Black Broadway poised to set record at this year’s Tony Awards

NEW YORK — Black people have a long history of being underrepresented in the business of Broadway shows. That’s why the 77th annual Tony Awards—scheduled for June 16 at Lincoln Center in New York City—could mark a milestone with its potential for a record-setting number of Black winners. CBS will air the U.S. telecast of the show, which will be livestreamed on Paramount+ with Showtime. For the third consecutive year, Ariana DeBose will host. “Hell’s Kitchen”—a musical named after New York City’s Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood and based on Alicia Keys songs—has a Black-majority cast and is tied with the play “Stereophonic” for the most Tony nominations (13) this year. Keys is one of the producers of “Hell’s Kitchen” through her AK Worldwide Media, which is one of the Black-owned production companies that are nominated for Best Musical for “Hell’s Kitchen.” These production companies include Roc Nation (owned by Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter) and Sharpton Swindal Productions (co-owned by Al Sharpton’s daughter, Dominique Sharpton). Left to right: Chris Lee, Maleah Joi Moon, Alicia Keys, Shoshana Bean, Brandon Victor Dixon, and Kecia Lewis attend the “Hell’s Kitchen” Broadway musical opening night performance at the Shubert Theatre on Saturday, April 20, 2024, in New...