Second Annual BROADWAY CELEBRATES JUNETEENTH Concert to Return to Times Square

The Broadway League's Black to Broadway Initiative will present the second annual Broadway Celebrates Juneteenth concert, a free outdoor event centered around Black artistry and community. This 90-minute concert is open to all and takes place at Duffy Square in Times Square (Broadway between 45^th & 47^th Streets) on Sunday, June 19, 2022, from noon - 1:30pm (rain or shine). Black to Broadway thanks its sponsors United Airlines and M·A·C (Make-up Art Cosmetics) for their support of Broadway Celebrates Juneteenth.

Broadway Celebrates Juneteenth features Black performers, and allies, from a variety of Broadway shows performing their own works of art, with their song, dance, and poetry accompanied by live music provided by The Music Performance Trust Fund. In addition, the event will welcome notable guest speakers to celebrate this momentous day.

"Broadway Celebrates Juneteenth is a newfound tradition that joyously brings the community together to commemorate this important day. We inaugurated this program last year when the Co-Chairs of our Multicultural Task Force, Aaliytha Stevens and Brian Moreland, presented the idea. Thanks to their leadership, this uplifting annual event will continue to inspire for years to come," said Charlotte St. Martin, President of The Broadway League.

The goal of Black to Broadway is to inspire deeper engagement with an awareness of, and access to Broadway for all Black people. Created by The Broadway League in 2019, and originally called Let's Do Broadway, 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. Read more about Black to Broadway

The creative and production team includes Steve H. Broadnax III as Director and Writer, Rashad McPherson as Music Director, Brian Moreland and Aaliytha Stevens as Executive Producers, Nzinga Williams and Devon Miller of Foresight Theatrical as General Managers, and Jhanaë Bonnick as Stage Manager.

BIOS

Steve H. Broadnax III (Director and Writer) Thoughts of a Colored Man (Broadway), Katori Hall's 2021 Pulitzer Prize premiere The Hot Wing King at The Signature Theatre, Lee Edward Colston's The First Deep Breath at Chicago's Victory Garden Theatre (Premiere and Winner of Jeff Awards Best New Work), Dominique Morisseau's Blood at the Root at the National Black Theatre (Winner of Kennedy Center's Hip Hop Theater Creator Award), and William Jackson Harper's premiere Travisville at NYC Ensemble Studio. Ensemble Studio Theatre member and serves as the Associate Artistic Director at People's Light Theatre and a Professor of Theatre at Penn State University; Co-Head of MFA Directing.

Rashad McPherson (Music Director) is a performer, musician, composer, and arranger living in New York, NY. Rashad studied music formally as a piano principle and Music Business major at Berklee College of Music (Boston, MA). Though Rashad began his recording career as a Gospel Music recording artist, the music that he has released most recently is socio-politically conscious and inspirational. Rashad is preparing to release a live, visual performance album that he recorded at a NY Soundstage. This project will feature several new songs and will be accompanied by numerous live performance videos. Rashad released the lead single from this project, "In the Stone," this past May 20, 2022. Rashad made his theatrical music directorial debut with the world premiere of Bayard Rustin: Inside Ashland; written and directed by Steve H. Broadnax, III (People's Light Theatre). He composed and co-arranged the score alongside Jason Michael Webb.

Rashad is a seminary-trained and ordained minister. He graduated from Boston University: School of Theology (Boston, MA) and Union Theological Seminary (New York, NY) in 2015 and 2017, respectively. Currently, Rashad serves as the Associate in Ministry and Music at Marble Collegiate Church (New York, NY). There he is the lead contributor for racial justice programming.

Brian Moreland (Executive Producer) Recently profiled as "Variety's Top 10 on Broadway to Watch," Brian Moreland is a two-time Tony Award®-nominated creative lead producer for Broadway. With a passion for universal stories that bring new narratives into the mainstream form of entertainment, Brian firmly believes in the ability of theatre to foster empathy and enlighten while entertaining audiences.

