The Antonyo Awards To Return This Fall, Nominations To Be Announced June 20

Broadway Black has announced that the Antonyo Awards will be returning this fall for an in-person celebration that will also be live streamed.

A private event for the Antonyo Awards will take place on Monday, June 20 from 5:00p - 7:00p.m. at the Times Square outpost of the event's co-host, Black-owned Brooklyn Chop House. The nominations for the 2021 to 2022 season will be live streamed from the event. Please check www.AntonyoAwards.com closer to the date for the live stream information.

The Inaugural Antonyo Awards took place on Juneteenth, 2020 as a way to acknowledge the incredible work by Black theater artists during the 2019 - 2020 season. Winners included Adrienne Warren (Tina), Michael R. Jackson (A Strange Loop), Camille A. Brown (For Colored Girls Who Have Committed Suicide/when the rainbow is enuf) and the Lifetime Achievement Award went to Chuck Cooper.

The 2020 Antonyo Awards was the first awards show to be streamed after the worldwide shutdown brought entertainment to a halt.

Broadway Black's founder and CEO Drew Shade says, "We are so excited to bring back the Antonyo Awards, which was such a source of joy for Black people and the theater community as a whole during a very difficult time. We wanted to bring back the Antonyo Awards to specifically honor and acknowledge the amazing contributions by Black people in theater and highlight the work that had significant importance to us this past season." Eric Emauni and Jennifer Friedland have been brought on to the Broadway Black team to produce the event.

Due to the ongoing pandemic and amended theater schedule, the Antonyo Awards will take place in the fall, with the anticipation to return to June in 2023.

The Inaugural Antonyo Awards has over 22,000 views and can be watched below:

If you would like to be involved in this year's Antonyo Awards please visit: antonyoawards.com

Biographies:

Broadway Black is an organization that fosters and inspires artistic diversity and excellence in theatre. Dedicated to highlighting the achievements and successes of Black theatre artists on and off the Broadway stage, Broadway Black, founded in 2012 by Drew Shade, has continued to grow into a one-of-a-kind multimedia venture with editorial content that showcases the best and the brightest stars across the industry. It's the place for Black people to see themselves center stage.

Drew Shade (Producer/Creative Director) is a theatre enthusiast originally from Fort Wayne, Indiana. He is the Founder/Creative Director of Broadway Black, a digital platform designed to shed light on the beauty, brilliance, and talent that is Black Broadway. He is the creator and co-host of the Off-Book Podcast which features the incredible talent of Black people in the Broadway community from playwrights, to performers, to stage managers, and more. He is also the Creator and Executive Producer for The Antonyo Awards, an awards show that specifically draws attention to awarding honors to Black theatre artists across the Broadway community.

Eric Emauni (Producer/General Manager). Originally from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Eric has been blazing his own path in the theatre world. He holds a BA in Psychology from Morehouse College and a MFA in Acting from LIU Post. In his career he has been fortunate to work with Harlem Stage, The Public, MTC, and LAByrinth Theater Company, along with his experiences in commercial producer offices. He is fiercely dedicated to building equity into the foundation of the industry and is a champion for the artists and voices that have been historically excluded. Eric is an alum of TEDxBroadway Young Professionals, Theater Producers of Color, & Beth Morrison Producers Academy. He is also the recipient of the AKA 500 Hour Producers of Color Initiative. Credits: Associate Producer: Is This A Room, Dana H (three Tony Nominations).

Jennifer Friedland (Producer). A native of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, Jennifer moved to New York City in 2002 after graduating from The University of Michigan (A.B., '97, J.D., '02) and Harvard University Graduate School of Education (Ed.M., '99). After 15 years of involvement with child advocacy organizations, it became clear to her that many moving tales of struggle, perseverance and hope were underrepresented on stage. Jennifer founded Clear Day Productions in 2018 to support and nurture artists whose voices have been historically silenced and whose stories warrant our attention. Jennifer sits on the Advisory Board of Broadway for All and invests in theater on and Off-Broadway.

The original Brooklyn Chop House is a 150-seat authentic 5,000 square foot restaurant which opened in 2018 to amazing reviews and is named one of NYC's top 10 restaurants to visit by food enthusiasts at Eater and Haute Living. The Times Square outpost opened in 2022. Brooklyn Chop House is the largest Black-owned restaurant in NY state.