Antonyo Awards

Last updated
Antonyo Awards
Awarded forExcellence of Black artists in theatre
CountryUnited States
Presented byBroadway Black
First awarded2020;4 years ago (2020)

The Antonyo Awards are awards recognizing excellence of Black artists in theatre. Founded in 2020, the awards ceremony was produced by Broadway Black and honors Black artists from both the Broadway and Off-Broadway theatre communities. [1]

Contents

Founding and inaugural ceremony

The Antonyo Awards were created in 2020 [2] by Drew Shade. Shade founded Broadway Black in 2012, an organization that supports Black theatre and which helped produce the awards ceremony. Dustin Ross, a close friend of Shade, named the ceremony the "Antonyo Awards" as a light-hearted joke in reference to The Tony Awards. [3] An additional purpose of the awards is to shed light on systemic racism in the New York theatre, a mostly-white institution, in the light of the racial protests that rocked America following the murder of George Floyd, and the deaths of Breonna Taylor, Eric Garner, and others. No one was paid to participate in or run these awards. [3]

The nominees were selected by a nominating committee. However, since it was not as easy to get voters to see every show due to the shutdown of theatres across the nation due to the pandemic, the winners were chosen by people voting online. Around 8,000 people voted. There were no gendered categories. Also, all presenters and winners had their pronouns listed as well as their names on screen. [4]

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, there were no live awards in the inaugural ceremony. The awards took place over a YouTube livestream, [5] but may be in-person if future Antonyo Awards ceremonies are announced. The ceremony took place on June 19, 2020, since Juneteenth is the holiday commemorating the freedom from slavery for Black Americans in 1865. [6] However, despite there being no live ceremony, there was a "red carpet" livestream one hour before the ceremony hosted by Chadaé McAlister, as well as an after-party hosted by Amber Iman with music by DJ Dorian, Both featured interviews with nominees and winners. The ceremony was hosted by Drew Shade. The event not only included the announcing of the winners, but also musical performances, skits, and monologues by Black playwrights performed by Black theatre artists that highlighted the struggles, joys and resilience of Black artists. Additionally, due to the coronavirus preventing many graduations from happening, nominee and actor Shereen Pimentel gave a commencement speech to the class of 2020, as she would have been graduating in 2020. [7]

There were four non-competitive awards called the Kinfolk Awards which were created to honor individuals who were committed to the advancement of Black theatre in New York City. The Lorraine Hansberry Award was given to a female identifying or nonbinary femme Black playwright or book writer who incorporates themes of social justice into their work. The Langston Hughes Award was given to a male-identifying or nonbinary masculine Black playwright or book writer who balances storytelling and social justice ideology in their work. The Welcome Award is for a Black newcomer to New York City theatre. The Doors of the Theatre are Open Award is for a theatre company that has been dedicated to uplifting Black voices. [8]