Brian is also the lead producer of the upcoming Piano Lesson by August Wilson. His previous works for Broadway include: American Buffalo; Macbeth; The Lifespan of a Fact with Cherry Jones, Daniel Radcliffe, and Bobby Cannavale; Sea Wall/A Life with Jake Gyllenhaal and Tom Sturridge; and The Sound Inside with Mary-Louise Parker, to name a few. Other works: Charles Randolph-Wright's Cuttin' Up starring Blair Underwood, Joe Morton, and Tisha Campbell; and While We Breathe.

Originally from California, Brian currently resides in New York City. He devotes his spare time to the Theatre Development Fund (TDF) and is an active member of the Board of Governors at The Broadway League, where he is also Co-Chair of the Multicultural Task Force, NYC & CO. Board of Directors, and a Trustee of the board for Broadway Cares Equity Fights Aids.

Aaliytha Stevens (Executive Producer) is the Chief Operating Officer at SpotCo, the world's leading full-service advertising, marketing, and branding agency. She joined the company in 2002 as a member of the account services team and got her start managing brand and media strategy for Manhattan Theatre Club, Cirque du Soleil, and The Radio City Christmas Spectacular, to name a few. Today, she is the highest-ranking person of color to professionally represent marketing, publicity, and advertising across the entire Broadway industry. She is passionate about philanthropic giving, fair workplace practices, and equity and diversity in the industry: improving its statistics from the root up.

In addition to spearheading Equity, Diversity & Inclusion initiatives for SpotCo and its clients, Aaliytha specializes in multicultural audience development and community outreach. She proudly co-chairs the Multicultural Taskforce at The Broadway League, and sits on their Equity, Diversity & Inclusion and Business Development Committees. She sits on the respective board and advisory boards of New Heritage Theatre Group of Harlem and The Theatre Leadership Project, and is a founding board member of the Black Theater Coalition.

Nzinga Williams (General Manager) is a New York Based Company and General Manager. She has worked on projects on and off-Broadway (and the high seas) such as Hair, Sleep No More, The Secret Life of Bees, Halfway Bitches Go Straight to Heaven, The Mother, Moulin Rouge! The Musical (North American Tour), Moulin Rouge! The Musical (Broadway), Thoughts of a Colored Man, Curtain Up!, Black to Broadway, & Broadway Celebrates Juneteenth 2021 - to name a few. She is an activist and the founder of The New Black Mutual Aid, a mutual aid for Black theater artists (on and off stage). She is a proud member of The Commissary and Waterwell Board of Directors. She is passionate about bettering the industry through intentional anti racism work, education, justice, equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility.

Devon Miller (General Manager) is a NYC based General Manager and Stage Manager. Proudly from Dallas, TX, Devon now works in various capacities in NYC, including for both commercial and non-profit organizations. Devon is a career-long arts administrator focusing on community engagement, access, public policy, and racial equity within the arts. He most recently served as the Director of Education and Community Partnerships for Dallas Summer Musicals where he was responsible for overseeing the organization's education and engagement activities and working with organizational leaders on transforming the organization into a more actively anti-racist institution. Additionally, he has worked for theatre and social service nonprofits, developing new strategies to maximize community impact and fundraising potential. Devon received his B.A. in Political Science with a minor in Communication Studies from Southern Methodist University where he focused his studies on political rhetoric and using it as an effective tool for positive community change.

Jhanaë Bonnick (she/her/hers) (Stage Manager) is a Caribbean-American AEA Stage Manager, Administrator, and Educator based in New York City. She is passionate about the power of language, education, and community. Committed to cultivating the future of the industry and the world, Jhanaë finds her most fulfilling work is on material steeped in working towards collective liberation in ways both big and small. She was selected for the inaugural list of "Women to Watch on Broadway." Jhanaë's credits include Macbeth; Caroline, or Change; Slave Play; Hadestown; Gary; Six Degrees of Separation; and The Cherry Orchard. Select Off-Broadway: Enemy of the People; RECONSTRUCTION; Octet; Rags Parkland Sings the Songs of the Future; Primer for a Failed Superpower. Select Regional: Lempicka. @jhanaekcb

For more information visit: https://www.broadway.org/info/broadway-celebrates-juneteenth