Kenny Leon
Kenny Leon | |
---|---|
U.S. | |
Alma mater | Clark Atlanta University |
Occupation(s) | Director, producer, actor |
Website | t |
Kenny Leon is an American
Leon won the
Early life and education
Leon participated in the federally funded TRIO Upward Bound college-prep program while in high school. He is a graduate of Clark Atlanta University.
Career
He gained prominence in 1990, when he became one of the few
Leon resigned from the Alliance in 2000 to take on other projects. These included being the co-founder and artistic director of
In November 2010, Leon directed
In 2014, he directed the Broadway revival of A Raisin in the Sun starring Denzel Washington and LaTanya Richardson Jackson and the Broadway premiere of the musical Holler If Ya Hear Me, featuring the discography of Tupac Shakur. A Raisin in the Sun earned Leon a Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play.[6] That same year Leon directed NPR Presents Water±, written by award-winning NPR Science Correspondent Christopher Joyce, and award-winning theater writers Arthur Yorinks and Carl Hancock Rux, with an original sound score by violinist Daniel Bernard Roumain (DBR). The show toured nationally, co-hosted by NPR's Michele Norris and WWNO's Eve Troeh and featuring Tony Award-winner Anika Noni Rose (Caroline, or Change); Tony Award-nominee Michele Shay (August Wilson's Seven Guitars); Jason Dirden (Tony Award-winning production A Raisin in the Sun); and Lucas Caleb Rooney (Boardwalk Empire).[7]
In 2015, Leon directed the live musical The Wiz for NBC. Cirque du Soleil partnered on the production with plans to bring the show to Broadway. He was slated to direct both the television production and the planned Broadway revival.[8] In 2016, Leon once again partnered with NBC for Hairspray: Live!, starring Ariana Grande, Jennifer Hudson, Kristin Chenoweth, and Harvey Fierstein.[9]
In addition to his directing experience, he has extensive acting experience on stage and in television and film. He made an appearance in the Hollywood Black Film Festival winner Big Ain't Bad, playing the role of Thomas Jordan, the mayor of Atlanta. His memoir, Take You Wherever You Go, was released in June, 2018, by Grand Central Publishing. The title derives advice he received from his grandmother, Mamie Wilson. Leon directed the 2019 Netflix film American Son, based on the play of the same name which he had directed on stage.
Most recently, he directed the Broadway premiere of Charles Fuller's Pulitzer Prize winning play, A Soldier's Play, starring Blair Underwood and David Alan Grier at Roundabout Theatre Company. He also directed The Underlying Chris at Second Stage Theatre Company and summer 2019's acclaimed production of Much Ado About Nothing at the Delacorte/Shakespeare in the Park. In May 2022, the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta debuted Trading Places: The Musical! directed by Leon.[10]
Works
Television
As a director
Year | Title | Notes |
---|---|---|
2002 | Nowhere Road | |
2008 | A Raisin in the Sun | Television movie |
2009 | Ghost Whisperer | Episode: "Excessive Forces" |
2010–11 | Private Practice | 2 episodes |
2012 | Steel Magnolias | Television movie |
2013 | The Watsons Go to Birmingham | Television movie |
2014 | In My Dreams | Television movie |
2015 | The Wiz Live! | Television special |
2016 | Hairspray Live! | Television special |
2018–21 | Dynasty | 5 episodes |
2019 | Ambitions | 2 episodes |
2019 | American Son | Television movie |
2021 | Amend: The Fight for America | 6 episodes |
2021 | Robin Roberts Presents: Mahalia | Television movie |
2021 | Colin in Black & White | Episode: "Dear Colin" |
2021 | Gossip Girl | Episode: "Posts on a Scandal" |
2021 | 4400 | Episode: "Empowered Women" |
As an actor
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1988 | Case Closed | Man in Alley | Television movie |
1990 | Web of Deceit | Dr. Poole | Television movie |
1990–91 | In the Heat of the Night | Thomas/Daryl | 2 episode |
1992 | The Nightman | Johnson | Television movie |
1992 | In the Line of Duty: Street War | Raheem | Television movie |
1993 | I'll Fly Away: Then and Now |
Arthur | Television movie |
2002 | The Rosa Parks Story | Minister #2 | Television movie |
2002 | Big Ain't Bad | Mayor Jordan | |
2012 | Kasha and the Zulu King | Kasha | Television movie |
2021 | Robin Roberts Presents: Mahalia | Professor Kendricks | Television movie |
Stage
As a director
Year | Title | Venue | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
2004 | A Raisin in the Sun | Royale Theatre , Broadway |
|
2004 | Gem of the Ocean | Walter Kerr Theatre, Broadway | |
2005 | Margaret Garner | Michigan Opera Theatre , Detroit |
|
2005 | Tambourines to Glory | Lincoln Center, Washington D.C. | |
2007 | Radio Golf | Cort Theatre , Broadway |
|
2010 | Fences | Cort Theatre , Broadway |
|
2011 | The Mountaintop | Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, Broadway | |
2011 | Stick Fly | Cort Theatre , Broadway |
|
2014 | A Raisin in the Sun | Ethel Barrymore Theatre, Broadway | |
2014 | Holler If Ya Hear Me | Palace Theatre, Broadway | |
2016 | Smart People | Second Stage Theatre , Off-Broadway |
|
