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Keith Josef Adkins
Keith Josef Adkins is an award-winning playwright and screenwriter.

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Posted Tuesday, May 13, 2008 8:17 AM

THE TONY AWARDS: THE GREAT WHITE WAY IS LOOKING REAL BROWN THESE DAYS

Keith Josef Adkins

The Tony Award nominations are in!  Broadway's annual red-carpet recognition of what talent shinned this year in mega-bucks theater.  And yes, I tend to be a downtown theater guy.  Meaning I prefer the more edgier canon of the off-Broadway scene over the commercial appeal of Broadway. But this theater season is taking a lot more risks with shows shaped around Black and Latin talent and that pleases me very much, and it pleases me more they're earning top-notch accolades.  

Here's the deal:  Laurence Fishburne was nominated for Best Actor in a Play for his role in Thurgood.  The brother rocked, no doubt.  He's really one of our best.  And dare I say he trumps Denzel.  S.Epatha Merkerson [of Law and Order fame] was nominated for Best Actress in a Play for her portrayal of Lola Delaney in the revival Come Back Little Sheba.  And although I didn't see this performance, S. Epatha is always transcendent.  I saw her in Suzan Lori Parks' F*cking A several years ago at the Public Theater, and her portrayal of Hester the abortionist was one of the most visceral performances I had ever seen.  The commitment and honesty she brings to her craft reminds me why I NEED live theater.  

Lin-Manuel Miranda's In the Heights, the Latin Hip Hop Musical, picked up 13 nominations including Best Musical and Best Direction of a Musical. Now I'm not a traditional musical guy, but the dancing and energy in In The Heights was darn-close to the feel one gets at a real-deal Salsa spot in Miami or Santo Domingo.  And I should add:  Lin-Manuel is one of the most gifted 27 year olds making theater on the planet.  And of course, my favorite, Passing Strange got 7 Tony noms, including Best Featured Actor [and Actress] in a Musical as well as Best Musical.  Passing Strange also recently won the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best Musical.  I may just pay another 50 bucks to see it for the FIFTH time.

I think it's safe to say the colored contingency is certainly doing what's necessary on Broadway.  From a black rocker finding his voice abroad to a Dominican-American community trying to hold on to their gentrifying neighborhood, commercial and eclectic success is amok on the Great White Way. 

I suggest if you're not in the greater NYC area, find a cheap air or rail ticket, get to Broadway and celebrate this rare and special thing happening in commercial theater—talented artists of color making light on Broadway! 

And here are some recommendations [in case you need a brotherly nudge]:

Passing Strange

In The Heights

Thurgood

Country Girl [with Morgan Freeman]

The Good Negro [this is off-Broadway, but it features Anthony Mackie as a civil rights activist being monitored by the FBI]

August: Osage County [one of the funniest, most engaging plays in years. it won the Pulitzer Prize]

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof  

They may not all be to your liking, but they're certainly worth the trouble.  And if you don't want to pay full-price [because I NEVER do], you can purchase half-price tickets at TKTS on the day of the performance. And sometimes fifteen minutes prior to curtain.  TKTS is a Broadway discount booth located near the Marriot Marquis on West 46th between Broadway and 8th Avenue.  Get here!
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Member Comments

Posted By: dmac225 (May 14, 2008 at 3:32 PM)

2 things 1) You do know broadway is called "the great white way" because of all the marquee lights and not in reference to white people don't you? 2) Why do you capitalize the word "play"?

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Posted By: Keith Josef Adkins (May 14, 2008 at 4:44 PM)

dmac225... Hey there. I appreciate you checking out my post. The more, the livelier. So to answer your questions:  Yes, I do realize the great white way is a reference to the lights. But I'm using it out of context to help color my "brown" statement. People have been taking that license for years.  Two, I capitalized Play because the actual category is called Best Featured Actor in a Play. You  can check out the website that I attached at the bottom of my post to see exactly what I'm talking about.

I hope that clears things up for you.

Thanks again,

Keith Josef

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Posted By: oohdolie (May 29, 2008 at 12:35 PM)

to dmac225

In journalism my firend, its called a play on words. It makes absolute (obvious even) sense that Keith would say the great white way is looking brown. Its a direct link to what he explains in his article...that there are things happening in Broadway that the great "white way" isn't used to seeing. Meaning, all the Mulitcultural themed shows coming out on top in Tony nominations. His words to me and to virtually anybody reading this is ridiculously clear that he is using Broadway's famous title to talk about what's going on now.

Don't tell me...

You don't get it.

Do you read newsapapers or commentary for that matter?

To even question his choice of words which defines his platform is plain ole....well, dumb.

And FYI...you ARE supposed to write Best Actor in a Play.

Please, next time, do some reading (and writing) of your own, up your skills before you try and check a serious, well known respected writer.

This was SO stupid.

And to any response you may have for me...WHATEVER. You are not worth any more time than the 45 seconds it took me to type this.

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