambridge and Lincoln Kilpatrick; and Ira Levin’s Critic’s Choice (1960) opposite Henry Fonda.

As one of the first African Americans on television and in commercials, Allen appeared on “The Phil Silvers Show” (from 1955 to 1959) and the soap opera “The Edge of Night” (during 1956). In 1964, Allen returned to the screen in Black Like Me portraying “Vertel.” That same year, she was cast in Adrienne Kennedy’s Funnyhouse of a Negro and directed its revival in 1990. She also appeared in Baldwin’s Blues for Mister Charlie. Allen’s final Broadway role was in 1969 with A Teaspoon Every Four Hours. Her Off-Broadway performance in 1976’s Every Night When the Sun Goes Down at American Place Theatre garnered her a Lucille Lortel nomination.

Also by the mid-70s, Allen’s directorial gifts have graced: Off-Broadway’s Home, with Samuel L. Jackson; Kathleen Collins’ The Brothers; Anna Deavere Smith’s Aye, Aye, Aye; Miss Ethel Waters; and Langston Hughes’ Little Ham, developed with her second husband the late composer Luther Henderson, and which featured Obba Babatundé.

In 2001, she directed Saint Lucy’s Eyes; the play starred longtime friend Ruby Dee, who she shared the stage with in Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun. Her other credits include: television shows “Route 66,” “Car 54, Where Are You?” and “Law and Order”; the TV movie “The Vernon Johns Story”; and films The Wiz, Winter Kills and Eddie Murphy Raw. Allen’s most recent film appearance was in Lynn Nottage‘s By the Way, Meet Vera Stark.

In an effort to nurture emerging playwrights, Allen founded Harlem’s Frank Silvera Writers’ Workshop in 1973 along with Morgan Freeman, Garland Lee Thompson and Clayton Riley. Allen also was a founding member and co-president of the League of Professional Theatre Women as well as a founding member of Women’s Project and Productions. She served on the boards of American Place Theatre, New Federal Theatre and AMAS Repertory. At the time of her death, she served on the advisory board of Cherry Lane Theatre – the oldest continuously running Off-Broadway theatre (it opened in 1924) and one of the first theatres Allen visited.

In September 2014, Cherry Lane’s founding artistic director Angelina Fiordellisi supported LPTW’s Oral History series interview of Allen. Tony-winning Phylicia Rashad (the first Black actress awarded for best leading actress in a play) fielded the questions for Lincoln Center event. The project’s interviews are with the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. Allen herself interviewed the late Rosetta LeNoire and Dee for the Theatre on Film and Tape Archive.

Allen – active with the Tony Awards on its administrator committee, American Theatre Wing advisory committee and nominating board – received the 2002 Audelco Pioneer Award along with her musician husband (who died in 2003). She established a scholarship in honor of Henderson in 2006 at the Juilliard School of Music.

Als also wrote in his commemoration of Allen: “The map of America was on her beautiful face, and the grain of America in her beautiful hair. She was interested in stillness, in listening, but one didn’t get too far in the conversation without Billie’s hands going up in a little arabesque to illustrate a point, or her hips slightly swivelling to emphasize that something exciting had happened, or was about to happen.”

Allen died Dec. 29, at her home in Manhattan. She is survived by a daughter and son from her first marriage, Carolyn Grant and Duane Grant, Jr.; stepchildren; a brother; and a granddaughter.

Watch Billie Allen talk about her idol Marian Anderson…

The post Rest Well: Billie Allen Defied Barriers On Stage, Screen appeared first on Broadway Black.

Opening Jan. 26, the 90-minute play runs through Feb. 21, at The Pasadena Playhouse – the official state theatre of California. Talkback sessions will take place Feb 9. and Feb. 16, featuring a panel of community experts, while Feb. 14 will include members of the cast and crew.

Khan, also the director, is the Tony Award-winning co-founder and former artistic director of Crossroads Theatre Company – a company known as one of the foremost Black theatre companies in the United States.

The cast features: Brooks Brantly; Ross Cowan; Anthony J. Goes; Brandon Nagle; Desmond Newson; Damian Thompson; Terrell Wheeler; and Omar Edwards as Tap Griot. Edwards, the show’s improvographer, uses tap dance “to set a mood that is part sublimated anger, part empowerment.”

