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5 months ago
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The Black Women on Broadway Awards, which celebrates the legacy and achievements of Black women in the Broadway community, announced they are returning for their third annual in-person event where Irene Gandy, Aisha Jackson and DeDe Ayite will be honored. The 2024 BWOB Awards will take place in New York City at The Lighthouse at Chelsea Piers on June 10 for their work at the highest level of commercial live theater in the U.S.
The awards show, which is an offshoot of the Black Women on Broadway (BWOB) Instagram account launched in June 2020 and lead by Oscar and Tony nominee Danielle Brooks, Amber Iman and Jocelyn Bioh, who just received a Drama League and Outer Critics Circle nomination for her Broadway play Jaja’s African Hair Braiding.
“We are thrilled to be able to host the 3rd Annual Black Women on Broadway Awards Celebration. It is our goal as an organization to honor and celebrate the achievements of Black Women in theater both on and off Broadway each season,” said the co-founders. “This year, we are proud to honor Aisha Jackson, Dede Ayite and Irene Gandy – three incredibly hard-working women in theater whose achievements deserve to be celebrated.”
Aisha Jackson will receive the Florence Mills Shining Star Award which was created to honor a Black Woman performer in theater. Jackson has been working on Broadway for the last 10 years and appeared in shows like Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, Waitress, and Frozen, where she made history as the first Black actress to perform the role of ‘Anna’ in the production. Most recently, she played ‘Snow White’ in the Britney Spears jukebox musical Once Upon a One More Time and the City Center Encores production of Pal Joey.
Dede Ayite will receive the Kathy A. Perkins Behind the Curtain Award which focuses on costume work on Broadway. Ayite, a two-time Tony Nominated costume designer, worked on a record six shows this season both on and off Broadway including Hell’s Kitchen, Jaja’s African Hair Braiding, Days of Wine and Roses, and Buena Vista Social Club.
Irene Gandy will receive the Audra McDonald Legacy Award for her outstanding achievements in producing and marketing on Broadway for over 50 years. Gandy is a 2020 Tony Honoree for Excellence in Theatre and multiple Tony Winner and some of her Broadway producing credits include The Piano, Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill, The Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, Ohio State Murders and the 2023 Revival of Ossie Davis’ Purlie Victorious.
“It is so important that we continue to shine a light on the outstanding contribution that Black Women in the theater community bring on and off stage. For the past two years, we have seen how inspiring and vital this celebration has been and we hope for it to be a mainstay of the theater awards season,” the co-founders continue.
The organization is one of the few places in the theater community that not only explicitly celebrates the talents of Black women in the New York industry but elevates those who work onstage and off. Like the BWOB Instagram account, the awards ceremony – which has now become an annual event — serves not only as a point of reference for the various and sometimes historically erased accomplishments of Black women working in theater industry, but as a place of commune and community.
The BWOB co-founders are still in the trenches and grassroots stages of their third iteration, with Brooks, Iman and Bioh spearheading all of this and raising the funds themselves. This year’s awards are sponsored by Fractured Atlas.
