Zhailon Levingston Appointed Board Chair Of Broadway Advocacy Coalition

The Tony Award-winning nonprofit Broadway Advocacy Coalition (BAC) has announced that Zhailon Levingston has been appointed as the organization’s new Board Chair. Levingston has been involved with BAC since its founding and co-created the “Theatre of Change” course at Columbia University School of Law, which remains a cornerstone of BAC’s programming.

“Zhailon has been a heartbeat of the Broadway Advocacy Coalition from the very beginning,” said Producing Artistic Director Dria Brown. “As an artist, organizer and co-founder, he has always insisted that our work be accountable to the people most impacted by harm and that our stages be places where truth is spoken and power is shifted. Stepping into the role of Board Chair, he is not just taking on a title. He is helping guide BAC into its next chapter of bold, imaginative and deeply responsible artivism, where changing policy, shifting narrative and caring for our communities are held with the same urgency.”

Executive Director Elz Cuya Jones added, “I am overjoyed to welcome Zhailon Levingston as the new chair of BAC's board. His artistry, conviction, and deep care for community reflect the heart of who we are. As one of the architects of our Theater of Change, his vision will catapult BAC into becoming a world-class arts advocacy organization. I am honored to partner with him as we continue to reimagine what change through art can look like.”

Levingston is a Louisiana-raised director and activist who co-directed Cats: The Jellicle Ball at Perelman Performing Arts Center in 2024. The production earned him an Obie Award for co-directing as well as Drama Desk, Drama League, and Outer Critics Circle Award nominations for Outstanding Direction of a Musical. In 2021, he became the youngest Black director in Broadway history with Chicken & Biscuits. His additional directing credits include Wonderful Town at New York City Center Encores!, Reconstructing at Brooklyn Academy of Music (co-directed with Rachel Chavkin), Little Miss Perfect at Olney Theatre Center, Patience at Second Stage Theater, and Table 17 at MCC Theater, which received a Lortel Award nomination for Outstanding Direction and is currently playing at Geffen Playhouse.

Levingston serves as Artistic Director of Inheritance Theatre Project and returns annually to his hometown of Shreveport, Louisiana to direct community theatre. He will next appear at BAC’s upcoming event, THE INVITATION: for artists who have considered change when the stage isn’t enuf, on Monday, March 30, 2026. Additional details will be announced.

Founded in 2016 by Black members of the Broadway community in response to systemic racism and police brutality, BAC unites artists, legal experts, and directly impacted advocates to develop story-based artivism that advances justice and drives systemic change. Through its signature Theater of Change methodology, developed in partnership with the Center for Institutional and Social Change at Columbia Law School, BAC has collaborated with public institutions including the New York City Council and the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office.