The Broadway League Celebrates Black History Month with #MyBroadwayStory

The Broadway League Celebrates Black History Month with #MyBroadwayStory

2021-02-22
CATEGORY: Starlight
TAGS: Beverly Jenkins Britton Smith Irene Gandy Lillias White My Broadway Story Q. Smith Thelma Pollard Toni R. Isreal Voza Rivers Wayne Brady

In a series from the Broadway League, Broadway professionals discuss the importance of representation and involvement through their personal experiences. This month, the series spotlights and celebrates Black creators, pioneers, artists and other professionals to Broadway, and we encourage Starlight fans to watch and share the videos below to learn more about these important stories.

For more from the #MyBroadwayStory series, check out @broadwayleague on Facebook and Instagram.

Beverly Jenkins, Production Stage Manager of Hadestown, talks about some of the landmark Black performances on Broadway that inspired her.

Wayne Brady has starred on Broadway in Chicago, Kinky Boots and Freestyle Love Supreme. He shares the iconic moments in Black Broadway history that made him want to follow his dreams.

Thelma Pollard is Phantom of the Opera’s longtime makeup supervisor and a Broadway veteran who was part of the first all-Black, female team to win the silver medal to compete in the Paris Hair Olympics.

Toni R. Isreal, a Broadway marketing and public relations executive for shows like Hadestown shares a full-circle moment with Tony Award-winning actor André De Shields and The Wiz.

Britton Smith, Broadway performer and artistic director of the Broadway Advocacy Coalition channels George C. Wolfe on making history in Shuffle Along.

Irene Gandy has worked in the business for 50+ years. This veteran Broadway press representative and Tony Award winning producer recalls a moment with Eubie Blake and the musical revue of the composer, Eubie!

Voza Rivers, founding member of New Heritage Theatre Group and legendary producer, talks about bringing South African writer Mbongeni Ngema’s Asinamali! and Sarafina! to Broadway.

Q. Smith, who performed as the original Hannah in Come From Away, talks about a memorable Black Broadway history moment during her Broadway debut in Les Miserablés.

Lillias White, a 1997 Tony Award winner for The Life, shares how seeing Joseph A. Walker’s Tony Award-winning Broadway play The River Niger shaped her artistic dreams.

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