Phylicia Rashad News

Lincoln Center Theater is presenting Epiphany, a new play by Brian Watkins, directed by Tyne Rafaeli. Epiphany will begin previews Thursday, May 19 and open on Thursday, June 16 at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater (150 West 65 Street).

The revival of Pearl Cleage's rich and beautiful work 'Blues for an Alabama Sky' opened Wednesday, April 13, 2022, at 8 p.m. at Center Theatre Group / Mark Taper Forum. Go inside the starry opening night below!

Pearl Cleage’s Blues for an Alabama Sky at Center Theatre Group gets a few topical buzz words in there, but there is nothing fresh, urgent, or timely about the piece. Pitting a closed-minded character against a cohort of progressive friends, the play is deadly: as dull as its message is heavy-handed.

Page 73 announces the 2022 Page 73 Spring Benefit. The event this year honors Barbara Whitman, producer of A Strange Loop on Broadway and, previously, of Fun Home, the 2018 revival of Angels in America, The Humans, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, and Next to Normal, to name just a few.

Already in previews, Center Theatre Group’s Associate Artist Phylicia Rashad directs Pearl Cleage’s Blues for an Alabama Sky at the Mark Taper Forum, with opening night April 13th. Set in 1930’s Harlem, the cast includes Joe Holt, Nija Okoro, Dennis Pearson, Greg Alverez Reid and Kim Steele. I had the opportunity to question Greg on some behind-the-scenes of Blues, as well as his history with his storied director.

The revival of Pearl Cleage’s rich and beautiful work “Blues for an Alabama Sky” opens Wednesday, April 13, 2022, at 8 p.m. at Center Theatre Group / Mark Taper Forum and continues through May 8.

TheatreWorks Silicon Valley will present Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winner August Wilson’s sweeping drama Gem of the Ocean. This seminal classic will be directed by Artistic Director Tim Bond, a close friend of the late playwright and a leading interpreter of his work, making his TheatreWorks directorial debut with this play.

On Monday, April 4, 2022, Theatre Forward, a non-profit arts organization based in New York City, held its annual gala at the Edison Ballroom, 240 West 47th Street, New York City to honor Tony and Obie Award winning director, Kenny Leon, and global financial services provider, Prudential Financial.

Lincoln Center Theater has announced its upcoming production of Epiphany, a new play by Brian Watkins, directed by Tyne Rafaeli.  Epiphany will begin previews Thursday, May 19 and open on Thursday, June 16 at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater (150 West 65 Street). 

Actress Wendy Raquel Robinson will begin the night with a pre-show address welcoming the audience into the theatre for this special performance of “Blues for an Alabama Sky” intended for Black-identifying theatregoers.

Casting has been announced for “Blues for an Alabama Sky” directed by Center Theatre Group's Associate Artist Phylicia Rashad at the Mark Taper Forum April 6 through May 8, 2022. Set in 1930's Harlem, this revival of Pearl Cleage's rich and beautiful work opens April 13, 2022.

Penn Live Arts (PLA) and the Tony and Obie Award-winning Negro Ensemble Company (NEC) have announced a new residency that brings together one of the most important Black theatre producers in the United States and the University of Pennsylvania's nexus of the performing arts, two legacy organizations that share a mission of advancing innovative, contemporary theatre.

This current production is being directed by Awoye Timpo (The Bluest Eye, Good Grief) and choreographed by multihyphenate Adesola Osakalumi (Skeleton Crew, Coal Country, Fela!) with theater newcomer Proda (Ms.Lauryn Hill 2020 Tour) as Composer.

On Monday, April 4, 2022, Theatre Forward, a non-profit arts organization based in New York City, will hold its annual gala at the Edison Ballroom, 240 West 47th Street, New York City to honor Tony and Obie Award winning director, Kenny Leon, and global financial services provider, Prudential Financial.

The complete cast is announced today for the First National Tour of the history-making production of To Kill a Mockingbird, Academy Award winner Aaron Sorkin's new play, directed by Tony winner Bartlett Sher and based on Harper Lee's classic novel. Find out who's in the cast and how to get tickets.

TheatreWorks Silicon Valley will present Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winner August Wilson’s sweeping drama Gem of the Ocean. This seminal classic will be directed by Artistic Director Tim Bond, a close friend of the late playwright and a leading interpreter of his work, making his TheatreWorks directorial debut with this play.

The African Diasporic Network has finally announced plans for its first production, Echoes of Us, to be directed by none other than Michele Shay. 

Birthday Candles begins previews tonight, March 18, ahead of its official opening on April 10 at the American Airlines Theatre on Broadway (227 West 42nd Street). Meet the cast bringing this show to the stage!

the american vicarious will present Debate: Baldwin vs Buckley, a staging of the historic clash between James Baldwin and William F. Buckley Jr. Adapted and directed by Founding Artistic Director Christopher McElroen, the production stars Teagle F. Bougere (Broadway's The Tempest with Patrick Stewart, A Raisin In The Sun with Phylicia Rashad, and Ivo van Hove's The Crucible) as Baldwin and Eric T. Miller (Mope at the Ensemble Studio Theater) as Buckley with Spencer Hamp. Charlie O'Rourke, and Oliver Shirley.

When Citizen Barlow comes to her Pittsburgh’s Hill District home seeking asylum, she sets him off on a spiritual journey to find a city in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Gem of the Ocean is the ninth work in Wilson’s ten-play cycle, which has recorded the American Black experience and helped to define generations.