On-and-Off black Broadway Shows you Must see

Skeleton Crew

In this deeply American morality play, it is 2008 Detroit, a small automotive factory is on the brink of foreclosure, and a tight-knit family of workers hangs in the balance. With uncertainty everywhere, the line between blue-collar and white-collar becomes blurred, and this working family must reckon with their personal loyalties, their instincts for survival, and their ultimate hopes for humanity.

Clyde's

In this stirring new play from the team of two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage and director Kate Whoriskey (Ruined, Sweat), a truck stop sandwich shop offers its formerly incarcerated kitchen staff a shot at reclaiming their lives. Even as the shop’s callous owner tries to keep them under her thumb, the staff members are given purpose and permission to dream by their shared quest to create the perfect sandwich.

Lackawanna Blues

Lackawanna Blues is an American play written by Ruben Santiago-Hudson that premiered in 2001. It was later adapted as a television movie that aired in 2005. The play dramatizes the character of the author's primary caregiver when he was growing up in Lackawanna, New York, during the 1950s and 1960s.​

Chicken and Bisquits

Chicken & Biscuits is a raucous family comedy by Douglas Lyons full of laughter and love starring Norm Lewis and Michael Urie. The Jenkins family is coming together to celebrate the life of their father — hopefully without killing each other. 

Thoughts Of A Colored Man

Thoughts of a Colored Man is a new American play for a new Broadway. As the sun rises on a single day in the pulsing heart of Brooklyn, seven Black men are about to discover the extraordinary - together.

The Tina Turner Musical

From humble beginnings in Nutbush, Tennessee, to her transformation into the global Queen of Rock 'n' Roll, Tina Turner didn't just break the rules, she rewrote them. This new hit stage musical, presented in association with Tina Turner herself, reveals the untold story of a woman who dared to defy the bounds of her age, gender and race.​

Ain't Too Proud

Experience the amazing journey of one of Motown’s biggest acts in this exciting new musical on Broadway. Ain’t Too Proud follows the life and times of The Temptations as they rise to the top of the charts with their smooth sounds and unforgettable dance moves. With a soundtrack packed with cherished hits including “My Girl,” “Get Ready” and “Just My Imagination,” this show will have you tapping your feet to the sounds that made music history. 

Hitzville: The Show

Detroit native Jin Jin Reeves wows crowds as she headlines a 90-minute show that perfectly recreates the glory days of Motown. Reeves -- the show’s producer as well as being a gifted singer/songwriter -- delivers stunning performances as Gladys Knight, Diana Ross and Tina Turner that radiate refined star power.

 

Purple Reign

Dazzling performer Jason Tenner along with an all-star cast will have you singing, dancing and reminiscing to Prince’s greatest hits throughout his celebrated career. Dust off your Raspberry Beret and rock out to songs like “When Doves Cry,” “Purple Rain,” and of course “1999,” which will have you partying in your seats like it’s – you guessed it – 1999!

Trouble in Mind

A scathing indictment of racism in American commercial theatre, Trouble in Mind tells the story of Wiletta Mayer, an African-American actress cast in a supposedly “progressive” play about racism by a white male author—it turns out to be anything but progressive, both in terms of its script and rehearsal environment.

 

 

Michael Jackson ONE

Michael Jackson ONE is an electrifying fusion of acrobatics, dance and visuals that reflects the dynamic showmanship of the King of Pop, immersing the audience into the world of Michael's music. Driven by his biggest hits heard like never before in a riveting, state-of-the-art surround-sound environment Michael Jackson ONE by Cirque du Soleil performs exclusively at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas.

 

Human Nature

A mix of Motown, doo-wop, soul and pop classics are taken up a notch in Sin City by a quartet from Down Under. Australian exports Toby Allen, Phil Burton, and brothers Andrew and Michael Tierney delight crowds at The Venetian with their smooth, dynamic harmonies that have made them a chart topper in their home country and a worthy resident performer on the Las Vegas Strip for several years.

