Where is BLACK BROADWAY these days?

A RAISIN IN THE SUN
THE COLOR PURPLE

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No, it's a dearth of good material (case in point: COLOR PURPLE). But unless you want an entire show with trick casting, like an all-black DOLLY or GUYS AND DOLLS (and I suppose some people would dearly love things like an all-black WICKED or even ACL), then once more,it comes down to a quality script and a quality score, just as it would for any other proposed production.

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im talkin about what seemed to be and ongoin trend at a cetain time. black shows were popping up all over the place. thats not the case today. simply isnt. and i dont care who it makes feel uncomfortable to hear(HOLY GRAIL).

Updated On: 12/19/06 at 04:11 PM

yea thats an easy cop answer out seein as how i am NOT a producer nor do i have the funds to produce/ but that type of answer is expected when not wanting to face the harsh realities of racism in america. even on broadway!

Updated On: 12/19/06 at 04:18 PM

Producers are afraid Jennifer Holliday will try to audition and then trash the show when she doesn't get cast.

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intersting that u see this as a whine. actually typical. not surprised. makes u feel uncomfortable i see.

i didn't know al sharpton posted here.

It's hard to say why there are no real black plays on broadway to the extent that there were before. Part of me says that producers wouldn't think there is an audience- but if you look at Color Purple- people are coming in bus loads and really loving the show.
What would need to happen is another big show like color purple that proves to producers that there is an audience for it.

Perhaps in the 70s and 80s there was an influx (if you could say that) of black plays because they were coming out of the civil rights movement and black plays were a natural outcome of the decade to follow. Today- we don't really care if a cop shoots an unarmed kid 50 times because we have ipods, and cable, and why dwell on something so ugly.

oh rath.. i love you sometimes.:-P

Calvin, that wasn't black.. that was James Earl Jones. Kind of like Tiger Woods.

Doesn't make me uncomfortable at all.

So let's see....Hot Feet was a largely black show, as someone else mentioned. Lion King, for all of its multi-cultural content, has a lot of african influences within the material, and a lot of african americans in its cast. The Color Purple is going strong, and about to open a tour. The Wiz just had a major revival at La Jolla, with rumors of a transfer (though at this point who knows).

In recent years we've seen many an August Wilson play on the boards, as well. Not to mention the not too long ago productions of Five Guys Named Mo', and One Mo' Time (which still remains the worst thing I've ever seen on stage anywhere...although thats a close tie with Ring Of Fire). And who can forget Bring in Da Noise?

The problem is not that producers are racist.

The problem is no one is writing musicals for the audience you'd like that producers think would be successful.

Write a show if you cant produce. Or find people you know to write a show.

There. I'm done. :)

Happy Holidays.

rfl thank you for the serious dicussion that this deserves and not the dismissal that other posters would like to offer reagrding race and broadway. This is really happening. and it is factual. times have changed. and if u are white or any other for that matter and unwilling to look at this issue then u may be a part of the problem yourself. and u know who u are.