Author Archives: Mark Kennedy

This Oct. 25, 2010 file photo shows actress Ruby Dee attends a special screening of “For Colored Girls” at the Ziegfeld Theatre in New York. A public memorial for actress and civil rights activist Ruby Dee will be held Sept. 20 at the Riverside Church in New York. Dee died June 11 at 91. (AP […]

Audra McDonald in the play “Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill”. NEW YORK (AP) — Audra McDonald has propelled her new Broadway show into profitability. Producers of the play “Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill” said Tuesday that they’ve recouped their $2.6 million initial investment. In the show, McDonald portrays Billie Holiday in […]

This image released by Boneau/Bryan-Brown shows the cast performing in “Holler If Ya Hear Me,” at the Palace Theatre in New York. NEW YORK (AP) — Tupac Shakur fans, keep ya head up: The Broadway musical “Holler If Ya Hear Me” that uses songs from one of hip-hop’s greatest artists is closing after less than […]

NEW YORK (AP) — The Broadway musical celebrating Duke Ellington’s years at the CottonClub nightclub in Harlem is dancing into history: It will play its final show June 29. Photo released by O&M Co. shows Fantasia Barrino in Broadway’s “After Midnight,” in New York. The Broadway musical celebrating Duke Ellington’s years at the Cotton Club […]

NEW YORK (AP) — Audra McDonald has become the Tony Awards’ most decorated actress. This photo provided by Jeffrey Richards Associates shows Audra McDonald as Billie Holiday in “Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill”. McDonald is nominated for a Tony Award for best performance by an actress in a leading role. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Richards Associates, Evgenia […]

NEW YORK (AP) — A thunderous standing ovation congratulated Norm Lewis as he became the first Black actor to take on the title role in Broadway’s “The Phantom of the Opera.” The Tony Award nominee, who brought his deep and rich voice as Porgy to the recent “Porgy and Bess” revival, made his “Phantom” debut […]

NEW YORK (AP) — James Earl Jones is coming back to Broadway in a play that’s almost as old as he is. The 87-year-old two-time Tony Award-winner will star in a fall revival of the zany “You Can’t Take It With You,” the 1936 comedy about an engagement that forces a wealthy uptight family to […]

NEW YORK (AP) — The groundbreaking song-and-dance show “Soul Train” is chugging toward Broadway. Stage and film producer Matthew Weaver, who helped create “Rock of Ages,” has acquired the theatrical stage rights to the TV show and said Tuesday he’s hoping to repeat his success by turning “Soul Train” into a show that attracts both […]

NEW YORK (AP) — The Denzel Washington you meet backstage at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre is not exactly living a glamorous Hollywood life. He’s more like a college kid during finals. He wears a black Yankee cap, black sweat pants and blue sneakers. There are free weights on a counter and a bottle of diet […]