John Harold Kander is an American composer, known largely for his work in the musical theater. As part of the songwriting team Kander and Ebb, Kander wrote the scores for 15 musicals, including Cabaret (1966) and Chicago (1975), both of which were later adapted into acclaimed films. He and Ebb also wrote the standard "New York, New York".
Chicago is a 1975 American musical with music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb, and book by Ebb and Bob Fosse. Set in Chicago in the jazz age, the musical is based on a 1926 play of the same title by reporter Maurine Dallas Watkins, about actual criminals and crimes on which she reported. The story is a satire on corruption in the administration of criminal justice and the concept of the "celebrity criminal".
The Scottsboro Boys were nine African American male teenagers accused of raping two white women in 1931. The landmark set of legal cases from this incident dealt with racism and the right to a fair trial. The cases included a lynch mob before the suspects had been indicted, all-white juries, rushed trials, and disruptive mobs. It is commonly cited as an example of a legal injustice in the United States legal system.
Justin Guarini is an American singer, songwriter and actor who in 2002 was the runner-up on the first season of American Idol.
The Wiz: The Super Soul Musical "Wonderful Wizard of Oz" is a musical with music and lyrics by Charlie Smalls and book by William F. Brown. It is a retelling of L. Frank Baum's children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900) in the context of contemporary African-American culture. It opened on October 21, 1974, at the Morris A. Mechanic Theatre in Baltimore, and moved to Broadway's Majestic Theatre with a new cast on January 5, 1975.
Ken Page is an American actor and singer. Page created the role of "Ken" in the original Broadway production of Ain't Misbehavin', and played the role of "Old Deuteronomy" in both the original Broadway and filmed stage productions of Cats. Page is also known as the voice of Oogie Boogie in The Nightmare Before Christmas franchise. He also was in the original Broadway production of The Wiz as The Lion and the first Broadway revival of Guys and Dolls as Nicely-Nicely Johnson.
Ann Harada is an American actress and singer who was first known for the musical Avenue Q, in which she originated the role of Christmas Eve, the heavily accented Japanese therapist.
Emily Skinner, also known as Emily Scott Skinner, is a Tony-nominated American actress and singer. She has played leading roles in 11 Broadway productions including New York, New York, Prince of Broadway, The Cher Show, Side Show, Jekyll & Hyde, James Joyce's The Dead, The Full Monty, Dinner at Eight, Billy Elliot, as well as the Actor's Fund Broadway concerts of Dreamgirls and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. She has sung on concert stages around the world and on numerous recordings.
Norm Lewis is an American actor and baritone singer. He has appeared on Broadway, in the West End, film, television, recordings and regional theatre. He’s also noted for his wide vocal range. Lewis was the second African-American actor after Robert Guillaume to perform in the title role in Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera and the first one to do so in the Broadway production. In 2023, he reprised the role in the show's sequel, Love Never Dies, in London's West End.
Lara Teeter is an American dancer, actor, singer, theater director and college professor.
Rodney Hicks is an American actor, playwright, and screenwriter. He is perhaps best known for originating the role of Bob in the Broadway musical Come from Away (2017) as well as playing various roles in the original and closing Broadway cast of the musical Rent.
Colman Jason Domingo is an American actor, playwright and director of both African American and Belizean and Guatemalan descent. Prominent on both screen and stage, he has received various accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, and nominations for an Academy Award and two Tony Awards. Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2024.
Katherine Baldwin is an American singer and actress known for her work in musical theater. She received a Tony Award nomination for her work in the 2009 Broadway revival of Finian's Rainbow. She also co-starred opposite Bette Midler, David Hyde Pierce, and Gavin Creel in the Broadway revival of Hello, Dolly!, for which she received Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle award nominations for her work as the saucy millineress Irene Molloy. Baldwin continued with the production until it closed in August 2018.
Nikki Snelson is an American actress, who works mainly in stage musicals.
Andréa Burns is an American actress and singer best known for her portrayal of the hairdresser Daniela in Lin-Manuel Miranda's musical In the Heights, as Carmen in Douglas Carter Beane's The Nance, and as Mrs. Spamboni in The Electric Company.
The Scottsboro Boys is a musical with a book by David Thompson, music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb. Based on the Scottsboro Boys trial, the musical is one of the last collaborations between Kander and Ebb prior to the latter's death. The musical has the framework of a minstrel show, altered to "create a musical social critique" with a company that, except for one, consists "entirely of African-American performers".
David Loud is an American music supervisor, music director, conductor, vocal and dance arranger, pianist and actor. He is best known for his collaborations with and interpretations of the music of both Kander and Ebb and Stephen Sondheim.
Joshua Anthony Charlton Henry is a Canadian-American actor and singer of stage and screen.
Brandon Victor Dixon is an American actor, singer and theatrical producer. As a musical theatre actor, he is known for Tony Award-nominated Broadway performances as Harpo in the 2005 musical The Color Purple and Eubie Blake in Shuffle Along, or, the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed (2016). He originated both roles, as well as the leading role of Berry Gordy Jr. in Motown: The Musical (2013) on Broadway, which earned a nomination for a Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album. In 2016, Dixon assumed the role of Aaron Burr in the Broadway company of Hamilton. Off-Broadway as well as in London's West End, Dixon played the role of Hayward Patterson in The Scottsboro Boys and was nominated for a 2014 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical.
James Monroe Iglehart is an American actor and comic book writer. He is perhaps best known for his Tony Award-winning performance as the Genie in the original Broadway production of Aladdin. Iglehart assumed the role of Marquis de Lafayette/Thomas Jefferson in the Broadway company of Hamilton in April 2017. He recreated the role of King Arthur in the 2023 Broadway revival of Spamalot. He can be heard as super producer Steve Jones in As The Curtain Rises, Broadway's first original podcast soap opera. More recently, Iglehart joined the cast of the animated webseries Helluva Boss, as both the Demon Lord of Lust Asmodeus/Ozzy and hellhound bodyguard Vortex, and Hazbin Hotel, as Zestial, as well having written for Marvel Comics, primarily one-shots featuring Spider-Man.
