Lincoln Center Theater has officially announced its 2025–2026 season—and it’s not just a new lineup, it’s a full-on renaissance. Under the visionary leadership of incoming Artistic Director Lear deBessonet, this inaugural season marks a major turning point for one of New York’s most prestigious theatrical institutions.

With a slate that fuses legacy revivals, fresh new voices, and community-forward programming, deBessonet is redefining what it means to serve New York audiences across generations, identities, and neighborhoods. And yes, Black artistry is front and center—from the return of Ragtime starring Joshua Henry, to an ensemble revival of The Whoopi Monologues led by Kerry Washington and Kara Young, to a citywide community choir experience co-created with Jeanine Tesori.

Let’s break it down.

ON BROADWAY: “RAGTIME” RETURNS WITH A STAR-STUDDED CAST

At the Vivian Beaumont Theater, deBessonet kicks off her tenure with a lavish revival of Ragtime, her acclaimed New York City Center Gala production, now reimagined for the Broadway stage. The production boasts a powerhouse cast: Tony nominee Joshua Henry as Coalhouse Walker Jr., rising star Nichelle Lewis as Sarah, and Olivier and GRAMMY nominee Caissie Levy as Mother, alongside Tony winner Brandon Uranowitz as Tateh.

This iteration of Ragtime isn’t just a restaging—it’s a reckoning. Set at the turn of the 20th century, the show follows three families—Black, Jewish, and white upper-class—whose lives intertwine in pursuit of the American Dream. With direction by deBessonet, choreography by Ellenore Scott, and music direction by James Moore conducting a 28-piece orchestra, this production promises not only grandeur but renewed urgency.

Performances begin September 26, 2025.

OFF-BROADWAY: WHOOPI. KENNY. KERRY. KARA. YES.

The Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater will host three bold and deeply resonant productions:

• KYOTO, a sharp political thriller about the 1997 climate summit, directed by Stranger Things: The First Shadow duo Stephen Daldry and Justin Martin.
• Amahl and the Night Visitors, a family opera classic reimagined by Tony-winning director Kenny Leon and starring opera icon Joyce DiDonato. This production marks LCT’s first official seasonal holiday offering.
• The Whoopi Monologues, a reimagining of Whoopi Goldberg’s iconic 1984 solo debut. Directed by Whitney White and featuring an all-star ensemble led by Kerry Washington (American Son, “Scandal”), and Tony^®  Award winner Kara Young(Purpose, Purlie Victorious) lead a remarkable ensemble of 5 women in bringing Goldberg’s unforgettable characters back to the stage, in this new production directed by Tony^® Award nominee Whitney White. This revival reclaims Whoopi’s groundbreaking work for a new era.

Expect laughter. Expect truth. Expect legacy to meet liberation.

LCT3: COMEDY, HEALING, AND BLACK JOY

At the Claire Tow Theater, LCT3—under Artistic Director Maria Manuela Goyanes—continues to be the incubator for boundary-breaking work:

• The Comedy Series featuring Jenny Slate and more, in a dynamic new stand-up/storytelling experiment with Seaview.
• Night Side Songs, a folk-infused new musical by The Lazours (We Live in Cairo), directed by Taibi Magar, exploring illness, caregiving, and resilience.
• A Woman Among Women by Julia May Jonas, a feminist reply to Arthur Miller’s All My Sons, in partnership with The Bushwick Starr and New Georges.
• The Reading Series curated by a dream team of playwrights including Lynn Nottage, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, and Sarah Ruhl, featuring new voices handpicked for one-night-only staged readings and conversations.

This isn’t just programming—it’s legacy-building.

EXPANDED PROGRAMMING: FROM SILENT DISCOS TO COMMUNITY SINGING

Lincoln Center Theater is breaking beyond the proscenium with a series of free, community-focused events:

• WARRIORS Silent Disco – Inspired by the 1979 cult film, this concept album from Lin-Manuel Miranda and Eisa Davis, produced by Nas and Mike Elizondo, will come to life in a silent disco dance party at Lincoln Center Plaza on July 30.

• COME & SING – A public choir series co-created with Jeanine Tesori, inviting New Yorkers to sing together—no audition, no pressure, just joy and harmony.
• Collaboration with Chef Kwame Onwuachi – Culinary meets culture as the celebrated chef behind Tatiana partners with LCT for a future creative collaboration.

CENTERING COMMUNITY: A NEW DEPARTMENT, A NEW VISION

One of the most exciting announcements is the expansion of LCT’s Education Department into the Education and Community Engagement Department, signaling a deeper investment in connecting the theater’s work to the everyday lives of New Yorkers.

With expanded initiatives like storytelling workshops, book clubs, and artmaking projects, this department—under the continued leadership of Kati Koerner—will focus on making the theater a “third space” for all: a place of belonging, creativity, and cultural healing.

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR BROADWAY BLACK

The 2025–2026 season at Lincoln Center Theater is more than artistically ambitious—it’s inclusive, intergenerational, and deeply rooted in community. Black artistry isn’t a side note; it’s the foundation. With talents like Joshua Henry, Kenny Leon, Eisa Davis, and Kara Young at the forefront, Lear deBessonet’s inaugural season isn’t just a debut—it’s a declaration of legacy in the making.

And we’re watching, front row.

The post Whoopi Returns, Ragtime Rises: Kerry Washington, Kara Young, Joshua Henry Lead Lincoln Center Theater’s New Era appeared first on Broadway Black.

