With Juneteenth fast approaching, events, such as concerts and plays, are being held to commemorate the holiday and Black culture in general.
On the day of the holiday, Broadway will be holding “Broadway Celebrates Juneteenth,” a free concert at Times Square. Hosted by Tony Award-winner James Monroe Iglehart, the concert will include dances and songs from special guests, such as Mules Frost, Jared Grimes and Alex Newell, and will celebrate the first Juneteenth Legacy Award Honorees, Leslie Uggams and Ben Vereen.
Besides the concert, throughout the year, Broadway and other theater companies have been able to provide a space for Black stories to be told and Black culture to be shared through a variety of plays available to watch.
Here are five current and upcoming plays by Black playwrights who are making sure the voices of Black people are heard and the events of Black history are known.
- Dreaming Zenzile: Held by the New York Theatre Workshop, “Dreaming Zenzile” is produced by the theater in a collaboration with the National Black Theatre and written by vocalist, composer and writer, Somi Kakoma. The play revolves around the life of the famous South African singer, actress and civil rights activist, Miriam Makeba, who’s credited with helping make African music internationally famous. Backed by a live jazz band, the tribute musical takes place during Makeba’s last concert where her ancestors speak to her and help her relive the past. Performed since May 17, the play will be available to watch until June 26.
- A Strange Loop: Available on Broadway, this Tony-Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning musical is created by playwright and composer, Michael R. Jackson. The play follows, Usher, an openly queer, Black writer, who’s creating a story about a Black, queer writer writing a musical. As Usher continues to write, he’s visited by a variety of inner thoughts portrayed by an ensemble of actors, including James Lackson Jr and John-Andrew Morrison, who attempt to bring him down. Through interactions with his thoughts, Usher and the play address the homophobia, body-shaming and racism he’s subjected to by the world. The play will run through June 22.
- The Piano Lesson: Written by the man known as “theater’s poet of Black America,” August Wilson, in 1987, “The Piano Lesson” will be revisited as an upcoming Broadway play. Directed by actress LaTanya Richardson Jackson, the star-studded cast includes Danielle Brooks, Samuel L. Jackson and John David Washington in lead roles. The Pulitzer Prize-winning play follows the Charles family as they argue over what to do with a 137-year-old piano. Similar in appearance to an African sculpture, the piano represents the family’s battle between how to deal with the past with Wilson’s writing specifically raising questions about how Black Americans should deal with their painful past in the country’s history. The Broadway preview for the play is expected to be held on Sep. 17.
- …what the end will be: Performed Off-Broadway at Roundabout Theatre Company in Manhattan, “…what the end will be” is a play by playwright Mansa Ra. Following three generations of characters occupying the same house, the play focuses on how the experiences of the characters as Black, gay men are both similar and different across their age gaps. Performed since June 2 for the start of Pride Month, the play will be available
- 1619: The Journey of a People: Held at the Vittum Theater in Chicago, “1619: The Journey of a People” is a musical by playwright and educator, Ted Williams III. Using a range of genres, including hip hop, jazz and spoken word, as well as dancing, the musical covers 400 years’ worth of Black History, honoring heroes and teaching the audiences about time periods such as Reconstruction and the Civil Rights Movement. Originally created in 2019, the play will be back for showings throughout the Juneteenth weekend up until June 19 as well as on July 23.
