Photo: Kay Hickman
The Broadway League’s Black to Broadway initiative announces the return of Broadway Celebrates Juneteenth, a free outdoor concert centered around Black artistry and unity that will feature an entirely Black Broadway cast performing Broadway musical numbers. The concert will be hosted by Michael James Scott and take place in Times Square on Wednesday, June 19th from 11:00am – 12:30pm (rain or shine) as the community gathers to honor and celebrate this important holiday. American Sign Language interpretation will be provided. Flagstar Bank will be this year’s presenting sponsor.
The 2024 Juneteenth Legacy Award will be presented to two-time Tony Award winner Phylicia Rashad, a versatile performer, director, educator, and humanitarian who has delighted generations of audiences through her work in beloved roles both in theatre and on screen. As an actress, Ms. Rashad has won two Tony Awards, for A Raisin in the Sun (2004 Best Actress in a Play) and Skeleton Crew (2022 Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play). She was also a 2005 Best Actress in a Play nominee for Gem of the Ocean. As a producer, Ms. Rashad recently received a Best Revival of a Play nomination for Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch.
The Broadway Celebrates Juneteenth concert will feature cast members from such shows as A Beautiful Noise, The Neil Diamond Musical; Aladdin; & Juliet; Back to the Future: The Musical; Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club; Chicago; Harry Potter and the Cursed Child; Hell’s Kitchen; Illinoise; The Lion King; MJ; Moulin Rouge! The Musical; The Notebook; Suffs; Water for Elephants; The Who’s Tommy; Wicked; The Wiz; and the return of the kids of Young Gifted and Broadway. All performances will be accompanied by live music provided with help from The Music Performance Trust Fund and the Film Funds. Details about talent line-up will be announced soon.
“Art has a uniquely transformative power to bring people together and we are thrilled to be returning with the Broadway Celebrates Juneteenth concert for the fourth year to celebrate and recognize the significance of this national holiday. We are proud to announce this year’s Juneteenth Legacy Award recipient will be Phylicia Rashad who epitomizes artistic excellence with her outstanding career achievements on Broadway and beyond,” said Jason Laks, Interim President of The Broadway League. “We are grateful to our partners and sponsors for making this star-studded concert possible and look forward to welcoming audiences to experience this incredible and inspiring event.”
Other sponsors include The Music Performance Trust Fund; Film Funds; the NYC Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment; Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS; Broadway.com; M·A·C Cosmetics; TodayTix; Audience Rewards; The Araca Group; Open Jar Studios; in partnership with the Times Square Alliance.
Presented by The Broadway League’s Black to Broadway initiative, Broadway Celebrates Juneteenth creative and production teams include Director and Writer Steve H. Broadnax III, Music Director Rashad McPherson, Executive Producers Brian Anthony Moreland and Aaliytha Stevens, Stage Manager Monet Thibou, and General Manager Devon Miller of Foresight Theatrical.
The goal of Black to Broadway is to inspire deeper engagement with awareness of, and access to Broadway for all Black people. Created by The Broadway League in 2019, this initiative is an industry-wide celebration of the Black community on Broadway – on stage, in the audience, behind the scenes, and as leaders in the Broadway community. To learn more about Black to Broadway, visit Diversity.Broadway.
JUNETEENTH LEGACY AWARD HONOREE
PHYLICIA RASHAD (Actor/Director) A two-time Tony Award® winner (A Raisin in the Sun and Skeleton Crew), directing credits include Steppenwolf’s 2024 hit production of Branden Jacobs-Jenkins play Purpose, Stephen Adly Guirgis’ Our Lady of 121st Street, The Roommate, Blues for an Alabama Sky, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone (2014 NAACP Theatre Award for Best Director), Immediate Family, Fences, A Raisin in the Sun, and Four Little Girls. In addition to producing the PBS film, (KCET-TV) “The Old Settler," Ms. Rashad recently added Broadway producer to her credits with the 2024 Tony nominated Best Revival of a Play for Ossie Davis’ Purlie Victorious. Ms. Rashad currently serves as Dean of the Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts at Howard University.
BROADWAY CELEBRATES JUNETEENTH HOST
MICHAEL JAMES SCOTT has played the Genie in Disney’s Aladdin internationally including Broadway, London, the North American Tour and originating the role in the Australian Production for which he won the prestigious Helpmann Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical.
