Black and Gay on The Great White Way: The Rise of the Gay Black Hero in Theatre

Playbill: At the Academy Awards this year, all of the nominees in the 20 acting categories are white, and the outrage has ignited a dialogue on representation and equal opportunity in showbiz. On the small screen, however, networks made a greater push for racial diversity in television with shows like Black-ish, Fresh Off The Boat, Empire, Jane the Virgin, Cristela and Telenovela receiving glowing reviews. On and off the Great White Way, theatregoers have experienced the most diverse season in years with productions like Allegiance, Hamilton, Eclipsed, Skeleton Crew, Pageant: The Musical, Gloria, On Your Feet! and revivals of The Color Purple and The Gin Game, as well as a star-studded reimagining of the much-anticipated Shuffle Along. Forest Whitaker will revive Eugene O’Neill’s Hughie, marking the first African-American to play the titular part on Broadway. While many note the need for further progress, a slight-but-present trend, nonetheless, has found its way to the theatrical stage this season: For the first time, theatre-makers unapologetically put the gay black man’s experience in the spotlight.