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George C. Wolfe 1954-Present
George C Wolfe is a huge influence when it comes to African American theatre. He directed many different productions but also wrote a lot of plays. One of the plays he directed included Angels in America (Reeves). This play highlights a closeted gay man who couldn't come out to his mother (Reeves). This helped Wolfe to understand the aspects of being a closeted gay man. Wolfe also explains that his plays help him to show how proud he is to be a "Black American negro man" (Reeves). -
Denzel Washington 1954-Present
We know Denzel now from movies but he originally started his acting career in the theater. Some popular productions Washington acted in are, A Raisin in the Sun (2014), Fences (2010), and The Iceman Cometh (2018) (Denzel Washington: Credits, Bio, News & More: Broadway World). Denzel is pivotal to African American theatre history because he was the first African-American to receive an Oscar since 1963 (BlackFacts.com). Washington has won one Tony Award. -
A Raisin in the Sun Broadway
Lorraine Hansberry is the author of A Raisin in the Sun. The play itself plays a huge role in society but so does its author. Hansberry was the "first African American woman to have a play produced on Broadway in 1959" (Varner, 2017). The amazing playwright wrote this amazing play about an African American family wanting to live in a white community. "Set in the 1950s, Hansberry's work addresses the racial and gender issues that occurred then and still ring true today" (Varner, 2017). -
Amiri Baraka's play that put him on the map.
Amiri Baraka is formally known as Everett L Jones, (Amiri Baraka) a black writer. He is known for speaking about oppression. Baraka is a significant figure in African American history because he helped to bring light to the harsh topic of oppression of different communities. He began his career by writing poems. "The play established Baraka's reputation" (Amiri Baraka). The play is Dutchman, first performed Off-Broadway. This play won the Obie Award, Best American Off-Broadway play in 1964. -
Chay Yew 1965- Present
Chay Yew is a Chinese American playwright. Yew is influential because he is a Chinese American playwright. In addition to that, he wrote plays about topics that many people find need to be censored. Yew wrote a play titled "As If He Hears" (Chay Yew 1997). "Which focuses on the relationship between a gay social worker and a heterosexual businessman who contracts AIDS while visiting Bangkok, was rejected by government censors who objected to a gay leading character" (Chay Yew 1997). -
East West Players
The East West Players was founded by nine Asian American artists (About 2022). This theatre strives to promote colored playwrights and their work, proving its significance. "East West Players' vision is to inspire and advocated for a world free of racism and discrimination through transformative artistic works" (About 2022). Not only does this theatre advocate for a world free of racism, but they also bring in an audience that consists of "70% people of color" (About 2022). -
Repertorio Español
"Repertorio Español is the vision of the late Producer Gilberto Zaldívar and Artistic Director Emeritus René Buch" (Repertorio Español). The main reason this theatre is so important to this culture is it allows members within this culture to produce their productions in a safe space. It also allows an audience to see various types of productions from " best of Latin American, Spanish, and Hispanic-American theatre" (Repertorio Español). This theatre is located in New York. -
Zoot Suit
Zoot Suit is a play about discrimination in the 1940s in Los Angeles, (NewsHour, 2017). This play is about a real-life case. This play helped brings to light the discrimination that truly happens. Not only does this play show discrimination that occurs towards different people of color but it helped to give jobs to those people. "Launching the careers of many Chicano actors" (NewsHour, 2017). This helped to put many different Chicano actors into the theatres and give them jobs. -
The Long Season
This play is written by Chay Yew. It was published in 2005. This play highlights the Filipino immigrants in Alaska, (Brockett et al., 2017 pg 247). This play is also important because it is a musical. Chay did not write a lot of musicals. He wrote this musical about a love story. I think this musical can impact the way people see theatre because it is a classic storyline with people of different backgrounds as the main characters. -
Lydia
The main aspect of the play is the maid who is from Mexico. She came to America illegally, and she connects with each member of the family she works for, (Munro, 2018). This play not only highlights moving to America illegally but also highlights disabilities, (Munro, 2018). That is the reason for the significance of this play to this time. One of the main characters is disabled after an accident. The author highlights important aspects people need to see. This play was written by Octavio Solis. -
Choreographed by Andy Blankenbuehler
Andy Blaknkenbuehler is a very significant choreographer. In 2016 he choreographed Broadway shows Cats and Hamilton, (Andy Blankenbuehler). He was nominated for four Tony Awards for his choreography for Cats. He also won a Tony award for Best Choreography for Hamilton, (Andy Blankenbuehler).
Andy's work has still be seen on Broadway, he choreographed some for the play 9 to 5, (Andy Blankenbuehler). Blankenbuehler has won other awards as well such as an Obie Award for Best New American Play.