Crafting Excellence: Celebrating Black Storytellers of Broadway at the Museum of Broadway

Discover the rich legacy of Black storytelling on Broadway through the Museum of Broadway's special exhibit Crafting Excellence: Black Storytellers of Broadway. This celebration honors the playwrights, librettists, lyricists, and composers who have shaped the theatrical landscape, both past and present. Explore the groundbreaking work of trailblazers such as Duke Ellington, Lorraine Hansberry, Jeremy O. Harris, Langston Hughes, Lynn Nottage, Suzan-Lori Parks, August Wilson, and many more.

Get an up-close view of stunning costumes and accessories from iconic productions, including *The Color Purple* (worn by Cynthia Erivo), *Choir Boy* (worn by Jeremy Pope), and *The Wild Party* (worn by Eartha Kitt). Through powerful stories and unforgettable performances, this exhibit brings the journey from page to stage to life.

In 1899, Bob Cole and the Johnson Brothers officially formed a songwriting partnership, becoming the most successful Black songwriters of the first decade of the 20th century. They incorporated songs into over a dozen musicals on Broadway, including the scores for *Humpty Dumpty* and *In Newport,* which were performed simultaneously.

Ellington wrote music for the Broadway shows "Beggar's Holiday" and "Pousse-Cafe" during his life. His music was also featured on Broadway in "Bubbling Brown Sugar" and Starduct and is currently in "A Wonderful World: The Louis Armstrong Musical".

Waller pioneered American jazz and helped lay the groundwork for modern jazz piano. Despite his short life—he died at 39 from pneumonia—he composed over 400 songs. His work was featured in several Broadway shows, including "Keep Shufflin'," "Hot Chocolates," "Marlene," and "Black and Blue."

James Baldwin was a proud gay Black man who navigated mid-20th-century America and significantly impacted literature. His first book, “Go Tell It on the Mountain,” was acclaimed for its profound insights into race, spirituality, and humanity. In 1964, Baldwin made his Broadway debut with “Mister Charlie”, followed by another play, “The Amen Corner.”

Hansberry was the first Black woman playwright to have a play performed on Broadway. Her first and best-known work is A Raisin in the Sun (1959). In 1965, the play was made into a film starring Sidney Poitier and Ruby Deein and re-made into a musical entitled Rasin in 1973.

Ntozake Shange is best known for her play, "for colored girls who have considered suicide, when the rainbow is enuf" (1976). This work, described as a "choreopoem," is a unique combination of poetry, music, dance, and drama. It captures "every feeling and experience a woman has ever had; strong and funny, it is entirely free of the rasping earnestness of most projects of the sort" (The New Yorker).

Domingo was named one of Time Magazine's 100 most influential people in the world in 2024. He has performed in and produced several Broadway productions, including "Passing Strange" and The Scottsboro Boys, which earned him a Tony nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Musical. The exhibit is now on view until March 16. For more information, www.themuseumofbroadway.com

We would also like to welcome the Harlem Fine Arts Show to New York, Febuary 21st- 23rd. HFAS has been a vital part of the global arts community, serving as a platform for artists, collectors, and art enthusiasts to connect with established and emerging Black artists worldwide. This year's Black History Month exhibition will showcase various artworks in different mediums, such as painting, sculpture, photography, and mixed media, emphasizing the rich cultural narratives of the African Diaspora. For more information vist , www.hfas.org.