2018 | Children of a Lesser God | Studio 54, Broadway | |
2018 | American Son | Booth Theatre, Broadway | [11] |
2019 | Much Ado About Nothing | Delacorte Theatre , Off-Broadway |
|
2019 | The Underlying Chris | Second Stage Theatre , Off-Broadway |
|
2019–20 | A Soldier's Play | American Airlines Theatre , Broadway |
|
2022 | King James | Steppenwolf Theatre, Chicago | |
2022 | Trading Places: The Musical! | Alliance Theatre, Atlanta | [12] |
2022 | Topdog/Underdog | Golden Theatre , Broadway |
|
2022 | Ohio State Murders | James Earl Jones Theatre, Broadway | [13] |
2023 | Purlie Victorious | Music Box Theatre, Broadway | |
2024 | Home | American Airlines Theatre , Broadway |
[14] |
2025 | Othello | TBA, Broadway | [15] |
Reception and honors
In 2004,
Leon was awarded the 2016-2017 "Mr. Abbott" Award for outstanding artistry and creativity, which is presented by the Stage Directors and Choreographers (SDC) Foundation, in recognition for his over 40-year career. In October 2017, Leon was the recipient the Governor's Award for the Arts and Humanities for the State of Georgia.[18]
He held the Denzel Washington Endowed Chair in Theatre at Fordham University, previously held by Joe Morton and Phylicia Rashad.[19]
Awards and nominations
Year | Award | Category | Project | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2004 | Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Director of a Play | A Raisin in the Sun | Nominated | [20] |
2005 | Helen Hayes Award | Outstanding Director | Tambourines to Glory | Nominated | |
2009 | Outer Critics Circle Award |
Outstanding Direction of Play | Fences | Nominated | |
2010 | Drama League Award | Excellence in Directing | Won | ||
2010 | Tony Awards | Best Direction of a Play | Nominated | ||
2014 | A Raisin in the Sun | Won | |||
2017 | Primetime Emmy Award |
Outstanding Special Class Program | Hairspray Live! | Nominated | |
2018 | Drama League Award | Outstanding Direction of Play | Children of a Lesser God | Nominated | |
2020 | Primetime Emmy Award |
Outstanding Television Movie | American Son | Nominated | |
2020 | Tony Awards | Best Direction of a Play | A Soldier's Play | Nominated | |
2021 | Primetime Emmy Award |
Outstanding Television Movie | Robin Roberts Presents: Mahalia | Nominated | [21] |
References
- ^ a b Brock, Wendell (January 2012). "Leon Takes the Lead". Jezebel Magazine. p. 48.
'It doesn't get better than that...' says the Tallahassee, Fla., native who turns 56 in February.
- ^ Search Past Winners. History. Tony Awards. Archived 2016-08-31 at the Wayback Machine t IBM Corp., Tony Award Productions 2000, 2015. Retrieved November 29, 2015
- ^ "Honorary Planetary Citizen of the Month". gccalliance.org. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
- ^ "Kenny Leon's True Colors Theatre". Kenny Leon's True Colors Theatre. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
- ^ Simi Horwitz, "Interview - Director Kenny Leon Juggles 'Dinner,' 'Steel Magnolias,' and Tupac Musical", Backstage, April 11, 2012.
- ^ ""A RAISIN IN THE SUN's Kenny Leon Wins Tony for Best Direction of a Play", "Broadwayworld.com", June 8, 2014". broadwayworld.com. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
- ^ Leon, Kenny (25 November 2014). "NPR Presents Water±". NPR.org. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
- ^ ""'The Wiz' Set as NBC's Next Live Musical", "Hollywood Reporter", March 30, 2015". hollywoodreporter.com. 30 March 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
- ^ Firestone, Lonnie (6 December 2016). "Hairspray Live Is Figuring Out How to Perfect the Live Musical". HWD. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
- ^ "Alliance's "Trading Places" musical trades some dated plotlines for inclusiveness". June 2022.
- ^ Libbey, Peter (8 June 2018). "Kerry Washington Is Going From the Beltway to Broadway". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
- ^ ArtsATL.org (June 1, 2022) https://www.artsatl.org/alliances-trading-places-musical-trades-some-dated-plotlines-for-inclusiveness/
- ^ Green, Jesse (8 December 2022). "Review: Who Committed the 'Ohio State Murders'? Who Didn't?". The New York Times. Retrieved 2022-12-14.
- ^ RoundaboutTheatre.org https://www.roundabouttheatre.org/get-tickets/2023-2024-season/home/
- ^ "Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal to Lead Broadway 'Othello'". The New York Times. Retrieved March 6, 2024.
- ^ "Honoree Kenny Leon".
- ^ ""A RAISIN IN THE SUN's Kenny Leon Wins Tony for Best Direction of a Play", "Broadwayworld.com", June 8, 2014". broadwayworld.com. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
- ^ "Georgia Council for the Arts - Governor's Awards for the Arts and Humanities". gaarts.org. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
- ^ "Going Universal with Kenny Leon, New Denzel Washington Chair". Fordham Newsroom. 8 September 2014. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
- ^ "Kenny Leon". Playbill.com. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
- ^ "Primetime Emmy Awards Calendar". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
External links
- Kenny Leon Productions
- Kenny Leon at IMDb
- Kenny Leon at the Internet Broadway Database