Recipients

2020

Award [9] [10] RecipientProduction
Best Play Aziza Barnes BLKS
Donja R. LoveOne in Two
Lydia R. Diamond Toni Stone
C.A. JohnsonAll the Natalie Portmans
Zora Howard STEW
Eboni BoothParis
Best Musical Tina: The Tina Turner Musical
The Secret Life of Bees
A Strange Loop
The Wrong Man
Girl From North Country
Jagged Little Pill
Best Revival For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/when the rainbow is enuf
West Side Story
Native Son
Little Shop of Horrors
Fires in the Mirror
Two Can Play
Best Actor in a Play Off-Broadway Danielle Brooks Much Ado About Nothing
Kara Young All the Natalie Portmans
PortiaSTEW
April MathisToni Stone
Kristolyn LloydLittle Women
Ato Blankson WoodThe Rolling Stone
Best Actor in a Play On Broadway Audra McDonald Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune
LaChanze A Christmas Carol
Joaquina Kalukango Slave Play
Blair Underwood A Soldier's Play
Best Actor in a Musical Off-Broadway LaChanze The Secret Life of Bees
Ciara Renée The Wrong Man
Joshua Henry
Larry Owens A Strange Loop
Janelle McDermothWe're Gonna Die
Danyel FultonBroadbend, Arkansas
Best Actor in a Musical On Broadway Adrienne Warren Tina: The Tina Turner Musical
Kimber Elayne Sprawl Girl From the North Country
Isaac Cole Powell West Side Story
Shereen Pimentel
Daniel J. Watts Tina: The Tina Turner Musical
Best Featured Actor in a Play Off-Broadway Okwui Okpokwasili For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/ when the rainbow is enuf
Leland FowlerOne in Two
Nicco Annan The Hot Wing King
Crystal Lucas-Perry A Bright Room Called Day
John-Andrew MorrisonBlues for an Alabama Sky
Latoya Edwards The Rolling Stone
Best Featured Actor in a Play On BroadwayChalia La Tour Slave Play
David Alan Grier A Soldier's Play
Ato Blankson-Wood Slave Play
Zawe Ashton Betrayal
Grantham Coleman The Great Society
Jordan Barbour The Inheritance
Best Featured Actor in a Musical Off-Broadway Jasmine Cephas Jones Cyrano
John-Andrew Morrison A Strange Loop
L Morgan Lee
Starr Busby Octet
Saycon Sengbloh The Secret Life of Bees
Taylor Iman Jones Scotland, PA
Best Featured Actor in a Musical On Broadway Celia Rose Gooding Jagged Little Pill
Sahr Ngaujah Moulin Rouge!
Jeanette Bayardelle Girl From the North Country
Dharon E. Jones West Side Story
Best Solo PerformanceMichael Benjamin WashingtonFires in the Mirror
Donnetta Lavinia GraysWhere We Stand
Dierdra McDowellDown to Eartha
Best Director Lileana Blain-Cruz Anatomy of A Suicide
Stevie Walker-WebbOne in Two
Robert O’Hara BLKS
Whitney White Our Dear Dead Drug Lord
Colette RobertSTEW
Raja Feather Kelly We're Gonna Die
Best Choreography Camille A. Brown For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/when the rainbow is enuf
Raja Feather Kelly A Strange Loop
Edisa WeeksNovenas for a Lost Hospital
Adesola Osakalumi Coal Country
Byron Easley Slave Play
nicHi DouglasSkinfolk: An American Show
Best Quarantine ContentDaniel J. WattsThe Jam IG Live
Edward Mawere#BroadwayRemixChallenge
Camille A. Brown Social Dance for Social Distance
Drew ShadeInside The Mind, a Mental Wellness Series
Jordan E. CooperMama Got A Cough
SisLiving with Sis IG Series
Best Lighting DesignAllen Lee Hughes A Soldier's Play
Toni Stone
Alan C. EdwardsThe Hot Wing King
Stacey DerosierNovenas For A Lost Hospital
Best Scenic DesignLawrence E. Moten IIIsNative Son
Best SoundRucyl FrisonAnatomy of a Suicide
Justin EllingtonOne in Two
Luqman BrownThe Hot Wing King
Best CostumesToni-Leslie James For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/when the rainbow is enuf
Dede AyiteBLKS
Andy JeanOne in Two
Karen Perryrunboyrun/ In Old Age
Sarita P FellowsNative Son
Ari FultonNovenas for a Lost Hospital
Best Hair & Wig DesignNikiya Mathis For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/when the rainbow is enuf
STEW
Cookie JordanToni Stone
A Strange Loop
Greg Cooper Spencer A Soldier's Play
Best OrchestrationsSkinfolk: An American Show
The Secret Life of Bees
A Strange Loop
Tina: The Tina Turner Musical
We're Gonna Die
The Wrong Man
Best Original ScoreThe Secret of Life Bees
A Strange Loop
Broadbend, Arkansas
The Wrong Man
We're Gonna Die
Best Book Michael R. Jackson A Strange Loop
Lynn Nottage The Secret Life of Bees
Katori Hall Tina: A Tina Turner Musical
Harrison David Rivers Broadbend, Arkansas

Non-competitive awards

The Kinfolk Awards

AwardRecipient
Langston Hughes AwardDonja R. Love
Lorraine Hansberry AwardLoy. A. Webb
Welcome AwardDharon E. Jones
The Doors of the Theatre are Open AwardThe National Black Theatre

In memoriam

2020

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tony Awards</span> Annual awards for Broadway theatre

The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in Manhattan. The ceremony is usually held in June.

