Last fall, a group of Black Broadway stars gathered for a concert at Howard University.
On Tuesday, airs at 8 p.m. on PBS.
“The idea is to celebrate Black Broadway,” D.C. native Nova Payton told WTOP. “All of the songs were from shows performed by legendary Black artists on Broadway. 鈥� We had a huge cast of phenomenal people who came together for one night only to perform this spectacular show. 鈥� Please join the ‘Black Broadway’ celebration. You are not going to want to miss this.”
Payton will perform 鈥淚鈥檓 Here鈥� from “The Color Purple,” in which she played Celie last year at Signature Theatre, before closing the concert with “I’m Not Going” from “Dreamgirls.”
The set also includes聽Corbin Bleu’s 鈥淢ake Them Hear You鈥� from “Ragtime,”聽Nikki Ren茅e Daniels’ 鈥淏eing Alive鈥� from “Company” and 鈥淐ome Rain Or Come Shine鈥� from “St. Louis Woman,” Tiffany Mann’s 鈥淔ools Fall In Love鈥� from “Smokey Joe鈥檚 Caf茅” and 鈥淚 Got Love鈥� from “Purlie,” and Stephanie Mills’ 鈥淗ome” from “The Wiz,” which inspired Payton as a kid.
“She was the original Dorothy on Broadway, and when the national tour came through D.C. at Warner Theatre, that’s when I knew that I wanted to do musical theater,” Payton said.
You’ll also see Norm Lewis’ 鈥淚 Got Plenty O鈥� Nuttin鈥欌�� from “Porgy & Bess” and 鈥淲aiting For Life鈥� from “Once On This Island,” John Manzari’s 鈥淟ow Down Blues鈥� from “Shuffle Along,” Leah Flynn’s “Summertime鈥� from “Porgy & Bess,” Amber Iman’s 鈥淟earn To Love” from “Goddess,” Sydney James Harcourt’s 鈥淪tan鈥� Up An鈥� Fight鈥� from “Carmen Jones,” and Peppermint’s “Ain鈥檛 Misbehavin’.”
They’re all joined聽by student choirs from Howard University and Morgan State University.
“I’m honored to be on the faculty at Howard University right now, so a lot of my babies in the musical theater department auditioned,” Payton said. “It was a huge thing for them. They were so excited. I know I would have been excited at that age to live my dream singing and working with such amazing artists. Who wouldn’t want to perform with an orchestra?”
That’s right, it’s all backed by the American Pops Orchestra under Music Director Luke Frazier, who passes the baton to guest conductors, including Dr. Eric Conway (Morgan State University), Brittany Chanell Johnson (Howard University), Sean Mayes (Broadway鈥檚 “Hadestown” and “Michael Jackson: the Musical”) and Dr. Eric Poole (Howard University).
The broadcast will also feature interviews with Tony-winning actor Brian Stokes Mitchell and Broadway veterans E. Clayton Cornelious, Allyson Tucker and Ephraim Sykes.
Listen to our full conversation here.
