Black Theatre Coalition hosted its inaugural Building the Change gala February 12 at the Rainbow Room in New York City. Go inside the starry event with the photos below.
Producer and director Ava DuVernay was honored with the Poitier-Belafonte Award for Cultural Activism at the event, which also honored actor and television personality La La Anthony, who received the Lynn Nottage Bold Beacon Award; and the National Black Theatre, which received the Chadwick Boseman Changemaker Award.
The evening included performances by Grammy winner BeBe Winans, Tony and Grammy winner Jennifer Holliday, and Tony winner Alex Newell, preceded by a cocktail hour and seated dinner.
Reggie Van Lee, Jennifer Holliday, and BeBe Winans
Broadway Inspirational Voices
Jennifer Holliday
Jennifer Holliday
Jennifer Holliday
Lala Anthony
Alex Newell
Alex Newell
BeBe Winans
T. Oliver Reid, LaChanze, Amber Iman, Allyson Tucker, and Brenda Braxton
LaChanze and Charles Randolph-Wright
Cody Renard Richard, Amber Iman, and Alex Newell
BeBe Winans
Allyson Tucker
Cody Renard Richard
Jonathan McCrory, Kevin Boseman, and Sade Lythcott
Kevin Boseman
Laura Benanti and Alexa Smith
Alex Newell
Naila McKenzie Ross, Warren Adams, T. Oliver Reid, Aaliytha Stevens, and Reggie Van Lee
Warren Adams and T. Oliver Reid
Warren Adams, Jonathan McCrory, Sade Lythcott, and T. Oliver Reid
Jonathan McCrory and Sade Lythcott
Reggie Van Lee
Ari Fulton, Dominique Morisseau, and Jimmy Keys
The Honorary Gala Host Committee included Alicia Keys, André De Shields, Naturi Naughton, Hugh Jackman, Alex Newell, Irene Gandy, Temah Higgins, Yvonne Durant, and Cordey Lash.
The Black Theatre Coalition was founded by T. Oliver Reid, Warren Adams, and Reginald "Reggie" Van Lee in 2019. The coalition works to "remove the 'illusion of inclusion' in the American Theatre by building a sustainable ethical roadmap that will increase employment opportunities for Black theatre professionals."
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