black actors
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Dear White People's Ashley Blaine Featherson Is Our Best Friend in Our Heads—but She's Nobody's Sidekick
There’s a very short list of onscreen characters we wish we were besties with, let alone actual actresses—Tracee Ellis Ross and Insecure’s Natasha Rothwell immediately come to mind. But if you’re a fan of Netflix’s Dear White People, the character “Joelle Brooks,” played by Ashley Blaine Featherson, is likely another favorite. The brilliant, always loyal…
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'I Am What I Am': In Concert and Conversation, Audra McDonald Pulls Back the Curtain on a Brilliant Career
When you get an opportunity to see Audra McDonald perform, you take it. The record-breaking six-time Tony Award winner, Grammy and Emmy winner and 2015 National Medal of Arts recipient has conquered both stage and screen with her acting and singing and is lauded across the globe as one of the brightest lights of Broadway.…
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True West: With a Reimagined Revival, a Classic Sam Shepard Play Reminds Us That We, Too, Are America
“It’s a very universal story. It’s a play about brothers,” says actor Namir Smallwood when asked about his role in True West, Sam Shepard’s classic play about toxic sibling rivalry, now in production at Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre. Despite the universally relatable theme, there is something distinctly different about this critically acclaimed revival; it’s the first…
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Stage Presence: The Stars Show Out for the 2019 Tony Awards
Feathers, tulle, velvet, yards of train and even more star power; the theatrical community celebrated its biggest honors Sunday night at the 73rd Annual Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. While black talent didn’t take home all the Tonys we’d hoped, we nevertheless made a major showing on the red…
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2019 AFI Lifetime Achievement Ceremony: Denzel Washington Collects His Things; Beyoncé Honors Melina Matsoukas
Everyone who is anyone in Hollywood gathered to celebrate your favorite actor’s favorite actor Denzel Washington at the 47th AFI Life Achievement Award gala, presented by the American Film Institute, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on Thursday night. The star-studded guest list included Spike Lee, Antoine Fuqua, Chadwick Boseman, Jennifer Hudson, Mahershala Ali,…
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‘I Can’t Stop’: With Ms. Blakk for President, Moonlight Writer Tarell Alvin McCraney Campaigns as an Unlikely Candidate
“The most transparent way is the truth.” Tarell Alvin McCraney is telling me about the circuitous journey that led him and longtime collaborator Tina Landau to the real-life character of Ms. Joan Jett Blakk. That’s “two t’s, two k’s,” as she reminds us during her run for president at Chicago’s famed Steppenwolf Theatre, where McCraney…
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Blockbuster Talent: Aisha Hinds Is Poised for Major Impact in Godzilla: King of the Monsters
Anyone who had the pleasure of watching actress Aisha Hinds monologue her way through a series of breathtaking appearances as Harriet Tubman on the tragically underrated (and sadly canceled) series Underground knew they were witnessing someone wondrous. Her newest vehicle, Godzilla: King of the Monsters, may leave the wonder to the monster-creating effects of CGI,…
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'There Is Rhythm in the Language': Actress Christiana Clark Finds the 'Jazz' in Shakespeare in The Winter's Tale
There’s a moment during Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale when pivotal character Paulina pauses in the midst of imploring an obstinate king for compassion to roar at the lords attempting to restrain her, “What needs these hands?” before resuming her pleas. As played by Christiana Clark (opposite Dan Donahue as King Leontes) in the Goodman Theatre’s…
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Lena Waithe Heads West, Cast in Season 3 of Westworld
Lena Waithe, First of Her Name, Queen of The Chi, Breaker of Industry Chains, has landed a new acting gig! The screenwriter, producer and actress will be joining the cast of HBO’s Westworld for its third season. That’s right, she’s already tackled comedy and drama in the television world, might as well add some sci-fi…
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Playing the Gentrification Game: In Ike Holter's Lottery Day, the Audience Wins
Gentrification continues to redistrict the boundaries of traditionally black and brown neighborhoods in urban cities across America—inevitably, pushing longtime residents and their stories to the fringes in favor of glossier, more palatable facades and narratives. Those stories have been the focus of playwright Ike Holter’s stunning seven-play “Rightlynd Saga,” focusing on the inhabitants of Chicago’s…