Black Women on Broadway Awards Honor Theater Stars
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The achievements of Black women in theater were celebrated during the second annual Black Women on Broadway Awards on June 5.
Founded by Danielle Brooks, Amber Iman, and Jocelyn Bioh, the awards ceremony honors the work of Black women in all areas of the theater industry.
This year’s ceremony recognized Broadway talents like NaTasha Yvette Williams of Some Like It Hot, who received the Audra McDonald Legacy Award. Joy Woods of Little Shop of Horrors also received the Florence Mills Shining Star Award.
The event was attended by Broadway stars like Tonya Pinkins, Crystal Lucas Perry, LaChanze, and Audra McDonald.
A Night To Remember
Several attendees took to their social media accounts to share photos and videos from the event, including actress Grace Porter from the Hulu series Clock.
“Yesterday was a literal dream! To be standing amongst such phenomenal black women, celebrating black women, in theater, was divine!” Porter captioned a post commemorating the ceremony. “We shed tears, laughs, praise dances and the strength of sisterhood!! It was an unforgettable day full of celebration and love. My heart is so full!!!”
The Black Women on Broadway Awards were launched in response to the success of the Black Women on Broadway Instagram account first created in 2020. The account was made by Brooks, Iman, and Bioh, and was a place to celebrate the work and history of Black women in theater.
“The thing that separates us from other organizations is we’re really tapping into the spaces that get ignored — the lighting departments, sound departments, the understudies, the writers, the producers, the people that are not always in the front of the stage, that aren’t the actors. We’re bringing space for them to be in the room,” Brooks told Variety about the organization ahead of its debut awards ceremony in 2022.
She added that while the event is great for networking, it’s also an important tool to remind the industry about the contributions of Black women.
“Reminding younger girls that look up to us that there are different positions in this industry that you can aspire to that aren’t just being an actress,” Brooks said. “To expand our sphere and say, ‘Black women can take on all of it.’”
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