00:00So you're the only female director in your category tonight.
00:03That's correct, and I'm the first black woman to be nominated twice for Best Direction of a Play.
00:08First of all, congratulations. How does that feel?
00:11It feels momentous. A lot of people tonight might make history and I'm really proud to be a part of
00:16that.
00:17And also it's a celebration. We made it through another season on Broadway.
00:22Do you think it's a shame that there's not enough women, not more women in your category?
00:25Of course, and I have to give a big shout out to the other women who did direct on Broadway
00:30this season.
00:31We had four other women with productions and Phyllida Lloyd brought Mamma Mia, five of us total.
00:35Congrats to you all. Your work was wonderful and I saw each and every one of your plays.
00:40Do you feel like the Tonys have been getting it right in recent years?
00:44I want to say yes. I think that they're trying to get it right.
00:47You know, it's a small community, weirdly. We all know and love each other and we have to support each
00:52other.
00:52And so I know everyone's acting in good faith. We just have to keep going.
00:56How would you think that we can move forward in a better way, like socially?
01:00I think we have to keep doing more work that's daring, more work that seems like a risk, because that's
01:05the work that people remember.
01:06The only reason why I'm standing here is because I directed a political work, a risky work that reminded people
01:12that maybe we need to fight a little bit harder.
01:15And I think that should give producers and all of Broadway a lot more courage to take those risks.
01:20Speaking of political risks, this is on CBS tonight with 60 Minutes.
01:24I mean, what happened to Scott last week is pretty, would have never thought we saw that.
01:28How does that make you feel, you know, when you're here tonight?
01:32Well, media is very important. I myself grew up in the Midwest, in Chicago, and I remember how important CBS
01:37was.
01:38And it was our window to the world in so many ways, and it still is. So we have to
01:42be very careful.
01:43We have to protect journalism. Media is still how we get our news and understand the world and contextualize everything
01:49around us.
01:49We have to protect that. And I'd like to think that theater is a part of protecting the stories we
01:54all need to hear equally in every corner of the country.
01:57When you look at all the stories here tonight, do you see Trumpism as kind of a common theme?
02:02Like, do you think what's happening at a political level in the White House is kind of like coming down
02:07to the shows that we're consuming on Broadway?
02:10I don't know if it's coming all the way down, but I do think it's making us all have a
02:14deeper search for the truth.
02:15That's what I think I feel rippling. Liberation is like that.
02:18Liberation is about a journalist who's looking for the truth about herself, about femininity, and about her mother.
02:23And there are a lot of plays this year based on true stories. I think we're all looking for something
02:28real.
02:29Ragtime also feels like a great American true story. And I think, if anything, we're all looking for a little
02:36bit of truth in our lives.
02:37Yeah. That's a great way to put it, the truth.
02:39I think a couple years ago we didn't have that permeating every theater so much.
02:45But we have it this year, and I think it's for a reason.
02:48Well, if you read all the Pew Research studies, like the trust in institutions that is a generational low.
02:53Why do you think that is, and how do you think we can kind of get back to a place
02:56where we have a little more trust?
02:57Well, this is a big question, because I'm only here because I found the right institutions to help me nurture
03:03myself and my talents,
03:04either educational institutions or not-for-profit institutions.
03:07I do one Broadway show a year. When I'm not there, I'm working at a not-for-profit theater.
03:12And so, trust in institutions crumbles when we can't have faith in our leaders.
03:16And it's really important, because so many people like me, who have humble beginnings, who don't come here with a
03:21lot of money in our pockets,
03:22we need to come up through institutions and institutional learning.
03:25So, I really hope that my legacy is involved with protecting the institutions that help make me who I am.
03:31And get people to volunteer more and work with nonprofits more.
03:34Yes, it's finally the first year when volunteers knock on my door, I'm like, I'm ready.
03:38You know, and they're always a little shocked.
03:40These men and women and wonderful people that come to the door, they sometimes expect no one to answer.
03:45But I think we're all starting to answer the call.
03:48Who's a famous Broadway legend that you found was really generous with their time when it came to volunteering?
03:54I think Keisha Lewis, in so many ways of Hell's Kitchen, volunteered herself in her time to make a statement
03:59on how black women should be treated.
04:02And I just respect her so much.
04:03And I see her as a leader of what Broadway is.
04:06You know, and I feel whenever I'm around her, she gives me her time.
04:09And LaShawn's, you know, these women are building bricks for all of us.
04:14Thanks.
Comments