Alicia Keys, Linda Twine, and Maxine Williams Will Be Honored at the 2024 Black Theatre United Gala

Black Theatre United will host its second annual Gala on Monday, September 30, 2024 at the Ziegfeld Ballroom in New York. This year’s theme is “Generations of Excellence” and will be a star-studded evening where BTU will come together with friends and allies to honor the indelible mark that Black culture has had on Broadway and across multiple industries.

The Gala will honor renowned conductor, composer, and music director Linda Twine; Chief Diversity Officer of Meta, Maxine Williams; and 16-time GRAMMY® Award-winning artist Alicia Keys.

Directed by Jerry Dixon with music direction by Joseph Joubert, the evening will feature performances by Broadway legends André de Shields, Leslie Uggams, and Stephanie Mills alongside the next generation of musical theatre performers with special appearances byShoshana Bean, Telly Leung, Kristin Chenoweth, Danny Burstein, Mia Neal, Peggy Eisenhauer, Matthew Whitaker, Juliana Canfield, Raúl Esparza & more as well as BTU Founders Norm Lewis, Vanessa Williams, LaChanze, Michael McElroy, Audra McDonald, Tamara Tunie, Allyson Tucker Mitchell, Darius de Haas, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Schele Williams, Capathia Jenkins, NaTasha Yvette Williams, Wendell Pierce, and Lillias White.

Proceeds from the Gala will play a vital role in supporting Black Theatre United’s empowering programs, including The BTU Rise Marketing Internship, The New Deal for Broadway, Business of Show discussion series, Community Town Hall events, an upcoming educational program launching this fall. Returning for the second year alongside fellow BTU Founder Norm Lewis, Gala Co-Chair Vanessa Williams said, “It’s a thrill to present our second BTU Gala to the theatre community and show all the progress, inclusion and education that has been accomplished within a year. Plus it’s always the best party in town!”

Tables begin at $10,000. They are available now at www.BlackTheatreUnited.com/Gala.You can also be a part of the call to action to inspire the next generation of Black theatre professionals in all communities across the country by becoming a sponsor. 

About BLACK THEATRE UNITED

On the heels of a watershed moment in American society, Black Theatre United was formed in 2020 by a passionate group of theater professionals committed to ensuring advances in their beloved theater community. BTU’s mission is to provide access for up-and-coming Black artists, pathways for art makers, and opportunities for industry professionals historically marginalized within the theater world and beyond.

As members of the Black theatre community, we stand together to help protect Black people, Black theatre, and Black lives of all shapes and orientations in communities across the country. Our voices are united to educate, empower, and inspire through excellence and activism in the pursuit of justice and equality. We will tell our stories, preserve our history, and ensure the legacy of Black theatre as American culture.

Passionate and committed, BTU’s founding group of actors, directors, musicians, writers, technicians, producers and stage management includes: Lisa Dawn Cave, Darius de Haas, Carin Ford, Capathia Jenkins, LaChanze, Kenny Leon, Norm Lewis, Audra McDonald, Michael McElroy, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Wendell Pierce, Billy Porter, Anna Deavere Smith, Allyson Tucker, Tamara Tunie, Lillias White, NaTasha Yvette Williams, Schele Williams, and Vanessa Williams.

For more information, please email gala@blacktheatreunited.com or visit www.BlackTheatreUnited.com.

BIOGRAPHIES

Linda Twine

Linda Twine was born in Muskogee, Oklahoma to parents Harry and Frances Powers Twine. After graduating from Oklahoma City University and Manhattan School of Music, Linda’s first jobs were teaching music to elementary students at PS 113 during the day and playing for singers at night. It was between sets one night at the famed Reno Sweeney’s  cabaret that the SUB keyboard chair in The Wiz Broadway orchestra  was offered to her. This was the beginning of Linda’s Broadway journey.

On Broadway, Linda has been the conductor of Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music, Big River, Jelly’s Last Jam, Frog and Toad, Caroline or Change, The Color Purple. She has been the Music Director of off and off-off Broadway shows and all types of musical presentations.

Linda is the composer of Changed My Name, a cantata for four soloists, choir and two actresses (Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth).

MAXINE WILLIAMS

Maxine Williams is the Chief Diversity Officer at Meta, formerly Facebook, and she serves as a member of Meta’s most senior executive leadership team under the CEO. Maxine’s team works to increase cognitive diversity — different ways of thinking based on different backgrounds, experiences and information — of all Meta teams and integrate diverse perspectives into policy and product development. Maxine and her team also develop strategies to attract, retain and support the growth of underrepresented people at the company.

Prior to joining Meta, Maxine served as the Director of Diversity for a global law firm. She has worked as an attorney in criminal, civil and industrial courts in her native Trinidad and Tobago, and in the UK at the Privy Council. Maxine has also worked with multiple international organizations on development and human rights issues and has had a career as a broadcast journalist, actress and on-air presenter. 

She is a Director on the board of Doma Holdings, a real estate technology company that is creating a more simple and affordable way to close transactions and facilitate home ownership for more people. She is on both the Compensation and Audit committees at Doma. Maxine is also on the board of the Roundabout Theatre company; a leading non-profit theatre company based in New York which is committed to sharing stories that endure, and providing accessibility to all Audiences.

Maxine graduated from Yale University before receiving her law degree with first class honors from Oxford University, where she was a Rhodes Scholar.

Alicia Keys

Alicia Keys is a 16-time GRAMMY® Award-winning singer, songwriter, musician, producer, founder of Keys Soulcare, New York Times best-selling author, film/television and Broadway producer, accomplished actress, entrepreneur, and a powerful force in the world of activism. She is one of the original founders of She Is The Music, an initiative to create change for women and build an equal future for music. Since the release of her monumental 2001 debut album, SONGS IN A MINOR, Keys has sold over 65 million records, over 5 billion streams and built an unparalleled repertoire of hits and accomplishments. Alicia has become the #1 RIAA certified Female R&B artist of the millennium with over 37 Million certified track sales (US) and 20 Million Album Sales (US). She released her eighth studio album, KEYS (Original and Unlocked) - a double album - in 2021 followed by a Deluxe version in 2022 and a sold out ALICIA + KEYS World Tour that celebrated the KEYS and ALICIA albums. Alicia released her book, “More Myself: A Journey” via Flatiron Books which debuted and spent multiple weeks on The New York Times Bestseller List. In March 2022, she released her first graphic novel titled, “Girl On Fire” with HarperCollins. Keys released her first-ever holiday album SANTA BABY in November 2022 which includes 4 original songs including the single “December Back 2 June.” In 2023 Keys completed a spectacular, 360 degree show, the KEYS TO THE SUMMER TOUR, which hit 22 cities across North America. HELL’S KITCHEN, the 13-time Tony Award-nominated original stage musical Keys diligently worked for 13 years to create opened on Broadway at the Shubert Theater on April 20, 2024.