Kenny Leon
Kenny Leon
Kenny Leon is an American director notable for his work on Broadway and in regional theater. Robert Simonson of Playbill described Leon as "arguably Broadway's leading African-American director." In 2014, he won the Tony Award for Best Director of a Play for "A Raisin in the Sun."...
ProfessionDirector
Date of Birth10 February 1956
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He put our history in a storytelling context and put a human face on those people who were free from slavery but had no jobs. He gave his characters big voices, when the broader community thought they had little voices, that they had nothing to say.
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I want to be a champion of African American work, but I'm defined by more than race,
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You will not be a footnote in American history. We guarantee the young kids will know who August Wilson is.
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August's accomplishments are unsurpassed - to me, the only writer to come close is Shakespeare, ... He has been the epitome of American theater for the last 23 years. He's defined it. His plays not only serve an artistic purpose, but they also serve a social purpose because they look at ourselves as Americans.
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It's the ultimate universally engaging play, ... It was important to have 20-year-olds and 80-year-olds in the audience, to have blacks and whites in the audience.
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I never think about putting my stamp on anything, ... If someone watches a play and they don't see the hand of the director in it, if it's seamless and seems effortless, then I will have achieved what I'm after. I want folks to sit and hear August's music.
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The play has taken on a greater height of spirituality. He didn't make it. That was a painful thing, but it feels absolutely right that we are here. His family is here. His people are here.
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To see the joy of an audience watching the work and connecting to the work and understanding something about our connectedness to each other as human beings, that's immensely gratifying.