Marcia Sells. Photo courtesy of The Met by Eileen Barasso

We will never stop supporting Black women getting their things! This past year has been rough, but from the pain, institutions are slowly starting to promote tangible change. The Metropolitan Opera has made Marcia Sells the company’s first-ever Chief Diversity Officer. Among her responsibilities in the new position, Sells will be tasked with implementing a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) plan which will be at the core of the company’s hiring, artistic planning, and audience engagement activities. She will also be helping to identify the company’s systematic and structural inequities while working with the marketing and development departments on broadening the company’s base audience. 

Her Black art roots run deep. She got her start as a dancer at Dance Theater of Harlem, then went on to earn her law degree from Columbia University. She has worked for countless corporations from the NBA to Reuters. Right before accepting this position, she was the Dean of Students at Harvard Law School since 2015. 

“At a time when social justice rightly demands that we address the inequities of our art form, I’m pleased that we have chosen the ideal candidate in Marcia for implementing long overdue and necessary change,” said Peter Gelb, the Met’s General Manager. 

Congrats Marcia! We cannot wait to see what you do with this company!

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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.

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Disney shaped the childhood memories of many and continues to make memories eight times a week on Broadway through The Lion King and Aladdin.

Not only do the shows have large ensembles of, arguably, the most spirited people on Broadway prone to break out in song in an otherwise lifeless layover in La Guardia, but each cast boasts a large representation of men and women of color.

I’m still replaying Viola Davis’ Emmy acceptance speech and the Tony and Emmy-Award Winning actress could not be more spot on with her remark that Black women can’t win awards if there is no opportunity for them. It’s no secret that Broadway continues to struggle with diversity on the stage and with its patrons. Mega-hit Hamilton is changing the game by not only bringing a show to the stage that features a hip hop influence, but highlighting the talent of people of color by blindly casting some of America’s greatest historical figures.

But to me, the question is still how do we make theatre more accessible? How do we bring in a diverse crowd? How do we cultivate a love and passion for the stage at a young age?

A lot of this starts by seeing people of color in complex, sincere, challenging, leading roles. Creating opportunity. Writing a new reality.

The Lion King recently made history by surpassing Phantom of the Opera as the highest- grossing Broadway show of all time. Phantom producer Cameron MacKintosh credits Tony Award-Winning director, Julie Taymor, and her vision for “bringing in elements of Asian and African theater, music and performance” as one of the many factors in its success.

Here’s to writers, producers, and directors reaching through “green fields and lovely flowers” and giving opportunity to these talented men and women.

Special shout out to the incredible men and women of color in these productions!

The Lion King: L. Steven Taylor (Mufasa), Gugwana Dlamini (Rafiki), Jelani Remy (Simba), Chantel Riley (Nala), James Brown-Orleans (Banzai), Bonita J. Hamilton (Shenzi), K’Lynn Jackman (Young Nala), Shahadi Wright Joseph (Young Nala), Nathaniel Logan McIntyre (Young Simba), Jahi Diallo Winston(Young Simba), Lawrence Keith Alexander (Ensemble), LaMar Baylor (Ensemble), Allison Blackwell (Ensemble) India Bolds (Ensemble), Elishah Bowman (Ensemble), Derrick Davis (Ensemble), Lindiwe Dlamini (Ensemble), Bongi Duma (Ensemble), Angelica Edwards (Ensemble), Jamal Lee Harris (Ensemble), Kenny Ingram (Ensemble), Andre Jackson (Ensemble), Lindsey Jolyn Jackson (Ensemble), Joel Karie (Ensemble), Lisa Lewis (Ensemble), Mduduzi Madela (Ensemble), Kimberly Marable (Ensemble), Jaysin McCollum (Ensemble), Ray Mercer (Ensemble), Kyle Lamar Mitchell (Swing), S’bu Ngema (Ensemble), Nhlanhla Ngobeni (Ensemble), James A. Pierce III (Swing), Chondra La-Tease Profit (Sarabi/ Ensemble), Jacqueline Rene (Swing), Thandazile A. Soni Donna Michelle Vaughn (Ensemble), Kellen Stancil (Swing Dance Captain), Sophia Stephens (Ensemble/ Understudy Rafiki, Sarabi, and Nala), Bravita Threatt (Swing/ Dance Captain), Natalie Turner (Swing), and Donna Michelle Vaughn (Ensemble).

The Lion King is directed by Julie Taymor and choreographed by Garth Fagan. It is on stage at the Minskoff Theater. Tickets can be purchased HERE.

Aladdin: James Monroe Iglehart (Genie), Clifton Davis (Sultan), Trevor Dion Nicholas (Standby Genie/Babkak/Sultan), Tia Altinay (Attendant, Ensemble), Donald Jones, Jr. (Henchman, Ensemble), Amber Owens (Ensemble), Khori Michelle Petinaud (Attendant, Ensemble), Ariel Reid (Ensemble), and Jaz Sealy (Prince Abdullah, Ensemble).

Aladdin is directed and choreographed by Tony Award-Winner Casey Nicholaw (The Book of Mormon, Something Rotten!) and is on stage at the New Amsterdam Theater. Tickets can be purchased HERE.

The post The Lion King and Aladdin: Diversity Across Green Fields & Lovely Flowers appeared first on Broadway Black.

As part of #MusicalsWeek: Protecting, Developing & Celebrating Musical Theatre, HowlRound and Samuel French held four panels to explore “the promotion, development, diversity and future of musical theatre” from Monday, September 28 to Thursday, October 1. On Wednesday September 30, HowlRound held a discussion around Diversity and Equality in Musical Theatre.

