. “It’s like Christmas, Thanksgiving, Tony night and the NAACP Image Awards rolled into one,” quippedStephen Colbert, Dolly Parton and More Virtually Raise Money for Covenant House
In recent weeks, the theater industry, like many others, has been compelled to see and address the systemic racism within its operation, and the Antonyo Awards, broadcast live, were driven by that spirit of change. “Toni Morrison once wrote, ‘Nobody was minding us, so we minded ourselves,’” said playwright, who accepted a special Langston Hughes Award. “And this moment is a mighty minding of self.
Since anti-racism protests have gripped the country, BIPOC theater makers have condemned power dynamics between white theater owners and Black artists, called out the tokenization of BIPOC actors on stage, and circulated a 16,000-member petition to install the Apollo Theater as a Broadway house. “There’s a movement afoot in our nation and the world, and it is doing what we strive to do in the theater,” said 16-time Broadway alum Cooper, who accepted an award for lifetime achievement.
Notably, the ceremony was held on Juneteenth, the annual commemoration of the official end of slavery in America 155 years ago. The holiday has always been about storytelling — about remembering the institution of slavery to keep alive the vital importance of freedom — so it was natural to honor Black theater, McDonald explained. “For Black artists, finding a home in musicals is essential,” she said. “Our stories are powerful. Our songs are glorious, and our people are unstoppable.
With that resolve, the ceremony matched the painful recognition of continued inequality with the cheerful exaltation of free expression.sang the “Black National Anthem,” “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” Medleys of milestone Black musicals were performed and favorite monologues from Black plays were read. A Black vaudeville-style tap battle played out over Zoom and
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