What makes a producer?
As far as I know there has been only one black lead producing team on Broadway. It is Front Row productions, run by Stephen C. Byrd and Alia Jones-Harvey. Their first production was in 2008.
There are other black men and women who have produced on Broadway, just not as lead producers. Considering that blacks have been involved in Broadway theater since the late 1800’s, this is unacceptable.
We need to change this.
Who’s in Charge?
A lead producer is the boss. The person who makes the decisions. The person who decides which play or musical will be done. You can’t change what is done on Broadway without changing who is doing the producing.
I got started in producing in a manner similar to other producers I know. After a successful business career and bumping up against midlife, I was looking for something else to do. I met a playwright who had a play, but no idea of what to do next. I offered business advice, and got hooked. I became a producer.
This is how producers get made. A person with a business background contributes their expertise to a work of theater.
If you are a black actor, playwright, composer, or designer, and have a college friend involved in the business world, you need to encourage them to be a producer. You don’t need to have money to be a producer, just have friends who do.
Greater diversity in producers means greater diversity on stage.