HowlRound is a website and forum dedicated to being the feedback needed to strengthen the theatre for artists and performers — both established and aspiring. In addition to this event, HowlRound’s contributors have been speaking to the topic of diversity on their website over the last couple of months. In his article “Unpacking Diversity In Musical Theatre,” panelist Michael R. Jackson, reminds us that theatre’s main goal is:

To hold the mirror up to humanity and reflect it back (or distort it) in order to share, person-to-person, what it means to exist in joy and suffering in the world. 

These articles and discussions left us ready to explore the ideas of the power of point of view, the cultivation of more writers, directors, and producers of color, and the future of our new audience and how we communicate our want and need for them to indulge in our world. 

What do you see in the future of musical theatre?

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From the perspective of an audience member, I would most like to see a broader spectrum of diversity. The world of theatre is open if we as patrons of the arts also allow ourselves to be open to the idea that the color of an actor’s skin should not dictate their suitability for a role. From the outstanding performance of the late Black actor Kyle Jean-Baptiste cast as Jean Valjean in Les Miserables to the cutting edge foresight of the multi-cultural casting in the Broadway musical Hamilton by Lin-Manuel Miranda, the doors are opening.

If there is to be a perfect actor in a perfect role, it is achieved by casting the actor that can truly embody the character and transport the viewer into a world where only the art remains. If we are to see an evolution on The Great White Way, we must be willing to see the theatre that we love and cherish so much in technicolor. We must be willing to embrace and accept that the world we live in holds opportunity and promise for all and not just a privileged few. That talent does not live within the skin color of a few but can be found in a diverse array  of people. This is the only way that will allow us to ever find the perfect actor in the perfect role. The question is, are we ready to set aside our preconceived stereotypical notions of who should be acting in what and instead open ourselves up to the enormous wellspring of talent diversity in casting can bring?

The post Opening More Doors: Finding Perfection in Diversity appeared first on Broadway Black.

Except the only thing that the MTC did not include this year were works written by  people of color. Their season’s writers include one woman out of the eight shows planned. But can we say that we are shocked?

Why does theater (like other media) have such a problem in terms of gender and race? Is it so hard to find quality female and playwrights of color? Much of it probably has to do with the history of theatre. We are always taught that Shakespeare is the ideal playwright; he’s what we should all aspire to be. But this means that it will always be plays and musicals by white men that keep getting produced. Most of the revivals made are productions directed by white men because they were also written by white men. And since people keep going to see them, they will remake the same plays over and over, year after year, unless there are new works to give underrepresented groups a chance to be seen and heard.

You would think this history would be incentive to diversify the content, especially considering MTC’s artistic director, Lynne Meadow, is a woman.  Can you imagine the Classical Theatre of Harlem producing shows that weren’t written or directed by a single person of color?

After the MTC season was announced, the internet immediately responded with their disdain. That prompted Meadow to release a statement about the content; “I don’t deny the fact that this season is anomalous in terms of the percentages of diversity on our stages,” she stated. “It’s just how the season came together.” Interesting.

However, the diversity issue isn’t lost on MTC. In the past decade, Manhattan Theater Club has had five seasons, including last year, when at least half of the plays had a female playwright. Over the last four seasons, Ms. Meadow said, 43 percent of playwrights and directors at the company were women and minorities. Of its 49 commissions in the past four years, she said, 28 went to women and minorities.

So what happened this year? Where race and equality have been at the forefront of issues facing this country, the Manhattan Theatre Club should have chosen to diversify its content and not ignore the issue.

The post The Lack Of Diversity In Theatre Seasons Are Not Going Unnoticed appeared first on Broadway Black.

This week, the highly acclaimed downtown Broadway house, says Jeje’ Jim and welcomes in highly esteemed theatre maker,  Niegel Smith, who will exceed past The Resource Group becoming the Flea Theatre’s FIRST Black Artistic Director. For those who are unfamiliar with Niegel and his work, allow me a moment to fill you in: This performance mogul of various artistic platforms holds his own personal mission to “create performances that engage, provoke, and expand the limits of self-expression” in a very high light when sharing his art with the world.  Smith has had his works produced through theatres around the country, including Phoenix Theatre Ensemble,  Todd Theatre, Classical Theatre of Harlem, Hip Hop Theatre Festival and many more (they’re on the google). 

Smith, who has had his share of experience in creating art while dealing with its politics when he directed such works as FELA!, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, broadway/off-broadway productions of Tony Kushner’s Caroline, or Change; and  when he joined the artistic staffs of The Public Theater, Trinity Repertory Company and Providence Black Rep; will take to his throne following An evening to Benefit the Flea Theatre and the honoring of the founding artistic director, Jim Simpsons. And I’m sure most of us can agree that the biggest benefit in this is the addition of Niegel Smith- so thank you and you’re welcome. 

Personally, I am beyond myself with the excitement building up in me about this soon-to-be great edition to such a historical institution in the NYC theatre world. I’ve had the extreme honor of experiencing one of Niegel’s artistic explorations; a walk. An experimental theatre piece, a group is asked to release their trust as they’re led through an array of life’s many attributes that gifts each individual with permission to challenge and understand the importance of Smith’s artistic mission that; “values emotional intuition, intellectual discourse, and the intersection of national and cultural identities”.  Niegel Smith, a man that dedicates his life to “acknowledging and implicating the audience” will guide the 18 year old Flea Theatre to a newer understanding of cultural appreciation and to being open to those scary conversations we all want to have but aren’t really sure if we’re allowed- Niegel is giving us permission.

All best wishes to Niegel and the entire staff at the Flea Theatre.

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