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It is a strange and trying time for all of us in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. We certainly understand times are tough for you, as they are for us. We have been proud to bring Stage Directions for free all these many years and we will continue to provide you with complimentary subscriptions during the pandemic. However, we would like to ask in these difficult times that you consider a small donation to help support our efforts here at Stage Directions as we work to keep our industry up to date by providing you with a continuous stream of current and vital information when it is needed, today more than ever, to keep us all in the theater community connected.
Kimber Elayne Sprawl with Matthew Frederick Harris, Marc Kudisch, Tom Nelis, and Austin Scott (Photo © Howard Sherman)
The Broadway League’s Black to Broadway Initiative presented Broadway Celebrates Juneteenth, a free outdoor event centered around Black joy and unity that featured Black Broadway performers in a 90-minute concert. This inaugural event, which was sponsored by MAC Cosmetics and Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS with the support of the Times Square Alliance, took place in Times Square on Saturday, June 19, 2021.
Lillias White (Photo © Howard Sherman)
Broadway Celebrates Juneteenth, hosted by Lillias White, featured cast members from numerous shows, including Diana, Girl from the North Country, The Lion King, Moulin Rouge, The Phantom of the Opera, Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, Thoughts of a Colored Man, with a special appearance byBen Vereen. Live music was provided by The Music Performance Trust Fund.
The creative and production team included Steve H. Broadnax III as Director, Daryl Waters as Music Director, Nzinga Williams as General Manager, and Cody Renard Richard as Stage Manager. The Broadway League was the executive producer of the event. Brian Moreland and Aaliytha Stevens are Co-Chairs of the Broadway League’s Multi-Cultural Task Force.
Bongi Duma and friends (Photo © Howard Sherman)
The goal of Black to Broadway is to inspire deeper engagement with, awareness of, and access to Broadway for all Black people. Created by The Broadway League in 2019, and originally called Let’s Do Broadway, this initiative is an industry-wide celebration of the Black community on Broadway—on stage, in the audience, behind the scenes, and as leaders in the Broadway community. For more about Black to Broadway visit BroadwayLeague.com. For Broadway information in NYC as well as for shows on tour across North America and internationally, visit Broadway.org.
Jacqueline B Arnold and Anastacia McCleskey (Photo © Howard Sherman)
Stanley Martin (Photo © Howard Sherman)
Solomon Dumas (Photo © Howard Sherman)
Ravi Best (Photo © Howard Sherman)
Nick Rashad Burroughs (Photo © Howard Sherman)
L. Steven Taylor (Photo © Howard Sherman)
LaVon Fisher Wilson and friends (Photo © Howard Sherman)
Keenan Scott II (Photo © Howard Sherman)
Janinah Burnett (Photo © Howard Sherman)
Ben Vereen (Photo © Howard Sherman)
André Jordan (Photo © Howard Sherman)