Delroy receives the NAACP Lifetime Achievement Award the same evening they honor me with the new Legend Award!!!! Thrilling in every way! 31st NAACP Theatre Awards June 29, 2026 at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre in Los Angeles CA. Produced and Directed by Oscar Hernandez OSCIA Productions Inc. #NAACP #theatregreatness #blacktheatregreats #delroylindo /31st-naacp-theatre-awards-to-honor-delroy-lindo-with-lifetime-achievement-award.html?
MORE BLACK THEATRE HISTORY! Black Theatre Pioneers.
Remembering my dear friend and colleague Woodie King, Jr. I surely miss him. I met Woodie in Detroit in 1961 when I was there with the now-legendary Broadway play "A Raisin in the Sun." Woodie attended opening night, came backstage and we all chatted about the play and what he was doing in local theatre. From that night Woodie attended every Detroit performance and accompanied us (Diana Sands, Frances Foster, Lonne Elder III, Douglas Turner Ward and me) back to our hotel for drinks and talk about the state of Black theatre and what needed to happen after the success of “Raisin”. (Exactly like -before being cast- I had attended “Raisin’s” Philly tryout, went backstage, was encouraged to move to NY, and then attended every Broadway performance and became part of them.) A few years after meeting in Detroit Woodie also moved to New York and we became close friends and colleagues. And when Mayor Robert Wagner asked me who I felt should be the head of the proposed Henry Street Settlement Theatre I told him, “Only Woodie King!” He brilliantly grew that into his New Federal Theatre. He will be missed by all those who knew or worked with him! Woodie King Jr. @MoreBlackTheatreHistory #woodiekingjr #blacktheatrepioneers
MORE BLACK THEATRE HISTORY!
From the Negro Ensemble Company's 1979 13th season comes this riotous 2-chararacter tour de force starring Douglas Turner Ward and Hattie Winston as con-artists conning each other while trying to hit it big as vaudeville entertainers who will gamble on anything…including times of deaths. "The Michigan"-written by Dan Owens, directed by the late Dean Irby. Photograph by NEC's brilliant staff photographer Bert Andrews #douglasturnerward #HattieWinston #negroensemblecompany #moreblacktheatrehistory
MORE BLACK THEATRE HISTORY! "The Dream on Monkey Mountain" directed by Michael A. Schultz from The Negro Ensemble Company's Season Four (1970-71) Derek Walcott's Island drama . Like all NEC major productions, 'Dream' played to standing room audiences and the play was extended. Seen here are (foreground) Roscoe Lee Browne, Robert Jackson, and (on floor) Antonio Fargas. Author Walcott won several New York drama critics Awards...(NEC photo by Bert Andrews #blacktheatrehistory #Negroensemblecompany #bertandrewsphotography #dreamonmonkeymountain #DerekWalcott
MORE BLACK THEATRE HISTORY!Of the many original stage works birthed at New York's legendary Negro Ensemble Company, Lonne Elder, III's "Ceremonies in Dark Old Men" stands tall among them all. The dynamic Harlem family drama has been revived and celebrated by theatre companies and universities across the country and around the world. Author Elder went on to great success writing television movies (adapting “Ceremonies” for ABC), as well as Hollywood screenplays such as "Sounder" which won him an Academy Award nomination. Seen here in an emotional third act scene from the original NEC production (1968-69 season) are (left to right) Douglas Turner Ward as Mr. Parker, William Jay as Theo Parker, and Rosalind Cash as Adell Parker. All members of the Original Ensemble, and all brilliant! (NEC Photo by Bert Andrews) #Blacktheatrehistory #douglasturnerward #lonneelderiii #Rosalindcash #NegroEnsembleCompany
Being put in a context with those legends who preceded me, most of whom I had long, loving, life-changing friendships with...thank you #NAACPtheatreawards. I am honored and moved! #osciaproductions @oscia2221
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For over 40 full seasons, from 1967 to 2004, producing and showcasing more than 400 original stage works, the Negro Ensemble Company surpassed any other Black Theatre Institution in the history of the world. NEC provided tuition-free training and opportunities (in a myriad of platforms) for the aspiring and seasoned actors, directors, playwrights, designers, technicians, and future professional theatre administrators that came through its doors. Seen here is a Bert Andrews classic production photo of the original acting ensemble in a scene from NEC’s inaugural 1967 production “Song of the Lusitanian Bogey.” #blacktheatrehistory #NegroEnsembleCompany #Bertandrews
Most thrilling NAACP Theatre Awards ever! So honored to receive the Legendary Award beside these other exceptional artists!! June 29 @ Wilshire Ebell! @oscia2221 #naacptheatreawards @kirinnaulls #blacktheatre
!!A LOU GOSSETT documentary! His son Sati decided to stop waiting for someone else to do it!! Today I had the honor of sitting and talking about one of my favorite people ever to touch my life as an artist and as a Black man in America.... Louis Gossett JR.
Satie Gossett:"Another notable interview has been added to our documentary, as we had the privilege of listening to Robert Hooks recount his experiences taking over my father's role in the Broadway production of A Raisin in the Sun and their enduring camaraderie. The past two days have provided a profound education in Black history, as seen through my father's impact. Our thanks go out to Sidney Clifton and Trevor Hansford for their hard work. We're on a roll. Who's next? Stay Tuned! #satiegossett #LouisGossett #lougossett #louisgossettjr #sidneyclifton @satiegossett
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I was on a movie assignment when I got the call from NEC Artistic Director Douglas Turner Ward. He had just found a play that was the perfect starring role for young film & TV actor Kevin Hooks and had offered him the role in the 1985-86 Negro Ensemble Company season in "Jonah and the Wonder Dog" by Judi Ann Mason. I was thrilled and deeply moved that my son would be performing at the theatre institution I was so proud of. His career was going full blast, but I knew that doing theatre - and at NEC! - would unlock his true acting ability. I LOVE THIS SHOT SO MUCH! #kevinhooks Kevin Hooks #douglasturnerward #nec #negroensemblecompany #moreblacktheatrehistory #blacktheatrehistory #americantheatehistory #judiannmason #jonahandthewonderdog
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Opening the eight Season of the popular, ever growing Negro Ensemble Company (NEC-circa 1974-75) was Leslie Lee's "First Breeze of Summer" a captivating and heart wrenching drama. Following on the heels of the previous season's blockbuster "The River Niger",.. First Breeze sent Leslie Lee's writing stock through the New York theatre mainstream roof! Seen here in an emotional second act scene from First Breeze are NEC's Ensemble stars (from left to right) Ethel Ayler, Frances Foster, Moses Gunn, and Reno.....(NEC photo by Bert Andrews) #riverniger #mosesgunn #ethelayler #francesfoster #leslielee #firstbreezeofsummer #nec #negroensemblecompany #moreblacktheatrehistory #blacktheatrehistory #americantheatrehistory