Khan shared with Pasadena Now:

This cast for The Pasadena Playhouse/Crossroads production is extraordinary. We took much longer than usual to finally assemble the perfect group, but with Pat McCorkle casting, we did it. And here we are with an exceptionally talented, passionate and committed ensemble of young men ready to take California by storm with a story of unparalleled positivity, pride, courage, achievement.

The creative team includes: Hope Clark (choreographer); Beowulf Boritt (set designer); Toni-Leslie James (costume designer); Rui Rita (lighting designer); John Gromada (sound designer); Clint Allen (video/projection designer).

Throughout the years, the Tuskegee Airmen have been the subject of numerous films, television shows and documentaries, including: 12 O’Clock High Graveyard (1966) with Ossie Davis; The Tuskegee Airmen (1995) with Laurence Fishburne; and Red Tails (2012) by George Lucas. During the presidential inauguration of Barack Obama, more than 180 airmen attended. The 45th National Convention of Tuskegee Airmen Inc., will take place during July, in Indianapolis, Indiana.

The New York Times called Fly “ a superior piece of theatrical synergy.” The production began its rehearsals the last week of December at the The New Victory Theater in New York, where it will have its Off-Broadway premiere in March. The production’s journey extends as far back as 2005, when it was presented as part of Lincoln Center Institute’s educational outreach. Since then it has played at venues such as Flat Rock Playhouse (North Carolina) and Ford’s Theatre (Washington, D.C.). A trailer of the 2012 D.C. show is below.

The post Pasadena Playhouse Announces Cast of Fly Based on Tuskegee Airmen 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.

Brecht’s play follows trader “Anna Fierling” as she pulls her canteen wagon and her children through the carnage of Europe’s religious wars. According to the Classic Stage Company’s web site, “She’ll do anything to hold onto her money-making wagon, even if it means the loss of her children. Experience a timeless tale of war updated to the modern-day conflagration in the Congo, with a new and vibrant score by Tony Award-winning composer Duncan Sheik.”

Pinkins, who was last seen in Joel Drake Johnson’s Rasheeda Speaking, has enjoyed a long and successful career on the stage. She has been nominated for three Tony Awards, winning one for her performance as “Sweet Anita” in Jelly’s Last Jam. She also has won the Obie, the Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards among many others. Pinkins has appeared on Broadway in Merrily We Roll Along, Chronicle of a Death Foretold, The Wild Party, House of Flowers, Radio Golf, A Time To Kill, and Holler If Ya Hear Me, the musical inspired by the work of Tupac Shakur.

Although Broadway has become a second home for Pinkins, Mother Courage isn’t her first appearance in an Off-Broadway production. She’s also performed in the role of “Mopsa, the Shepherdess,” in The Winter’s Tale in 1983. And, in 2012, Pinkins starred in the Off-Broadway production of Katori Hall’s Hurt Village, the gritty drama about life and change in a Memphis housing project.

Joining Pinkins on stage in Mother Courage will be Joshua Boone, Curtiss Cook, Jr., Kevin Mambo, Jacob Ming-Trent, Geoffrey Owens, Michael Potts, Deandre Sevon, Mirirai Sithole, and Zenzi Williams.

Mother Courage opens on December 9. For tickets, visit here.

The post Tonya Pinkins Stars in Great Anti-war Drama, Mother Courage appeared first on Broadway Black.

Tony Award winner Ruben Santiago-Hudson – who boasts a 40-year career – will examine sexist and racist attitudes rooted in classic musicals with fellow award winners Sheldon Harnick (Fiddler on the Roof) and Jeanine Tesori (Fun Home).

For City Center’s announcement about the events, Viertel stated:

“At Encores!, we’re always asking questions about the American musical: where it’s been, where it’s going, what we can learn from the songwriters of Broadway’s Golden Age, and about the attitudes of any given era, which might be very different from our own. This series opens up that conversation to everyone. There’s no one else who does what we do at Encores! in terms of restoring and presenting great musicals as they were originally intended. Our hope is that Encores! Unscripted will explore the connections between the shows we do here –from Cabin in the Sky to 1776 – and the shows currently playing on Broadway.”

