Fourth Annual Broadway Celebrates Juneteenth Concert to Return This Summer

The Broadway League’s Black to Broadway initiative will present the return of Broadway Celebrates Juneteenth, a free outdoor concert centered around Black artistry and unity that will feature an entirely Black Broadway cast performing Broadway musical numbers. The concert will be hosted by Michael James Scott and take place in Times Square on Wednesday, June 19th from 11:00am – 12:30pm (rain or shine) as the community gathers to honor and celebrate this important holiday. American Sign Language interpretation will be provided. 

The 2024 Juneteenth Legacy Award will be presented to two-time Tony Award winner Phylicia Rashad, a versatile performer, director, educator, and humanitarian who has delighted generations of audiences through her work in beloved roles both in theatre and on screen. As an actress, Ms. Rashad has won two Tony Awards, for A Raisin in the Sun (2004 Best Actress in a Play) and Skeleton Crew (2022 Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play). She was also a 2005 Best Actress in a Play nominee for Gem of the Ocean. As a producer, Ms. Rashad recently received a Best Revival of a Play nomination for Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch.

The Broadway Celebrates Juneteenth concert will feature cast members from such shows as A Beautiful Noise, The Neil Diamond Musical; Aladdin; & Juliet; Back to the Future: The Musical; Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club; Chicago; Harry Potter and the Cursed Child; The Heart of Rock and Roll; Hell’s Kitchen; Illinoise; The Lion King; MJ; Moulin Rouge! The Musical; The Notebook; Suffs; Water for Elephants; The Who’s Tommy; Wicked; The Wiz; and the return of the kids of Young Gifted and Broadway. All performances will be accompanied by live music provided with help from The Music Performance Trust Fund and the Film Funds. Details about talent line-up will be announced soon.

“Art has a uniquely transformative power to bring people together and we are thrilled to be returning with the Broadway Celebrates Juneteenth concert for the fourth year to celebrate and recognize the significance of this national holiday. We are proud to announce this year’s Juneteenth Legacy Award recipient will be Phylicia Rashad who epitomizes artistic excellence with her outstanding career achievements on Broadway and beyond,” said Jason Laks, Interim President of The Broadway League. “We are grateful to our partners and sponsors for making this star-studded concert possible and look forward to welcoming audiences to experience this incredible and inspiring event.”

Presented by The Broadway League’s Black to Broadway initiative, Broadway Celebrates Juneteenth creative and production teams include Director and WriterSteve H. Broadnax III, Music Director Rashad McPherson, Executive Producers Brian Anthony Moreland and Aaliytha Stevens, Stage Manager Monet Thibou, and General Manager Devon Miller of Foresight Theatrical.

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, 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. To learn more about Black to Broadway, visit Diversity.Broadway.
 

JUNETEENTH LEGACY AWARD HONOREE

Phylicia Rashad (Actor/Director) A two-time Tony Award® winner (A Raisin in the Sun and Skeleton Crew), directing credits include Steppenwolf’s 2024 hit production of Branden Jacobs-Jenkins play Purpose, Stephen Adly Guirgis’ Our Lady of 121st Street, The Roommate, Blues for an Alabama Sky, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone (2014 NAACP Theatre Award for Best Director), Immediate Family, Fences, A Raisin in the Sun, and Four Little Girls. In addition to producing the PBS film, (KCET-TV) “The Old Settler," Ms. Rashad recently added Broadway producer to her credits with the 2024 Tony nominated Best Revival of a Play for Ossie Davis’ Purlie Victorious. Ms. Rashad currently serves as Dean of the Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts at Howard University.

BROADWAY CELEBRATES JUNETEENTH HOST

Michael James Scott has played the Genie in Disney’s Aladdin internationally including Broadway, London, the North American Tour and originating the role in the Australian Production for which he won the prestigious Helpmann Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical.

He’s also known for originating the role of the Minstrel on Broadway in Something Rotten and originating Dr. Gotswana (aka The Maggots Guy) in the Tony-winning phenomenon The Book of Mormon. Other Broadway credits include Mamma Mia!;Tarzan; All Shook Up; The Pirate Queen; Elf; and Hair.

On the West End, he was the associate choreographer and performed in the Broadway revival transfer of Hair. Off-Broadway, co-starring in Here’s to the Publicopposite Donna McKechnie, and was also part of the concert cast of Jerry Springer: The Opera at Carnegie Hall. He was the standby for the legendary Ben Vereen in the Int. tour of Fosse, taking over the role in Paris, France at the Théâtre du Châtelet. Outside NYC, original Las Vegas Co. of Jersey Boys and in Shrek the Musical as the Donkey at the famous St. Louis Muny. 

Regional credits include Aida, Ragtime, South Pacific, Cinderella, and Little Shop of Horrors to name a few. Numerous television and film appearances including “The Carrie Diaries” (The WB), “Independent Woman” (Feature Film), “The View” (ABC), “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon” (NBC), “The Late Show with Conan O’Brien” (NBC), “Good Morning America” (ABC), “The Today Show” (NBC) “The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade” (CBS), “The Tony Awards” (CBS) and the new Showtime series “Black Monday.”

He was a member of the critically acclaimed singing group The Broadway Boys and Grammy-nominated Broadway Inspirational Voices and he can be heard on many original Broadway cast albums, multiple studio recordings, and the Broadway Boy's debut album Lullaby of Broadway. MichaelJamesScott.com (Instagram/Twitter @iamMJScott)