NEW YORK (WABC) -- The Museum of Broadway is well-known for its immersive celebration of all things theater. And in honor of Black History Month, a new pop-up exhibit is celebrating the Black storytellers of the past and present -- while looking toward the future.
On the walls of the museum, a story of excellence unfolds - from the early pioneers who broke barriers to the voices shaping theater today.
In the special exhibit celebrating Black History Month, "Crafting Excellence" showcases the Black storytellers who have shaped American theater.
"So it's very much in keeping with the themes of the museum, this idea that we are standing on the shoulders of people who have come before us, and also a theme that is very much in my own work and certainly in the museum, this connection between past, present and future," said Ben West, an author and theater artist historian.
The exhibit highlights the contributions of more than 40 trailblazers, including legends like Duke Ellington, Lorraine Hansberry and Langston Hughes.
It also features iconic costumes, including ones worn by Eartha Kitt, Denzel Washington and Cynthia Erivo in "The Color Purple."
"So folks will walk in, and they will encounter a section dedicated to the past," West said. "The first thing that we see here, of course, are the four gentlemen who created 'Shuffle Along.'"
The history lesson continues with trailblazers like Bob Cole, known as the father of Black musical theater, who fought for better working conditions and pay in the early 1900s.
"And really a remarkable figure who fought directly against racism in his own career, in terms of fighting for better working conditions and better pay in this particular troop he was in that was managed by white individuals, and then leaving because of it," West said.
West explained he was then arrested for theft because he took his material.
"So there are these remarkable stories of people overcoming these dire obstacles," West said. "I think the other thing to take away is we have had Black stories all along. We have had Black voices all along in terms of Broadway, what we think of Broadway. And I think what is exciting is that the dimension that is being shown on stage continues to expand, and we are seeing new ways of looking at Black life, at African American life, and so that representation continues to expand beyond what we may have seen early in the 20th century, which was in itself, I will add, groundbreaking."
Also displayed on the walls are the faces of the current generation of Black voices transforming theater.
From Lynn Nottage's powerful dramas to Michael R. Jackson's groundbreaking "A Strange Loop," Katori Hall's "Tina" and George C. Wolfe, who helms the revolutionary production of "Gypsy."
"I think it's a very exciting time for Black voices and for, I think, the theater in general, and the diversity of offerings, the diversity of stories, and I don't just mean racial diversity, but thematic diversity," West said.
West explained that theater is entertainment, but at the same time, it is a reflection of us.
West said it is all connected and he hopes people will come to the museum and to the exhibit to see there are Black voices that were part of the conversation throughout the history of Broadway.
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