The Broadway League’s Black to Broadway initiative, in partnership with Black Theatre United and BTC: Building the Change, will host its sixth annual “Broadway Celebrates Juneteenth” outdoor performance in Times Square on June 19. The free concert presentation will run from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., rain or shine, in Duffy Square, situated between 46th and 47th Streets on Broadway and Seventh Avenue. Flagstar Bank is acting as the lead sponsor for the afternoon, which aims to highlight Black artists, culture and community solidarity.
Corbin Bleu, who is currently reprising his Olivier Award-nominated turn as Nick Carraway in the Broadway production of “The Great Gatsby,” is set to emcee the live event. Bleu’s previous Broadway appearances include “Kiss Me, Kate,” which brought him a Drama Desk nomination, and “Irving Berlin’s Holiday Inn,” which earned him a Chita Rivera Award. Additionally, Bleu appeared on Broadway in “Godspell” and “In the Heights” and Off-Broadway in “Little Shop of Horrors.” He is perhaps most known for playing the role of teenager Chad Danforth in Disney’s “High School Musical” franchise.
The “Broadway Celebrates Juneteenth” concert will showcase an entirely Black cast of Broadway actors delivering musical numbers backed by a live orchestra, supported by the Music Performance Trust Fund and the Film Funds. Accessibility services will include American Sign Language interpretation handled by Pro Bono ASL.
Cast members from 17 Broadway shows are scheduled to participate. The roster will include performers from “Aladdin,” “& Juliet,” “Buena Vista Social Club,” “Cats: The Jellicle Ball,” “The Great Gatsby,” “Hadestown,” “Hamilton,” “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone,” “The Lost Boys,” “MJ,” “Moulin Rouge!,” “Ragtime,” “SIX,” “Titaníque,” “Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York),” “Wicked,” the upcoming musical “Wanted” and an appearance by the performers of Young Gifted and Broadway.
The afternoon will also include the presentation of the 2026 Juneteenth Legacy Award to Debbie Allen, who is the director of this season’s Broadway revival of “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone.” Allen, a Howard University alum and a Tony nominee, holds five honorary doctorates, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and a designation as a Kennedy Center honoree. Her stage achievements include winning a Drama Desk Award for appearing as Anita in a revival of “West Side Story.” Outside theater, Allen has won four Emmy Awards for her television choreography and production work, a Golden Globe for her performance in the series “Fame” and the prestigious Governors Award from the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
The behind-the-scenes creative and management team for “Broadway Celebrates Juneteenth” will include director and writer Matthew Johnson Harris, musical director Rashad McPherson, executive producer Kendra Whitlock Ingram, stage manager Kamra A. Jacobs and general management by Bespoke Theatricals.
The Black to Broadway program was established by the Broadway League in 2019. The initiative operates year-round to build stronger ties, increase visibility and open doors within the commercial theater field for Black professionals and audiences alike, focusing on representation onstage, behind the scenes and within executive theater leadership.
