A NOTE FROM BOB ON DEI:

​I’d like to highlight some of the recent DEI-related initiatives at Shubert and the broader Broadway community.  I also want to congratulate Shubert Board Member Pamela Newkirk, who has been named a 2023 Fellow by the American Academy of Arts and Science.  
 
In September of last year, we dedicated the newly renovated and expanded James Earl Jones Theatre (formerly, The Cort Theatre), with a star-studded cast of attendees, including NYC Mayor Eric Adams, Samuel L. Jackson, LaTanya Richardson Jackson, Courtney B. Vance, Danielle Brooks, Debbie Allen, Phylicia Rashad, Kenny Leon, Wendell Pierce, LaChanze, Norm Lewis, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Suzan-Lori Parks, Tamara Tunie, Woodie King Jr. and more. The first production in the newly-named theatre was OHIO STATE MURDERS, written by Adrienne Kennedy, directed by Kenny Leon, and starring Audra McDonald.
 
We recently welcomed a second group of Artistic Circle members—Alexander E Robertson, Amy Marie Haven, Jamie Joeyen-Waldorf—three promising BIPOC producers. The Artistic Circle Initiative seeks to aid BIPOC producers developing shows for Off-Broadway and Broadway venues. The new program members will be provided introductions to industry professionals, and mentoring, as well as workspace and financial assistance.
 
If I may paraphrase from Pamela Newkirk’s book (Diversity, Inc.), change must be implemented from the top down. It requires a fundamental cultural shift. The Broadway League has made DEI a core part of its mission and is committed to promoting anti-racist policies and practices in our industry through raising awareness, providing opportunities for meaningful dialogue and sharing resources with its members. Its programs include Black to Broadway, Viva Broadway!, and Broadway Bridges—all programs that are focused on expanding Broadway’s reach to a more diverse and inclusive audience.    
 
Shows coming to Broadway are engaged in a similar exercise—expanding their reach to a broader and more diverse audience and creating new opportunities for BIPOC artists. After the industry-wide shutdown caused by COVID, Broadway re-opened in the 2021-2022 season with seven new plays by Black playwrights. (*FN. Those shows are PASS OVER, CHECKEN & BISCUITS, LACKAWANNA BLUES, THOUGHTS OF A COLORED MAN, TROUBLE IN MIND, CLYDE’S and SKELETON CREW). The 2022-2023 season also saw a significant number of “firsts” for BIPOC artists in theatre, including: TOP DOG/UNDERDOG, the first-ever revival of Suzan Lori Parks’ Pulitzer Prize-winning play, directed by Kenny Leon; DEATH OF A SALESMAN, starring Wendell Pierce, the first Black man to lead a Broadway production of the classic Arthur Miller play; THE PIANO LESSON, starring John David Washington (son of Denzel Washington), making his Broadway debut alongside Samuel Jackson in the revival of an August Wilson classic, directed by LaTanya Richardson Jackson, making her Broadway directorial debut and the first woman to direct an August Wilson play; and PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, which ended its thirty-five year run with its first-ever Black female lead, Emilie Kouatchou, as Christine Daae.
 
Speaking of PHANTOM, after its longest-ever Broadway show run, we have work to do in the Majestic Theatre before it will be ready for its next tenant (I am hoping for a run at least half as long as PHANTOM). Our facilities department will be overseeing the work and we have signed on to a New York City program designed to increase contracting opportunities for  MBE’s (Minority -owned Business Enterprises) and WBE’s (Woman-owned Business Enterprises). While I believe that opening up the tent to make room for a more diverse and inclusive workforce makes good business sense, it helps to have government endorse the concept. In overseeing the magnificent expansion and renovations to the newly-minted James Earl Jones Theatre, our facilities department set a goal of 10% of the dollar value of the project to be let to MBE/WBE contractors. Through their efforts they successfully met  that goal.  I hope and expect that we will meet or exceed that percentage goal on the Majestic project.   
 
In highlighting these DEI achievements, I realize that some may find it like the beating of a drum: we have heard this before, no need to keep saying it. Maybe that will be true sometime in the future. But we are not there yet.  The fact that there are these “firsts” for BIPOC artists is itself telling. We are making forward strides, but there is a lot of territory still to cover.