The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards given since 1956 by The Village Voice newspaper to theater artists and groups involved in off-Broadway and off-off-Broadway productions in New York City. Starting just after the 2014 ceremony, the American Theatre Wing became the joint presenter and administrative manager of the Obie Awards. The Obie Awards are considered off-Broadway's highest honor, similar to the Tony Awards for Broadway productions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Audra McDonald</span> American actress and singer (born 1970)

Audra Ann McDonald is an American singer and actress. Primarily known for her work on the Broadway stage, she has won six Tony Awards, more performance wins than any other actor, and is the only person to win in all four acting categories. In addition to her six Tony Awards she has received numerous accolades including two Grammy Awards, and an Emmy Award. She was honored with the National Medal of Arts in 2016 from President Barack Obama, and was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Cullum</span> American actor and singer (b. 1930)

John Cullum is an American actor and singer. He has appeared in many stage musicals and dramas, including Shenandoah (1975) and On the Twentieth Century (1978), winning the Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Musical for each. In 1966 he gained his first Tony nomination as the lead in On a Clear Day You Can See Forever, in which he introduced the title song, and more recently received Tony nominations for Urinetown The Musical (2002) and as Best Featured Actor in the revival of 110 in the Shade (2007).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LaChanze</span> American actress, singer, and dancer (born 1961)

LaChanze Sapp-Gooding, known professionally as LaChanze, is an American actress, singer, and dancer. She won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical in 2006 for her role as Celie Harris Johnson in The Color Purple. LaChanze has subsequently received three more Tony Awards, this time as a producer, for co-producing Kimberly Akimbo, Topdog/Underdog, and The Outsiders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Danny Burstein</span> American actor (born 1964)

Danny Burstein is an American actor and singer. Known for his work on the Broadway stage, he's received numerous accolades including a Tony Award, two Drama Desk Awards and nominations for three Grammy Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jessie Mueller</span> American actress and singer

Jessica Ruth Mueller is an American actress and singer. She started her acting career in Chicago and won two Joseph Jefferson Awards in 2008 and 2011 for her roles as Carrie Pipperidge in Carousel and Amalia Balash in She Loves Me. In 2011, she moved to New York City to star in a Broadway revival of musical On a Clear Day You Can See Forever, for which she was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. She won the 2014 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical for her performance as Carole King in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. She went on to receive two additional Best Actress in a Musical Tony Award nominations for her leading roles in Waitress (2016) and the Broadway revival of Carousel (2018).

Pam MacKinnon is an American theatre director. She has directed for the stage Off-Broadway, on Broadway and in regional theatre. She won the Obie Award for Directing and received a Tony Award nomination, Best Director, for her work on Clybourne Park. In 2013 she received the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play for a revival of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? She was named artistic director of American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco, California on January 23, 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Branden Jacobs-Jenkins</span> American playwright (born 1984)

Branden Jacobs-Jenkins is an American playwright. His plays Gloria and Everybody were finalists for the 2016 and 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. His play Appropriate made his Broadway debut as a playwright in 2023 and earned him his first Tony Award. His additional plays include An Octoroon and The Comeuppance. He was named a MacArthur Fellow in 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chita Rivera Awards for Dance and Choreography</span>

The Chita Rivera Awards for Dance and Choreography celebrates outstanding dance and choreography in theatre, both on Broadway and Off-Broadway and in film at an annual ceremony in New York City at the Skirball Center for the Performing Arts. Now carrying the namesake of two-time Tony-winning dance icon Chita Rivera, The Rivera Awards will be presented under the auspices of American Dance Machine, an organization dedicated to the preservation of great musical theatre choreography.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">72nd Tony Awards</span> 2018 awards ceremony

The 72nd Annual Tony Awards were held on June 10, 2018, to recognize achievement in Broadway productions during the 2017–18 season. The ceremony was held at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, and was broadcast live by CBS. Sara Bareilles and Josh Groban served as hosts.