Santiago-Hudson has stated: “Whether I’m acting, writing or directing, I want to tell the truth about human beings – especially my folk.” His roots, which spring from an Puerto Rican father and African-American mother, began in New York. Santiago-Hudson made his Broadway debut with George C. Wolfe’s Jelly’s Last Jam (1992-1993). His last Broadway appearance was during 2011-2012 in the Kenny Leon-directed Stick Fly (written by Lydia R. Diamond) as “Joy LeVay,” along with Dulé Hill, Mekhi Phifer, Tracie Thoms and Condola Rashad. Other acting work has included August Wilson’s Gem of the Ocean and Seven Guitars; the latter garnered him a Tony Award.

The Lackawanna, NY native wrote the 2001 autobiographical play Lackawanna Blues and portrayed 20 different characters as well as himself; it was adapted in 2005 as an HBO film and earned him the Humanitas Prize as well as Emmy and Writers Guild of America award nominations. His follow-up “truth” play was Your Blues Ain’t Sweet Like Mine, which was produced by Two River Theater in New Jersey this year. For his direction, he was awarded, in 2013, the Lucille Lortel Award and Obie Award and nominated for the Drama Desk Award for his work in the Off-Broadway production of Wilson’s The Piano Lesson. In 2009, he received the NAACP Lifetime Achievement Theatre Award for his role as “Mayor Joe Starks” in Their Eyes Were Watching God.

Jennifer Sendrow, executive producer at WYNC, also discussed the events. As noted on City Center’s website page, she said: “The Greene Space and Encores! know that our audiences not only delight in the electricity of a live performance, they want to dig deeply into the stories and ideas that propel their favorite shows. We’re convening some of the brightest minds on Broadway to make a must-listen oral history of a fiercely creative time in American theater that will inspire and challenge future generations of artists and fans alike.”

The three-part series will conclude March 14, with “Who Tells Their Stories? Historical Narratives on Broadway” featuring Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson composer Michael Friedman, Hamilton The Musical star Leslie Odom, Jr., along with cast members from the Encores! production of 1776.

Tickets are on sale now. All shows will be webcast live and available as archived videos and podcasts.

Santiago-Hudson presented a TEDx talk at his alma mater Binghamton University on the theme of “staying the course.”

The post Ruben Santiago-Hudson Discusses Broadway’s Musical Legacy for City Center Encores! Unscripted appeared first on Broadway Black.

In “Chi-Raq,” iconic Black director Spike Lee takes on a modernized, hip-hop fueled, political agenda laced re-telling of the classic play in what some are calling his cinematic “comeback.”  Before you head to the movies, let’s review a couple of things about the original work.

Lysistrata is set in 411 B.C. surrounding the epic Peloponnesian War, a feud which spanned over nearly three decades between Athens and Sparta.  Fed up with the destruction caused by the senseless violence, tactical leader Lysistrata convinces the women of both cities to invoke a sex strike, which will ultimately force the men to surrender.  Though the suggestion is met with some resistance at first, the women are steadfast in their resilience, the libidinous men are ultimately at the mercy of their women and their…members, and at the desperate sight of a naked woman, swiftly and distractedly negotiate a peace.

In “Chi-Raq” Juilliard graduate Teyonah Parris serves as a thick and fierce “Lysistrata” who gathers the women of two rival gangs in Chicago to promote a sex-strike until the excessive violence that is costing innocent lives ceases.

Much like Spike Lee’s highly controversial films of the 80’s and 90’s, much of Aristophanes’ works put a mirror to the ebbs and flaws of the community and called it entertainment.  His work was known for being topical with many of the highlighted characters being famous or local personalities the audience would be familiar with.  Spike employs the same technique in “Chi-Raq” using his prose-like platform to incorporate hot topic names like Eric Garner, Ferguson and Condoleezza Rice.

Flanked with a powerhouse cast “Chi-Raq” also includes the incomparable Angela Bassett, Jennifer Hudson, Wesley Snipes and an out-of-type Nick Cannon as Lysistrata’s gang leading boyfriend.  Spike Lee film staple Samuel L. Jackson serves as a one-man Greek chorus narrating the plot with rhymes and that intonation only Jackson can deliver.

First Lin, now Lee.  Who would’ve though setting history to hip-hop could be so entertaining?

Be sure to check out “Chi-Raq” when it hits theaters on Friday, Dec. 4.

The post What You Need To Know Before Seeing “Chi-Raq” appeared first on Broadway Black.