Ruben Santiago-Hudson News

Hope is on the horizon! With the acceleration of vaccine distribution and a new timetable to begin reopening NYC, some of the first re-openings have recently been announced. We've rounded up all of the latest news on the current state of Broadway for April 2021.

Ruben Santiago-Hudson had dreamed of being in an August Wilson from the first time he was in the audience of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. He found himself crying during the play and realized he was not just deeply moved by the play and the actors in it but the tears were connected to this feeling that for the first time in his life he was seeing people on stage who were so familiar to him and he wanted to be a part of that kind of storytelling.

WTF Artistic Director Mandy Greenfield’s choice to revive PARADISE BLUE is another of many highly relevant selections given prevailing racial tensions.  It also demonstrates that a new play, 'born' at Williamstown, that the New York Times suggested was “unlikely to be final” in its form can evolve and overcome challenges. 

The Williamstown Theatre Festival presentation of Paradise Blue is available worldwide tomorrow, March 25 at 3 AM ET within the Audible Plus catalog. Paradise Blue is part of the Williamstown Theatre Festival summer season produced on Audible, the leading creator and provider of premium audio storytelling.

The timeline depicts a definitive history of the building, featuring a century's worth of history: from the earliest shows, musicals, and revues, through its history as a television and radio studio, brief spans as an adult film theater and later a children's theater, and finally as one of the most beloved houses on Broadway.

Ilana Levine (Little Known Facts), in association with Alan Seales and the Broadway Podcast Network, has announced the second season of her “love letter to Broadway” podcast AND THE AWARD GOES TO…HOSTED BY ILANA LEVINE. Season Two premieres today with Kristin Chenoweth (You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown, Wicked, On The Twentieth Century). 

Hope is on the horizon! With the acceleration of vaccine distribution and a new timetable to begin reopening NYC, some of the first re-openings have recently been announced. We've rounded up all of the latest news on the current state of Broadway for March 2021.

For Your Consideration - Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom Screenplay by Ruben Santiago-Hudson Directed by George C. Wolfe

The August Wilson African American Cultural Center today announced an expanded vision for August Wilson: A Writer’s Landscape, the first-ever exhibition dedicated to the life and works of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright August Wilson. The multi-sensory exhibition will now span 3,600 square feet, nearly doubling the originally planned size.

The Critics Choice Association (CCA) announced today the film nominees for the 26th annual Critics Choice Awards.  The winners will be revealed LIVE on The CW on Sunday, March 7, 2021 from 7-10pm ET/PT, with acclaimed film, television, and stage star Taye Diggs returning to host for his third consecutive time. 

For her leading role in the film adaptation of August Wilson's 'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom,' Viola Davis has been honored by the Palm Springs Film Festival with the Desert Palm Achievement Award. 

August Wilson is best known as the author of the American Century Cycle, a series of ten plays including Gem of the Ocean, Joe Turner's Come and Gone, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, The Piano Lesson, Seven Guitars, Fences, Two Trains Running, Jitney, King Hedley II, and Radio Golf. These works explore the heritage and experience of African Americans, decade-by-decade, over the course of the twentieth century.

The Hollywood Critics Association is pleased to reveal the full list of nominees for the 4th Annual HCA Film Awards. The virtual awards ceremony will stream on the official HCA Facebook page and YouTube channel on Friday, March 5, 2021, beginning at 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET.

We've rounded up all of the latest news on the current state of Broadway for February 2021. Which shows are returning and which are not? What's the status of the Tony Awards? Check out what's new!

Today, Williamstown Theatre Festival and Audible Theater announced casting as rehearsals and recording sessions commence for Wish You Were Here, part of the unprecedented collaboration to bring Williamstown Theatre Festival’s season to Audible. Additionally, release dates for the final three productions in the season have been announced.

It's no secret that the state of the world has had a major impact on the theatre industry over the past year. Broadway, which usually brings in $14 billion to New York City's yearly revenue, has been shuttered since last March, leaving the futures of many artists and shows in limbo. While many of those productions move forward with plans to reopen when Broadway officially returns, some have already announced that they will not open again.

Lynne Meadow and Barry Grove have announced plans to produce two additional shows for Manhattan Theatre Club’s 2021-2022 season. In the winter of 2022, MTC will present the Broadway premiere of Skeleton Crew. Also in Winter 2022, Off-Broadway at New York City Center Stage I, MTC plans to present the world premiere of Prayer For The French Republic.

Former president Barack Obama recently released his annual list of favorite things of 2020, including films, TV shows, and music. Included on this year's list is 'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom,' which was released on Netflix Friday, December 18th.

The Billie Holiday Theatre announced today a $300,000 grant from the Seller-Lehrer Family Foundation to establish the Seller-Lehrer Family Foundation Scholarship Fund for programs under the Theatre’s newly expanded Education & Humanities Division, including the Black Arts Institute and Youth Arts Academy.

Viola reveals her favorite Christmas song, and talks about the moment she realized she was going to be an actress, her mom inviting 40 extra people to her wedding, her new movie Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, the late great Chadwick Boseman, getting an amazing note and gifts from Oprah, her ten-year-old daughter’s Christmas list, and her husband’s birthday falling on December 24th.