The National High School Musical Theatre Awards, more commonly known as the Jimmy Awards, are awards given annually to recognize musical theatre performances by high school students in the United States. Two main awards are given each year, Best Performance by an Actress and Best Performance by an Actor.

Harrison David Rivers is an American playwright. Rivers' work has won him the Relentless Award, a GLAAD Media Award, a McKnight Fellowship for Playwrights, a Jerome Foundation Many Voices Fellowship, an Emerging Artist of Color Fellowship, a Van Lier Fellowship and the New York Stage & Film's Founders Award. He is based in Saint Paul, Minnesota and is married to Christopher Bineham.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael R. Jackson</span> American playwright, lyricist and composer

Michael R. Jackson is an American playwright, composer, and lyricist, best known for his musical A Strange Loop, which won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the 2022 Tony Award for Best Musical. He is originally from Detroit.

Aziza Danielle Bailey Barnes is an American poet. Barnes frequently performs slam poetry and has performed at the Da Poetry Lounge, Urban Word NYC, PBS NewsHour and Nuyoricans Poets Cafe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">73rd Tony Awards</span> 2019 awards ceremony

The 73rd Annual Tony Awards were held on June 9, 2019, to recognize achievement in Broadway productions during the 2018–19 season. The ceremony was held at Radio City Music Hall in New York City and was broadcast live by CBS. James Corden served as host.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">74th Tony Awards</span> Awards ceremony

The 74th Tony Awards were held on September 26, 2021, to recognize achievement in Broadway productions during the 2019–20 season. After being delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City, the ceremony was held at the Winter Garden Theatre and was broadcast in two separate parts on CBS and Paramount+. Audra McDonald and Leslie Odom Jr. served as hosts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Celia Rose Gooding</span> American actor and singer

Celia Rose Gooding is an American actor and singer. They made their Broadway debut and rose to prominence for the role of Mary Frances "Frankie" Healy in the rock musical Jagged Little Pill for which they won a 2021 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album and were nominated for a 2020 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical, becoming one of the youngest nominees in the category at age 20. Their mother is LaChanze, an American actress, singer, and dancer. Gooding plays the role of Nyota Uhura in the Paramount+ original series Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2022–present).

Crystal Lucas-Perry is an American actress, singer, songwriter and producer. She is known for her performances on Broadway starring in the musical revival of 1776 (2022), and the Jordan E. Cooper sketch-play Ain't No Mo' (2023), the later of which earned her a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Play.

References

  1. "The Inaugural Antonyo Awards Honor the Best of Black Theater". Observer. 2020-06-17. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  2. "7 Things to Watch This Weekend". The New York Times .
  3. 1 2 Dowd, Vincent (June 19, 2020). "New US awards celebrate black theatre talent". BBC News . Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  4. "Inaugural Antonyo Awards To Celebrate Best Of Black Theater". NPR . Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  5. Cooper, Matt. "Martha Graham Dance's long-lost 'Immediate Tragedy': Your must-watch of the day". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  6. "Inaugural Antonyo Awards Celebrating Black Theatre Community to Stream June 19". Broadway Direct. June 19, 2020. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  7. Miller, Deb (June 20, 2020). "Winners of Broadway Black's inaugural Antonyo Awards for 2020". DC Metro Theater Arts. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  8. BWW News Desk (June 19, 2020). "VIDEO: TINA, A STRANGE LOOP, Audra McDonald, LaChanze and More Take Home 2020 Antonyo Awards!". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  9. McPhee, Ryan (June 9, 2020). "Vote Now for Broadway Black's Inaugural Antonyo Awards". Playbill. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  10. McPhee, Ryan (June 19, 2020). "Here Are the Winners of Broadway Black's Inaugural Antonyo Awards". Playbill. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  11. Evans, Greg (2020-06-20). "Audra McDonald, Adrienne Warren, 'Tina' & 'BLKS' Take Trophies In Inaugural Antonyo Awards For Black Theater Artists – Complete Winners List". Deadline. Retrieved June 20, 2020.