Ruby Dee News

The African American Film Critics Association (AAFCA) will present AAFCA Salutes Broadway. The event will honor The Merchant of Venice and Till star John Douglas Thompson, Topdog/Underdog writer Suzan-Lori Parks, Death of a Salesman's Wendell Pierce, and The Piano Lesson's LaTanya Richardson Jackson.

The Bret Adams and Paul Reisch Foundation has announced the recipients of their 2022 Idea Awards for Theatre; three categories of grants awarded to adventurous new voices in playwriting and musical theatre, as well as the visionary playwrights who have inspired and blazed trails before them.

Wine in the Wilderness, written by Drama Desk Award winner Alice Childress and directed by Obie Award winner Brandon J. Dirden (director of August Wilson's Radio Golf and King Hedley II) launches Two River Theater's 2022/2023 Season on October 15. 

the american vicarious will present a Five-Borough NYC Tour (5BT) of their critically acclaimed production of Debate: Baldwin vs Buckley, a staging of the historic clash between James Baldwin and William F. Buckley Jr.

TFANA has extended the run of Alice Childress’s Wedding Band, directed by Awoye Timpo, to May 22. (The production, which began previews April 28—postponed from an original date of April 23 due to two COVID-19 cases—was formerly set to close May 15).

The first museum exhibition of its kind, Regeneration: Black Cinema 1898–1971 opens at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures on August 21, 2022. It offers the public a chance to learn more about how Black performers and filmmakers have helped define cinema in the United States. The exhibition explores the achievements and challenges of both independent production and the studio system, from cinema’s infancy in the 1890s through the height of the civil rights movement. Regeneration features rarely seen excerpts of films restored by the Academy Film Archive, as well as other narrative films and documentaries; newsreels and home movies; photographs; scripts; drawings; costumes; equipment; posters; and historical materials, such as entrance tickets, note cards, and telegrams; along with augmented reality experiences (AR) designed specifically for the exhibition.

This May, Broadway fans will be treated to an exciting lineup of new albums, concerts, television shows, and movies to binge. From the new Spring Awakening: Those You've Known documentary on HBO to new additions to Feinstein's/54 Below's concert livestream slate, check out what's coming to streaming services this month!

TFANA will present Alice Childress’s Wedding Band. Director Awoye Timpo’s new staging, running April 23–May 15, brings Childress’s masterpiece to New York audiences for the first time since 1972, when it made its New York premiere in a production directed by Childress and Joseph Papp.

On Her Shoulders will present a virtual reading program: ON THE THIN CRUST OF CIVILIZATION: The Plays of Marita Bonner, directed by Magaly Colimon-Christopher, via NPTC's YouTube Channel: NewPerspectivesTC. 

The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures today announced the first round of exhibition rotations, which are scheduled for the 2022–2023 season. These rotations further the museum’s mission to advance the understanding, celebration, and preservation of cinema through dynamic and diverse exhibitions.

Vocalist and performer Anita Michael returns to the Laurie Beechman Theatre with her new show on Sunday, May 15, 2022 at 1:00 pm.

...it is as fine a theatrical treatment of this oft-produced - not though not oft enough - play as I’ve ever seen

Samuel L. Jackson is one of the most respected actors in Hollywood. Jackson’s portrayal of ‘Jules’ in Quentin Tarantino’s “Pulp Fiction” made a mark on American cinema. In addition tO critical acclaim, he received Oscar and Golden Globe nominations, as well as a Best Supporting Actor award from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.

The Vancouver International Film Festival announced this year’s Black History Month programme, taking place at the VIFF Centre throughout February. Black History Month at VIFF offers audiences an opportunity to engage with Black stories from a range of Black voices from around the world, as well as the richness of international nuanced and empowered Black filmmaking.

Broadwayworld had the pleasure of interviewing Crossroads Theatre Company's Artistic Director, Ricardo Khan about his career and the season ahead.

For the first time since the lockdown, Mr. and Mrs. Karl are appearing locally, and they are bringing back a sure thing, their smash-hit show LEGALLY BOUND.

With the long-running Don’t Bother Me, I Can’t Cope, in which she also starred, she became the first woman to win a Grammy Award for the score of a Broadway musical. She also received Tony nominations for book, music, and lyrics. Another Grammy nomination for the score (with Alex Bradford) of Your Arms Too Short to Box with God followed, as well as another Tony nomination for the score of Working.

The “live” virtual fundraising gala, which will be hosted by TONY Award-winning actress Anika Noni Rose also includes Crossroads' presentation of the its inaugural Champion of the Arts Award to global healthcare company Johnson & Johnson.

Woodie King, Jr., Founder and Producing Director of New Federal Theatre (NFT), will retire from leadership of the famed theater company on June 30, 2021, handing the baton to NFT's newly appointed Artistic Director, Elizabeth Van Dyke.

Theatre Communications Group has announced the 2021 TCG 60th Anniversary Gala: Our Stories will be held virtually on Tuesday, May 18, 2021 at 7:30pm ET with an afterparty to follow. The Gala will honor Ricardo Khan and the Performing Arts Alliance, and both the Gala and virtual live afterparty will be hosted by drag superstar Shequida.