A slate of primarily Black plays opening on Broadway this summer will tell many stories of the diaspora, from Alicia Keys' 1990s origin story to the latest instalments.Hell's Kitchen) and a fancy update of the 1970s musical With This is the first revival of the work originally produced by the Black Ensemble Company in 1979. House.
Kenny Leon, the hardest-working African-American director of the past few decades, presents playwright Samuel Art Williams' story of a black man coming of age in rural North Carolina, falling in love and dealing with the aftermath of his conscientious objection to the Vietnam War. EBONY spoke with Leon about modern interpretations of Shakespeare, the difference between television and theater, and why there's no place for something like this on Broadway. House.
ebony: House The play hasn't been performed in over 40 years, so why revive it on Broadway?
Kenny Leon: House It all started when Todd Haymes, the artistic director who passed away last year, was considering taking up the project as part of the Refocus project that he started three years ago. We were thinking, how do we communicate the greatness of past generations to the current generation, especially people of color? Soldier's play It won a Tony Award, and then I went on to do another play. Parley VictoryThis has not been done in 62 years.
I knew it [Home playwright] Sam Art Williams, unfortunately, passed away about a month ago, four days before our first show. But he was a good friend and a great artist with a great history. Todd and I, [Home being] Playing forward because of his skill set.
What prompted you to become a director? Hamlet What was your experience directing “Shakespeare in the Park” in Central Park last summer? Did directing outdoors present different considerations or challenges?
Shakespeare in the Park is always a challenge, with 1,800 people in the audience (laughs). It's outdoors, with rain, heat, mosquitoes and squirrels. A few years before the pandemic, I Much Ado About Nothing I attended a Shakespeare in the Park performance. [actress] Danielle Brooks and the guys and I had a great time, and then Oscar Eustace, the artistic director, said, “We'd love for you to do another one,” and I said, “Yeah, sure. Let's see what we can do.”
I came to Shakespeare late, after I'd done all ten of August Wilson's plays. No disrespect to Shakespeare, but Shakespeare doesn't get any better than August Wilson. August has the monologues. The soliloquy. He has the poetry. He has the unfolding scenes. He has the history. He has everything that Shakespeare has. So I learned Shakespeare through my love of August Wilson's ten plays.
I [decided] If I were to do Shakespeare again Hamlet, Othello or MacbethTo me, those are Shakespeare's great plays. And Oscar said, HamletThat was the trigger. A few years later, I Othello Broadway [starring Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal]The reason I am prepared to do so is simply because of the success I had playing in the park twice.
Do you plan on directing for television in the near future? How is it different from Broadway?
I always tell people that film is art, theater is life, and television is furniture. But I'm kidding, I've done it all. I've done a lot of television. The Story of Mahalia Jackson. Hooray Steel MagnoliaI did the Colin Kaepernick thing with Ava DuVernay. Individual practiceIt's over Gossip Girls. It's over Hairspray Live! andWith Live! I am currently working on two films, which I have not announced yet.
Last year, we filmed the movie ” Final Meal I was working with Sam Jackson, but it fell through at the last minute. Ohio Murder It's a production by Adrienne Kennedy, and I co-starred with Audra McDonald on Broadway two years ago. [newscaster] Developed by Robin Roberts Ohio Murder.
I had the opportunity to do a Toni Morrison opera. Margaret GarnerSometimes I do movies, sometimes I do operas, sometimes I do musicals. It depends. I just happen to find actors who want to work with me. [Like] I did “American Son” with Kerry Washington. It was a play and it was made into a movie for Netflix. I also did a film for Netflix called “American Son.” Fix it On the evolution of the 14th Amendment.
What's next?
I enter Our Town next, OthelloThen I [reviving] Melvin Van Peebles Musicals There's no way he'd die naturallyAnd I've been working on stage productions. DrumlineBased on the Movie DrumlineI'm planning on doing an American stage production, and next year I'll be appearing in a Tennessee Williams play. The Glass MenagerieSo there's a lot going on.
