Theatre Development Fund – TDF: The timing was perfect. After a four-year stint on Starz's crime drama Power, Ty Jones' special agent character was about to be killed off when he got offered a role in Broadway's The Great Society, no audition required. Make that multiple roles. Jones portrays Reverend Ralph Abernathy, Representative Adam Clayton Powell and assorted small parts in Robert Schenkkan's chronicle of Lyndon B. Johnson's one full term as president, a period when the Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam War changed the trajectory of our country. A follow-up to the Tony-winning All the Way, the historical saga stars Brian Cox as the wheeler-dealer-in-chief, supported by an ensemble of 18 playing more than 50 characters. Jones is grateful to be one of them.
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What an incredible feat Ty Jones is balancing. To not only be acting on Broadway but at the same time being the artistic director at a different theatre? First of all, this makes clear to me the sheer passion he holds for theatre and the arts. I have a lot of respect for people like Ty. The amount of time and effort that he must put in every day to maintain this lifestyle would be exhausting, yet he manages to do it every single day and it seems that he still loves it for all it is worth. Either one of the two jobs that Ty does would be an exhaustive amount of work, and many couldn’t fathom holding two jobs, especially the to which Ty does. What astounds be even more is that for the past ten years, since Ty took over the Classical Theatre of Harlem in 2009, his work has been unpaid. This is the first year he has paid himself a salary. This man – this amazing, passionate man – has been doing twice the work, for ten years, for the same pay. This really shows his commitment to the arts. I commend Ty Jones for what he does.
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