Photo Courtesy of “Hamilton: An American Musical”

The Screen Actors Guild, the union of actors represented in Hollywood for television and film, has just released their roster of nominations for this season’s top awards. Many noteworthy Black Broadway names appear on the list this year, for their performances in films that reminded us of their limitless talent and crossover appeal. 

Photo Courtesy of Amazon Studios

Tony winners and Hamilton alum, Daveed Diggs and Leslie Odom, Jr. both have nominations this year. Diggs (who co-hosted the nomination ceremony) is nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Limited Series for his role as Thomas Jefferson in the Disney+ premiere of Hamilton: An American Musical (which he also originated on Broadway). His Hamilton co-star, Leslie Odom, Jr. is double-nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role and Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture for  his portrayal of soul singer Sam Cooke in One Night In Miami.

The Netflix production of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom received nominations for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture, and earned nominations for its stars Viola Davis (Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role) and the late Chadwick Boseman (Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role). Boseman is also nominated for his work in the Spike Lee drama Da 5 Bloods, making him a 4-time posthumous nominee this year.

Photos Courtesy of Netflix

Rounding out the nominees is Kerry Washington (American Son) with Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in Television Movie or Limited Series for Little Fires Everywhere.

Photo Courtesy of Hulu

The SAG Awards will air on Sunday, April 4 on TNT and TBS at 9:00pm EST. To see the complete list of nominees, visit sagawards.org. 

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The annual celebration has become the star-studded event of the season attracting A-listers from Broadway to D.C. to Hollywood.  Tyson was one of six honorees celebrated for their lifetime contributions to the arts and American culture.  Other honorees included Rita Moreno, Carole King, George Lucas and Seiji Ozawa.

Broadway Black beauties Viola Davis and Kerry Washington were on hand for Tyson’s tribute to share all the ways the timeless 90 year old had inspired them and their work.

“Cicely Tyson does not merely act,” said Washington. “She soars. She sings. She vibrates. She is music.”

Davis, who recently worked opposite Tyson as her daughter on the hit-series “How to Get Away With Murder,” had this to say about the icon: “my friend, my inspiration, my TV mother…[she] motivates others to follow her lead and her dreams.”

Since her breakthrough performance in the critically acclaimed “Sounder,” Tyson has earned a bevy of Academy, Emmy and Golden Globe nominations over the span of her 60-year career.  In 2013, she won her first Tony Award for her captivating portrayal of “Carrie Watts” in A Trip to Bountiful.  She can currently be seen on Broadway in The Gin Game with long-time friend, James Earl Jones.

In all, Tyson has nearly 100 acting credits in film, TV and stage, but as Producer Tyler Perry explained, she has always been selective in the works with which she chooses to associate herself.

“She turned down more roles than you could imagine because they didn’t lift or serve us as a people,” Perry said. “For six decades, she has been diligent in her pursuit to better us all.”

When asked how she felt about receiving the presidential honor, she simply responded, “I am still in shock,” the humility ironic against her regal sophistication. “I consider this tantamount to being honored by the queen.”

The 38th Annual Kennedy Center Honors will air on CBS on Dec. 29 at 9 P.M.

UPDATE:

Kerry Washington gives an amazing introduction for Cece Winans, Terrence Blanchard, & The Cicely Tyson Community School of Performing & Fine Arts Choir singing Blessed Assurance.

Aretha Franklin performs (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman like you’ve never seen before for another honoree, Carole King.

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In 2009, Washington starred alongside Evan Ross and Victor Rasuk in Life Is Hot in Cracktown as Marybeth, a Transgender sex worker. Her performance was breathtaking. In my opinion, it was some of her best work to date. Kerry transformed into Marybeth with the help of an “authenticity coach” named Valerie Spencer, a Trans social services activist and artist. In 2004 Valerie appeared in a V-Day production of The Vagina Monologues, featuring a cast of all Trans women. Valerie helped guide Kerry to a place of total transparency and authenticity in Life Is Hot…

In 2004, Washington starred in Spike Lee’s She Hate Me as a lesbian woman who convinces her ex-fiance (Anthony Mackie), in an effort to earn money after he loses his corporate job, to impregnate her (and a company of other lesbians).

Kerry Washington is not afraid to go there, in both her work as an actor and as an activist, and that is why she absolutely deserves the Vanguard Award.

In her speech at the GLAAD Awards Kerry said, “I don’t decide to play the characters I play as a political choice. Yet the characters I play often do become political statements. Because having your story told as a woman, as a person of color, as a lesbian, as a trans person, or as any member of any disenfranchised community, is sadly often still a radical idea. There is so much power in storytelling, and there is enormous power in inclusive storytelling, in inclusive representations.”

She went on to note that, “We need more LGBT representation in the media. We need more LGBT characters and more LGBT storytelling. We need more diverse LGBT representation. And by that, I mean lots of different kinds of LGBT people living all different kinds of lives. And this is big—we need more employment of LGBT people in front of and behind the camera.”

She finished by galvanizing the audience at the Beverly Hilton, and the audience at large, with “We have to continue to be bold, and break new ground until that is just how it is — until we are no longer firsts, and exceptions, and rare and unique.” 

Kerry Washington studied at the Michael Howard Studios in New York City, and made her Broadway debut in the 2009 production of Race by David Mamet, opposite David Alan Grier (The Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, Dreamgirls, A Soldier’s Play, In Living Color), James Spader (The Blacklist, Boston Legal), and Richard Thomas (Democracy, Hamlet, Richard III).

Kerry has also appeared in productions of Eve Ensler’s The Vagina Monologues and has read numerous times at the Voices of a People’s History of the United States event.

Check out Kerry’s full Vanguard Award acceptance speech at the GLAAD Awards, below.

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