For more roles for Blacks, Asians, Latinx: Broadway boosts initiatives for diversity

Most Broadway roles go to white actors, according to a recent report. Image: aluxum/Getty Images via ETX Daily Up

A wind of change is blowing through Broadway. In the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement, show business professionals are introducing numerous initiatives for creating productions that better reflect American society.

It’s a moment that has been long awaited. Some of Broadway’s most powerful players recently signed an agreement to address the lack of diversity in the industry. The document was developed with the help of Black Theatre United, one of several activist organizations created last year after the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement. Its founding members include such American theater icons as Billy Porter, Brian Stokes Mitchell and Audra McDonald.

The signatories of the document, titled “A New Deal for Broadway,” are committing to diversity training and mentoring programs, but also to a range of changes in the performing arts industry. They stated that they commit to “hiring creative talent from historically excluded and underrepresented groups in [the] industry on every new creative team, regardless of the subject matter of the show,” as well as a “racial sensitivity coach.” The text also mentions developing new diversity rules for the Tony Awards and ending unpaid internships.

“For far too long, Black artists, theater makers and technicians in all areas of our industry have been subjected to systemic and interpersonal racism that has harmed their lives and careers and diminished us all,” the “New Deal for Broadway” reads. “We know that we must do better, and we commit to leaning into change.”

Welcoming new talents

And this revolution is already underway. Next year, Camille A. Brown will make her Broadway debut directing the new production of playwright Ntozake Shange’s 1976 classic, “for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf.” It’s the first time in more than 65 years that a Black woman has served as both director and choreographer, according to the show’s producers.

“I am quite confident that the ancestors and Ntozake’s spirit are lifted,” said one of them, Ron Simons.

American theater is becoming increasingly open to more diverse and inclusive themes and productions. This fall, Keenan Scott II will present his new play, “Thoughts Of A Colored Man,” at the John Golden Theatre. In it, he will address “the vibrant inner life of being Black, proud and thriving in the 21st century” with the help of actors such as Dyllón Burnside, Bryan Terrell Clark, Luke James and Tristan “Mack” Wilds. Such casting is rare on Broadway, where roles remain dominated by whites.

That’s the conclusion reached by the Asian American Performers Action Coalition (AAPAC) in the latest edition of its annual report on the lack of diversity in New York theaters. More than 58.5% of the roles offered during the 2018 to 2019 theater season went to white actors, compared to 6.3% to people of Asian descent and 4.8% to members of the Latinx community. African Americans were the only group whose visibility increased from the previous season, from 23.2% to 29%.

“We want nothing more than to emerge from this pandemic with gratitude and joy, to embrace our beloved art form, and to welcome audiences again,” wrote Pun Bandhu and Julienne Hanzelka Kim for AAPAC. “Let’s all work to create the conditions whereby that can happen for all of us. This report outlines where the work needs to begin.” JB

RELATED STORIES:

‘The Queen’s Gambit’ getting turned into stage musical

‘Chicago’ to bring all that jazz back to Broadway on Sept. 14