What’s New And Black On Broadway

By Keyaira Boone ·Updated November 21, 2021

Broadway is back!

Black actors, dancers, designers, writers, and producers are using their talents to bring exciting stories to newly reopened Manhattan theaters on the historic road this season.

Stars like Uzo Aduba and Ron Cephas Jones are returning to the stage toting the talents they’ve shown on the small screen. New and seasoned voices are finally making their Broadway debuts by telling unfamiliar stories that go beyond stereotypes. And notoriously famous playwrights are flexing their renowned pens in new settings that speak to the tales we cling on to when we’re striving for better.

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Step away from streaming for the evening and get all dressed up to take in strong themes, stellar performances, and the crackling energy that can only be felt from being mere feet away from the show you’ve been looking forward seeing to for weeks.

This season the legacies of musical giants are being explored with big budget dance numbers that transport the audience back to the days of tightly pinned bouffants and prim pillbox hats. The inner thoughts and feelings of Black men are being explored using innovative methods, infrastructure crises are being carefully explored, and new dramas are centering the experiences of those previously left in the shadows by creators.

Insiders have routinely called out Broadway for its exclusion of diverse voices behind the scenes but some progress is being made despite longstanding systemic barriers, thanks to the persistent actions of alliances, coalitions, and advocacy groups determined to document the shortcomings of the commercial theatre industry.

Entertainment veterans like Will Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith, Kandi Buruss, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Samira Wiley, and John Legend have also turned their attention to supporting professionals fighting to create quality productions that showcase talent.

See what new and Black shows are coming to Broadway stages this season below.

01Thoughts Of A Colored ManSeven men reflect the “deeply human hopes, joys, sorrows, fears, and dreams,” we all share during a single Brooklyn day.

Thoughts Of A Colored Man Get Tickets 02Clyde’sThe quest to create the perfect sandwich unites a group of previously incarcerated people seeking redemption.

Clyde’s Get Tickets 03Ain’t Too Proud – The Life And Times Of The TemptationsReconnect with some of your favorite hits in this Tony Award-winning smash.

Ain’t Too Proud – The Life And Times Of The Temptations Get Tickets 04Tina: The Tina Turner MusicalFollow the icon’s story from Nutbush to the top of the charts in this musical.

Tina: The Tina Turner Musical Get Tickets 05Caroline, Or ChangeCo-written by acclaimed playwrights Tony Kushner and Jeanine Tesori, this play follows a Black woman living and working in 1960s Louisiana.