He’s also known for originating the role of the Minstrel on Broadway in Something Rotten and originating Dr. Gotswana (aka The Maggots Guy) in the Tony-winning phenomenon The Book of Mormon. Other Broadway credits include Mamma Mia!; Tarzan; All Shook Up; The Pirate Queen; Elf; and Hair.
On the West End, he was the associate choreographer and performed in the Broadway revival transfer of Hair. Off-Broadway, co-starring in Here’s to the Public opposite Donna McKechnie, and was also part of the concert cast of Jerry Springer: The Opera at Carnegie Hall. He was the standby for the legendary Ben Vereen in the Int. tour of Fosse, taking over the role in Paris, France at the Théâtre du Châtelet. Outside NYC, original Las Vegas Co. of Jersey Boys and in Shrek the Musical as the Donkey at the famous St. Louis Muny.
Regional credits include Aida, Ragtime, South Pacific, Cinderella, and Little Shop of Horrors to name a few. Numerous television and film appearances including “The Carrie Diaries” (The WB), “Independent Woman” (Feature Film), “The View” (ABC), “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon” (NBC), “The Late Show with Conan O’Brien” (NBC), “Good Morning America” (ABC), “The Today Show” (NBC) “The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade” (CBS), “The Tony Awards” (CBS) and the newShowtime series “Black Monday.”
He was a member of the critically acclaimed singing group The Broadway Boys and Grammy-nominated Broadway Inspirational Voices and he can be heard on many original Broadway cast albums, multiple studio recordings, and the Broadway Boy's debut album Lullaby of Broadway. MichaelJamesScott.com (Instagram/Twitter @iamMJScott)
ABOUT NEW YORK COMMUNITY BANCORP, INC.
New York Community Bancorp, Inc. is the parent company of Flagstar Bank, N.A., one of the largest regional banks in the country. The Company is headquartered in Hicksville, New York. On March 31, 2024, Flagstar Bank, N.A., had $112.9 billion of assets, $83.3 billion of loans, deposits of $74.9 billion, and total stockholders' equity of $8.4 billion.
Flagstar Bank, N.A. operates 419 branches, including strong footholds in the Northeast and Midwest and exposure to high growth markets in the Southeast and West Coast. Flagstar Mortgage operates nationally through a wholesale network of approximately 3,000 third-party mortgage originators. In addition, the Bank has approximately 100 private banking teams located in over ten cities in the metropolitan New York City region and on the West Coast, which serve the needs of high-net worth individuals and their businesses.
New York Community Bancorp, Inc. has market-leading positions in several national businesses, including multi-family lending, mortgage origination and servicing, and warehouse lending. Flagstar Mortgage is the seventh largest bank originator of residential mortgages for the 12-months ending March 31, 2024, while we are the industry's fifth largest sub-servicer of mortgage loans nationwide, servicing 1.4 million accounts with $367 billion in unpaid principal balances. Additionally, the Company is the second largest mortgage warehouse lender nationally based on total commitments.
The Broadway League, founded in 1930, is the national trade association for the Broadway industry representing more than 700 members from nearly 200 national and international markets including theatre owners and operators, producers, presenters, and general managers as well as suppliers of goods and services to the commercial theatre industry. Key League programs and resources such as Kids’ Night on Broadway®, The Jimmy Awards®/National High School Musical Theatre Awards®, Broadway Bridges®, Black to Broadway, ¡Viva! Broadway®, Broadway Membership Fellows, Broadway Speakers Bureau, and the Internet Broadway Database® (ibdb.com) represent the League’s ongoing commitment to creating an inclusive culture within the industry that is geared toward accessibility and advancements of audience development, industry practices, and workforce opportunities. The Broadway League co-administers the dotBroadway top-level domain, providing online visitors assurance that the web address they are accessing is from a verified League member. Since 1967, The Broadway League has been co-presenting the annual Antoinette Perry “Tony” Awards®. BroadwayLeague.com
EVENT DETAILS
Title: Broadway Celebrates Juneteenth
Date: Wednesday, June 19, 2024
Time: 11:00am – 12:30pm; rain or shine
Location: Duffy Square in Times Square (46th and 47th Streets between Broadway and Seventh Avenue)
Cost: Free
Website: www.diversity.broadway