They Say The Neon Lights Are Bright On Broadway

Bright indeed! Damn near blinding for me, really. I couldn’t even see the place at first. And now I work for Broadway shows. Isn’t life funny like that?

When I was younger, I had no desire to be a part of this American entity; it was merely location in the back of my brain, not a place that I had any interest in paying to see. I thought it glorified convention and upheld some nasty stereotypes. I was convinced that there were no “real” roles for me.

But as I got older, I wanted to change Broadway since I knew it wouldn’t and couldn’t change me. Broadway became more than a location in Times Square. It was now a place where I and others like me could try to change the minds of many Americans.

But let me keep it all the way real. I didn’t always feel like Broadway could be a catalyst for reinventing minds. Let me give you a little back story—I’ll keep it short and mean.

I pursued a career in theater—musical theater in fact. I know this seems weird based on what I said earlier about not being into Broadway. But life is weird.

Many of my classmates in college could probably name the first American play to be performed on the Mayflower. Trust me. Back then, I had no clue about theater. I just wanted to sing (Please no “Mama I Wanna Sing” jokes). And I can’t even begin to count how many damn times I had to hear someone say that I could be in Aida. Thanks! Thanks people for reminding me that Broadway had only one Black show every season—I’m sorry, two, I forgot the All Great and Powerful Lion King.

Maybe I wanted to play Nellie Forbush in South Pacific…

Think before you speak, people.

Now, all this “assuming that I wanted to be Aida” crap just fueled my desire to change the face of Broadway, and this is where the shift came. I now had a need to put this undisclosed and undesired location on a universal map and incorporate the Black Voice and Black experience.

I wanted to scream, “Look what Black people did with Jazz, besides creating it. Umm, We can do the same for Broadway.” Let’s tell a real American story that is shaped by all of our experiences, Black & White and all in between.

Another thing, since I’m on a rant. Why does everybody always make excuses for these backwards people who just assume that since you’re a black woman you desperately aspire to be AIDA, NALA, or AIDA, or AIDA? “They don’t know better,” you say. “It’s innocence” and “ignorance.” “They don’t mean any harm.” Yeah right!

Think before you speak, people.

No one told little Justin Timberlake growing up to be more like Bill Gates and less like Michael Jackson.

Well, maybe his Mom did, but you know what I'm saying.