Chicago

It is the mid-1920s, in Chicago Illinois. Starring Lana Gordon as Velma Kelly, who, with her sister, performed a famous and popular double-act (until Velma is arrested for the murder of her sister and husband, who she found in bed together) welcomes the audience to the show (“All That Jazz”) Real Housewives of Atlanta. Real Housewives of Atlanta' star Kandi Burrus is set to play Matron “Mama” Morton.

The Color Purple

Based upon Alice Walker’s acclaimed novel of the same name, The Color Purple is the epic tale of 40-years in the life of a family in rural Georgia. At its center is fourteen-year-old Celie. When Celie is forced by her abusive father to marry a cruel farmer, called “Mister,” she is separated from all that she loves. Ultimately, Celie conquers the odds to find her voice and her strength, coming into her own.

West Side Story

 

​A musical in which a modern-day Romeo and Juliet are involved in New York street gangs. On the harsh streets of the upper west side, two gangs battle for control of the turf. The situation becomes complicated when a gang members falls in love with a rival's sister.

Stomp

Stomp features performances by dancer-choreographer Kayla Cowart, Afro-Brazilian (Bahia) composer, musician, percussionist and producer Marivaldo Dos Santos and West African/Afro-Caribbean percussionist/dancer, and Urban Style dancer Desmond Howard

 

Memphis - The Musical

Memphis is set in the places where rock and roll was born in the 1950s: the seedy nightclubs, radio stations and recording studios of the musically-rich Tennessee city. With an original score, it tells the fictional story of DJ Huey Calhoun, a good ole’ local boy with a passion for R&B music and Felicia Farrell, an up-and-coming black singer that he meets one fateful night on Beale Street. 

Aladdin

Aladdin (Adam Jacobs) is a penniless street urchin who falls in love with Princess Jasmine (Courtney Reed) and rescues her from the villainous Jafar (Jonathan Freeman) after discovering a magic lamp containing a mischievous Genie (James Monroe Iglehart). The New Amsterdam Theater has been renovated to accommodate the mystical visual-effects miracles conjured up by the genie.

A Bronx Tale - The Musical

A Bronx Tale, is the new musical based on Chazz Palminteri’s solo play that inspired the film. Set during the 1960s, the heartwarming and dramatic story follows an Italian-American teenager torn between a loving bus driver father and the fascinating neighborhood mob boss. Featuring an original do-wop score, A Bronx Tale is a show about respect, growing up and, above all, family.

Pass Over

Jon Michael Hill and Namir Smallwood play Moses and Kitch, two young men waiting on a street corner, trying to figure out a way into the promised land when two different strangers (both played by Gabriel Ebert) disrupt their plans.​

Hamilton: The Musical

Take a wild ride through early American history with Hamilton, the rap-and-hip-hop infused new musical about Alexander Hamilton, our most controversial founding father, now on Broadway after a sell-out engagement at Off-Broadway’s Public Theater.

 

The Lion King

The story is simple but timeless: The lion cub Simba, who is born in the African heartland, is destined to become king. But evil interferes: The devious uncle Scar slays Simba’s father, King Mufasa, and blames it on the young cub. Simba, deeply sad and ashamed, goes into self-exile. As Simba wanders the jungle, he grows into a lion, and eventually returns to reclaim the throne.

Hadestown

The celebrated new musical that follows the mythical quest of Orpheus to overcome Hades and regain the favor of his one true love.​

Cats

Starring Ken Page as Old Deuteronomy and Femi Taylor as Exotica, Cats is set in a larger-than-life junkyard playground where the Jellicle Cats come out to play on one special night of the year – the night of the Jellicle Ball. One by one they tell their stories for the amusement of Old Deuteronomy, their wise and benevolent leader, who must choose one of the Cats to ascend to The Heaviside Layer and be reborn into a whole new Jellicle life.

 

On and off-Broadway plays, acted, produced, or written by Black playwrights including new plays this fall (2021). Las Vegas Shows added. 

Stream Broadway Shows and Musicals Online