Kenny Leon | |
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| Born | Kenneth Leroy Leon (1956-02-10)February 10, 1956 (age 70)[1] |
| Alma mater | Clark Atlanta University |
| Occupations | Director, producer, actor |
Kenny Leon is an American director and actor. He is notable for his extensive work onBroadway and television as well as in regional theater. He has received aTony Award and aDrama League Award as well as nominations for threePrimetime Emmy Awards and aDrama Desk Award.
Leon won theTony Award forBest Direction of a Play forA Raisin in the Sun (2014).[2] He was Tony-nominated forFences (2010) andA Soldier's Play (2019). He has also directed notable productions ofRadio Golf (2007),Topdog/Underdog (2022),Purlie Victorious (2023) andOur Town (2024). He receivedPrimetime Emmy Award nominations forHairspray Live! (2017),American Son (2019), andRobin Roberts Presents: Mahalia (2021).
Kenny Leon was born on February 10, 1956, in Tallahassee, Florida.[3] His father is Leroy Leon,[3] and his mother is Annie Ruth, who was 15 when she gave birth to Kenny.[4] He has five siblings.[3] In Tallahassee, he lived with his grandmother, Maime Wilson Roberts Harris,[4] and attended a one-room school house.[4]
When he was nine years, he moved from Tallahassee toSt. Petersburg, Florida.[3] He attended 16th Street Junior High and Northeast High School.[5] In high school, he participated in a federally fundedUpward Bound academic and cultural enrichment program atFlorida Presbyterian College.[3][5] He made his stage debut in a Upward Bound theater production.[5]Angela Bassett was also a theater student in the program.[6] He graduated from Northeast High School in 1974.[6]
For college, Leon attendedClark Atlanta University, where he received his B.A. degree in political science in 1978.[3] After college graduation, he enrolled inSouthwestern University School of Law.[3] In 1979, he dropped out of law school and returned to Atlanta to pursue a theatrical career.[3]
Leon got his first break working at the Academy Theatre inHapeville, Georgia.[4][7]
In 1988, he was selected as associate artistic director of theAlliance Theatre Company,[7] the largest theater company in Atlanta. In 1990, he was named the Alliance'sartistic director and became one of the fewAfrican Americans to lead a large nonprofit theater company in the United States.[8] During Leon's tenure, the company staged premieres ofPearl Cleage'sBlues for an Alabama Sky,Alfred Uhry'sThe Last Night of Ballyhoo, andElton John andTim Rice'smusicalAida, which went on toBroadway. The Alliance's endowment also rose from $1 to $5 million during his time there.
Leon resigned from the Alliance in 2000 to take on other projects. These included being the co-founder and artistic director ofTrue Colors Theatre Company,[9] a group based in both Atlanta andWashington, D.C.[7] He also took his talents to Broadway. In the spring of 2004, he directed a revival ofLorraine Hansberry'sA Raisin in the Sun, starringSean Combs,Phylicia Rashad andAudra McDonald, in his Broadway debut. At the end of that year, he directed the Broadway premiere ofAugust Wilson'sGem of the Ocean. In 2005, he directedMargaret Garner, an opera byRichard Danielpour with a libretto byToni Morrison. In spring 2007, he directed August Wilson'sRadio Golf. All three plays were nominated forTony Awards, and Leon was aDrama Desk Award nominee forA Raisin in the Sun. He also directed the television version ofA Raisin in the Sun, which aired onABC in February 2008. He was nominated for a Tony Award in 2010 for Best Director for his work onAugust Wilson'sFences, starringDenzel Washington andViola Davis, earning them both nominations and wins for Best Actor and Actress in a Play.
In November 2010, Leon directedPhylicia Rashad in the world premiere stage playEvery Tongue Confess written byMarcus Gardley, which ran at theArena Stage in Washington, D.C. Leon has also directed plays at theCincinnati Playhouse in the Park, theHuntington Theatre Company inBoston, theNew York Shakespeare Festival, theGoodman Theatre inChicago, and other venues. In January 2012, he completed aLifetime Original Television remake ofSteel Magnolias.[1] Other projects at that time included the world premiere of a staged adaptation of the 1967 filmGuess Who's Coming to Dinner at theKenny Leon's True Colors Theatre Company; and a musical inspired by the work ofrapperTupac Shakur.[10]
In 2014, he directed the Broadway revival ofA Raisin in the Sun starring Denzel Washington andLaTanya Richardson Jackson and the Broadway premiere of the musicalHoller 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.[11] That same year Leon directedNPR Presents Water±, written by award-winning NPR Science Correspondent Christopher Joyce, and award-winning theater writersArthur Yorinks andCarl Hancock Rux, with an original sound score by violinistDaniel Bernard Roumain (DBR). The show toured nationally, co-hosted by NPR'sMichele Norris andWWNO's Eve Troeh and featuring Tony Award-winnerAnika Noni Rose (Caroline, or Change); Tony Award-nomineeMichele Shay (August Wilson'sSeven Guitars); Jason Dirden (Tony Award-winning productionA Raisin in the Sun); and Lucas Caleb Rooney (Boardwalk Empire).[12]
In 2015, Leon directed the live musicalThe Wiz forNBC.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.[13] In 2016, Leon once again partnered with NBC forHairspray Live!, starringAriana Grande,Jennifer Hudson,Kristin Chenoweth, andHarvey Fierstein.[14]
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 winnerBig Ain't Bad, playing the role of Thomas Jordan, the mayor ofAtlanta. 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 2019Netflix filmAmerican Son, based on the play of the same name which he had directed on stage.
In 2019, he directed the Broadway premiere of Charles Fuller's Pulitzer Prize winning play,A Soldier's Play, starringBlair Underwood andDavid Alan Grier atRoundabout Theatre Company. He also directedThe Underlying Chris at Second Stage Theatre Company and summer 2019's acclaimed production ofMuch Ado About Nothing at the Delacorte/Shakespeare in the Park. In May 2022, theAlliance Theatre in Atlanta debutedTrading Places: The Musical! directed by Leon.[15]
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 | 6 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 |
As a director
As an actor
| Year | Title | Role | Venue | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Gem of the Ocean | Citizen Barlow | Goodman Theatre, Chicago | |
| 2009 | Blood Knot | Zachariah | Balzer Theatre, Atlanta |
In 2004,People named him one of the "50 Most Beautiful People" of the year. In 2007, he was a recipient of the 2007 Georgia Arts and Entertainment Legacy Award for his contributions toGeorgia's cultural legacy.[25] In 2010, Leon won the Drama League Award for Excellence in Directing for the playFences. In 2014 he won theTony Award for Best Direction of a Play forA Raisin in the Sun.[26]
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.[27]
He held the Denzel Washington Endowed Chair in Theatre atFordham University, previously held byJoe Morton andPhylicia Rashad.[28]
'It doesn't get better than that...' says the Tallahassee, Fla., native who turns 56 in February.
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