Theater News

Leslie Uggams to Celebrate the Release of Stewart Lane's Black Broadway

The Tony winner will be on hand tonight at Barnes & Nobles to speak about the new book.

Leslie Uggams will celebrate the release of Stewart Lane's new book Black Broadway tonight at Barnes & Noble.
Leslie Uggams will celebrate the release of Stewart Lane's new book Black Broadway tonight at Barnes & Noble.
(© Jan Nargi)

This evening at 7pm, the Barnes & Noble at 150 East 86th Street will host six-time Tony Award-winning producer Stewart Lane (A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder), Tony Award-winning actress Leslie Uggams (Hallelujah Baby!, On Golden Pond), Broadway director Sheldon Epps (Baby It’s You!), and author Tom Santopietro (The Godfather Effect…) in a discussion about the history of black performers on Broadway and their tumultuous path to recognition.

The Black History Month event celebrates the release of Lane’s new book Black Broadway: African Americans on the Great White Way, released on February 2 by Square One Publishers. The book chronicles the journey of black theater in America, alongside a running timeline of African-American history. Celebrating the performers, playwrights, songwriters, directors, choreographers, and designers who changed theater throughout America and the world, Lane offers a detailed account from minstrel shows to vaudeville, from the Jazz Age to the Golden Age of the American musical, through the dramas inspired by the civil rights movement, to present-day Broadway.

The book features a foreword from Tony-award winning Broadway director Kenny Leon (A Raisin in the Sun), who calls Black Broadway "a unique tribute to the many African-American actors, directors, playwrights, and others who have contributed to the fabric of American theater."

"For decades, African Americans have struggled to become a part of Broadway, and while the fight continues, many battles have been won and significant changes have been made," says Lane. "It is my hope that this book serves as a guide to many people who have blazed a trail to the Great White Way and made it more accessible to everyone — black and white — who seeks to entertain and enlighten through the performing arts."