Vincent William and his Black Theater Alliance Awards Committee have chosen the singer and Broadway star Melba Moore to receive the 15th Annual Black Theatre Alliance Ira Aldridge Award of Merit.
Vincent William and his Black Theater Alliance Awards Committee have chosen the singer and Broadway star Melba Moore to receive the 15th Annual Black Theatre Alliance Ira Aldridge Award of Merit. The honor is a lifetime achievement award that will be presented to the Tony Award-winning Moore on October 5 at the Crowne Plaza Chicago Metro Hotel Ballroom, 733 W. Madison Street.
Moore made her Broadway debut in 1967 as a member of the original cast of the musical Hair with Ronnie Dyson and Diane Keaton. Moore replaced Keaton and became the first Black actor to replace a white one in a leading role on Broadway. In 1970, Moore won a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical for her role as Lutiebelle in Purlie. In 1978 she co-starred with Eartha Kitt in Timbuktu!
Two years later Melba Moore became seriously involved in a recording career. She signed with Mercury Records and released her premiere single I Am Love, followed by Look What You’re Doing To The Man. She became a superstar attraction in her first European tour, particularly in France. Upon returning to America she was featured with Clifton Davis in a CBS summer musical revue.
The Black Theater Alliance Awards, Inc. was founded and incorporated in 1995 as a 501C3, not-for-profit organization. It was established to honor African Americans who achieve excellence in theater, dance or other areas of the performing arts in the Chicago area.
THE BLACK THEATER ALLIANCE AWARDS, INC. Nominations for 2008-2009 seasons are as follow (partial): Best Play (Drama or Comedy) From The Mississippi Delta – eta Creative Arts Foundation No Experience Necessary!!!- MPAACT Pill Hill – eta Creative Arts Foundation Best Play (Musical or Revue) I Gotcha: The Story of Joe Tex and the Soul Clan – Black Ensemble Theater Sanctified – Congo Square Theater Company A Tribute To The Black Crooners- Black Ensemble Theater THE LORRAINE HANSBERRY AWARD Best Writing of a Play Lydia Diamond – Stage Black – MPACCT Kevin Douglas – No Experience Necessary!!! – MPAACT Nambi E. Kelley – Hope VI – Chicago Dramatics Lynn Nottage – Ruined – The Goodman Theatre Brian Tucker – The St. James Infirmary – Congo Square Theatre Company
THE AUGUST WILSON AWARD Best Writing of a Musical Play David Barr III/Joe Plummer – I Gotcha: The Story of Joe Tex and Soul Clan – BET Dawn Bless/Rueben Echoles – Tribute to Black Crooners – BET Javon Johnson – Sanctified – Congo Square Theatre Company McKinley Johnson – Eye of the Storm – Open Door Repertory Company
THE TARGET COMMUNITY RELATIONS AWARD Best Ensemble No Experience Necessary!!! – MPAACT Pill Hill – eta Creative Arts Foundation Sanctified – Congo Square Theatre Company Stage Black – MPAACT
THE LLOYD RICHARDS AWARD Best Direction of a Play (Drama or Comedy) Kimberly Crutcher – Radical Hearsay…Stories at Sixty One – MPAACT Aaron Todd Douglas – Pill Hill – eta Creative Arts Foundation Audrey Morgan – From The Mississippi Delta – eta Creative Arts Foundation Ron OJ Parson – The Piano Lesson – Court Theatre
BEST DIRECTION of a PLAY (Musical or Revue) Rueben Echoles and Jackie Taylor – A Tribute to the Black Crooners – BET McKinley Johnson – Eye of the Storm – Open Door Repertory Company Derrick Sanders – Sanctified – Congo Square Theatre Company Jackie Taylor – I gotcha: The Story Joe Tex/The Soul Clan – BET
The Duke Ellington Award Best Musical Direction Clifton Robinson – …the Beginning – Muntu Dance Theatre of Chicago Jimmy Tillman – Atribute to the Black Crooners – Black Theatre Company Jarett Williams – Sanctified – Congo Square Theatre Company Most Promising Actor Keith Sanga Alexander Michael Bartlett Bryson Engelen Nicole Cobb-Oliver Most Promising Actress Najwa Brown Kierra Bunch Ashlee Olivia Nicole Cobb-Oliver The Harry Belafonte Award Best Performing in an Ensemble (Actor) David Adams – Pill Hill – eta Creative Arts Foundation Cecil Burroughs – Pill Hill – eta Creative Arts Foundation Kelvin Roston – Pill Hill – eta Creative Arts Foundation Sati Word – Stage Black – MPAACT Ethel Waters Award Best Performance in an Ensemble (Actress) Kierra Bunch – From The Mississippi Delta – eta Creative Arts Foundation Kristy M. Johnson – A Song for Coretta – eclipse theatre company Ashlee Olivia – Radical
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