People, Locations, Episodes

‘Ain’t Misbehavin’ Debuts on Stage

*On this date in 1978, Ain’t Misbehavin’ debuted on stage. This was a Black musical revue named after the song by Fats Waller (with Harry Brooks and Andy Razaf).    “Ain’t Misbehavin’” was also a book by Murray Horwitz and Richard Maltby Jr.  Thee shows music by various composers and lyricists as arranged and orchestrated by Luther Henderson.  Ain’t Misbehavin’ opened in the Manhattan Theatre Club’s East 73rd Street cabaret. The cast included Irene Cara, Nell […]

Jomandi Productions Debuts

The founding of Jomandi Productions, an African American Theatre Company in Atlanta in 1978 is celebrated on this date.

Jomandi was launched through an endowment of the Dr. Thomas W. Jones Memorial Scholarship of the Morehouse College Medical School. “Every Father’s Child,” the company’s first production written by Thomas W. Jones II, was part of that tribute. The name Jomandi is a combination of the names of the Jones family members. Fittingly, in a Senegalese dialect the name means, “People gathered together in celebration.”

The H.A.D.L.E.Y. Players are formed.

*The H.A.D.L.E.Y. Players is celebrated on this date in 1979. The H.A.D.L.E.Y. Players was founded and established by actress Gertrude Jeannette, a Broadway and film productions veteran. Part of the Harlem Artist Development League Especially for You, they present three major Equity Showcase plays annually. Their purpose is to present professional theatrical productions and provide theater […]

The Theatrical Performance ‘A Soldier’s Play’ Debuts

On this date in 1981, Charles Fuller’s “Soldier’s Play” premiered in NYC. The play is murder mystery or “courtroom” drama which involves the search for the murderer of Sgt. Vernon Waters, chillingly played by Adolph Caesar on stage and in the film.

Misty Copland, Ballerina born

*Misty Copeland was born on this date in 1982. She is an African American author, entertainer, and American ballet dancer for American Ballet Theatre. She is the third African American soloist and first in two decades with ABT, where she has endured the cultural pressure associated with this role.

The Gospel at Colonus Premiers

*On this date in 1983, the Gospel at Colonus premiered.  This production is an African American musical version of Sophocles’ tragedy, Oedipus at Colonus.   It premiered at the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Next Wave Festival in December 1983. The following year it received a production at the Arena Stage in Washington DC, running from November 23, 1984 […]

The Urban Bush Women (Dance Company) Begins

*The founding of the Urban Bush Women (UBW) is celebrated on this date in 1984. Jawole Willa Jo Zollar founded Brooklyn, New York, a non-profit and the only professional African American women’s dance company. The ensemble performs choreography by Zollar and other choreographers, often focusing on the experiences of women of African descent.  The company […]

Jody ‘Butterbeans’ Edwards, Vaudevillian born

*Jodie ‘Butterbeans’ Edwards was born on this date in 1895. He was a Black Vaudeville performer. Jodie Edwards was from Marietta, Cobb County, Georgia; he began his career in 1910 as a singer and dancer. He took the name “Butterbeans” in honor of fellow performer Butler “Stringbeans” May, who died in 1917. He met Susie Hawthorne in […]

‘Black and Blue’ Debuts on Broadway

*On this date in 1989, Black and Blue made its Broadway stage debut.  This was is a musical revue celebrating the Black culture of dance and music in Paris between World War I and World War II.   Based on an idea by Mel Howard and conceived by Hector Orezzoli and Claudio Segovia, it consists of songs by artists such as W. C. Handy, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Fats Waller, Eubie Blake, […]

Daughters Of Africa is Published

*Daughters of Africa: An International Anthology of Words and Writings by Women of African Descent from the Ancient Egyptian to the Present celebrated this date in 1992. This book is a compilation of orature and literature by more than 200 women from Africa and the African diaspora, edited and introduced by Margaret Busby, who compared assembling […]

The African American Shakespeare Company is Founded

*On this date in 1994 (Shakespeare’s birthday), we celebrate the founding of the African American Shakespeare Company (AASC).  AASC is the only company of Black actors in the United States that performs European Classical works.  Located in San Francisco, the company was founded by Sherri Young.   The Theatre company has expanded to include a full […]

The Sphinx (Classical Music Organization) Begins

*The founding of the Sphinx Organization in 1998 is celebrated on this date. They are a national non-profit education organization whose vision is a world in which classical music reflects cultural diversity and plays a role in the everyday lives of youth.

The Boondocks (Sitcom) is Published

*On this date in 1999, the publication of The Boondocks is celebrated.  This is an African American adult animated sitcom.   Aaron McGruder created the Boondocks for the Cartoon Network’s late-night programming block, Adult Swim.  It is based on his comic strip of the same name.  The series premiered on November 6, 2005. The show […]

A Black Woman Wins the Pulitzer for Drama

*On this date in 2002, Suzan-Lori Parks won a Pulitzer Prize for Topdog/Underdog her play on Broadway at the Ambassador Theater.

She was the first African American woman in 85 years to win a Pulitzer Prize in a drama category. The play tells the story of two blood brothers named Lincoln and Booth, one a card shark and Abe Lincoln impersonator, the other, a student of the three-card-Monty con game.

When Parks was asked about her inspiration for writing Topdog/Underdog, her answer was: “It chose me. I wasn’t planning or plotting or scheming….”

The First Black Woman Wins A Tony Award For Dramatic Lead Role

On this date in 2004, the first Black actress won a “Tony Award” for a leading dramatic role.

Phylicia Rashad made the theatrical history. She received the prize for her portrayal of Lena Younger, the tough-minded matriarch in a revival of “A Raisin in the Sun.”