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Playwright Loy A. Webb Brings The Light to Where #MeToo, #MuteRKelly and #BlackLivesMatter Converge
Three years ago when Loy A. Webb crafted The Light, the burgeoning playwright had no idea where the world would be when her play had its New York premiere last month. The Logan Vaughn-directed drama is set in today’s Chicago and turns the idyllic concept of millennial black love on its head as a couple,…
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Jenifer Lewis Lets Loose: Black-ish Star Dishes on Returning to 'Broadway,' Tracee Ellis Ross Drama, Donald Trump, Colin Kaepernick and Kanye West
Jenifer Lewis is ready for her closeup. Again. And unlike all of her previous big moments, the showbiz veteran—whose scores of professional credits include stints on Broadway, television and film over the past four decades—the timing of it couldn’t be more better this go round. The Black-ish actress, who turned turned 62 last month, is…
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Black on the Great White Way: Actors Are Breaking Barriers, But Broadway Still Has a Long Way to Go On Diversity
When Brittney Johnson wore the crown as Glinda for Broadway’s Wicked earlier this month, the actress became the first black woman to portray the leading role in the heralded, long running show. Her Jan. 10 debut was a major milestone on the Great White Way because the Wizard of Oz-based musical has been one of…
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Rising Playwright Jeremy O. Harris Addresses Backlash Over Controversial Slave Play
Much to the chagrin of the many detractors who were in an uproar about last month’s world premiere of Slave Play, the controversial drama’s creator is getting the last laugh. It’s bittersweet, though. Jeremy O. Harris found his critically acclaimed pet project at the center of a firestorm on the heels of opening at the…
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Television for Colored Girls: CLEO TV Cozies Up to Black Millennial Women
For the new year, a new cable channel dedicated to young black women will hit the airwaves. And it promises to be more than just reruns, rehashed specials, depressing docuseries and R&B music videos viewers have seen elsewhere. The channel, CLEO TV—a nod to the Egyptian queen of two centuries past mostly known in pop…
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Broadway Legend Ben Vereen Is Still Steppin’ Out With New Stage Gigs and Lee Daniels’ Star
Legendary song and dance man Ben Vereen is blessed, booked and busy. The award-winning showbiz vet has run the full gamut of the entertainment spectrum with a career spanning five decades. He has originated roles in the legendary Broadway musicals Jesus Christ Superstar and Pippin, recorded for Motown Records and portrayed memorable parts in…
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Omarosa, in Her Own Words: The Former Trump Aide Dishes on Reactions to Her Book and Why She Doesn’t Care About Being Invited to the Cookout
The ongoing drama at the White House is the epitome of “political theater.” And it seems to be the gift that keeps on giving to a public and media with an insatiable appetite for the onslaught of egomaniacal behavior from the current leader of the free world. Omarosa Manigault Newman has borne witness—and even contributed,…
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Mary Mary’s Tina Campbell Talks Stumping for Trump and Husband’s Infidelity
Ask Tina Campbell if she’s sad about her popular reality show Mary Mary ending after six seasons, and the Grammy Award-winning gospel powerhouse will flat out tell you, “No.” “Actually, I’m not. I’m ready to move on,” the colorfully coiffed and outspoken member of platinum-selling duo Mary Mary recently told The Root. “You know, doing…
