As Black History Month ended and Women’s History Month started on March 1, it’s made me reminisce about all the influential Black women who have helped pave the way for girls like me. Particularly, the women onstage and onscreen. As a Musical Theater major, you often get asked “What made you choose theater?” or “Who do you look up to?” and “What inspired you to perform?”
My answer always starts with ‘Annie,’ the 1999 Walt Disney Television Movie based on the 1924 comic strip and 1977 stage musical by Charles Strouse, Martin Charnin, and Thomas Meehan. If you’re envisioning Carol Burnett and a little white girl with a big red afro, you’re thinking of the 1982 movie, which is equally as iconic, but nowhere nearly as impactful in terms of casting and production value.
This version itself was campy with exaggerated New York accents and fantastical costuming, over-the-top choreography, and the cast left it all on the stage- or, rather, screen. We had Kathy Bates as Miss Hannigan, Alan Cumming, and Kristin Chenoweth as Rooster and Lily St. Regis, and even Victor Garber as Oliver Warbucks. But the one who stood out to me was Audra McDonald as Grace Farrell, personal secretary (turned wife) to Mr. Warbucks.
I knew from the first time I heard her voice what I wanted to be when I grew up. I always went into a trance whenever she appeared on-screen. Her voice mesmerized me, her depiction of Miss Farrell was regal yet loving, and it was almost like I was in the movie with her. Watching her is what made me decide to pursue Musical Theater, at the age of 10. And now, nearly 10 years since then, Audra McDonald has become the mother of Black Broadway.
Audra McDonald is considered a household name in the theater world. Starring in iconic shows such as ‘Porgy and Bess’, ‘Ragtime’, and ‘A Raisin In The Sun’, McDonald has not only understood the assignment, but she’s practically teaching the Master Class. With a career spanning an impressive 30 years, McDonald is truly a force to be reckoned with. As a graduate of The Juilliard School’s vocal performance program, Audra McDonald came out of the gate swinging, making her Broadway debut in her undergraduate years, and at 23 years old, winning her first Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical in ‘Carousel’ at Lincoln Center in 1994, just one year after graduating.
Over the next 20 years, McDonald managed to pick up five additional Tony Awards in 1996 (for Master Class), 1998 (for Ragtime), 2004 (For A Raisin In The Sun), 2012 (For Porgy and Bess) and 2014 (For Lady Day At Emerson’s Bar and Grille). It was also in 2014 that McDonald tied the record for the most decorated performer by the Tony Awards with six total wins, and became the first (and as of 2024, still the only) performer to win in all four acting categories: featured actress in a play, featured actress in a musical, leading actress in a play and leading actress in a musical. But offstage, McDonald still made her way as a national figure, earning the National Medal of Arts from President Barack Obama in 2015, an honorary Doctor of Music from Yale University in 2016, and induction into The Lincoln Center Hall of Fame’s Inaugural Class in 2017.
Outside of the stamp she’s left on Broadway as a performer, McDonald’s philanthropy has made a lasting impact on the world at large. In 2014, McDonald joined the board of directors for Covenant House, an organization that specializes in helping homeless and at-risk youths and was the recipient of their 2018 Beacon Of Hope Award. In June 2020, following the death of George Floyd, the surge of the Black Lives Matter movement, and calls for racial reform within the theater industry, McDonald along with 17 other prominent Black Broadway stars, including Billy Porter and Lilias White, founded Black Theatre United. BTU’s main purpose is to “tell [Black] stories, preserve our history, and ensure the legacy of Black theatre as American culture”, as they strive to educate and empower the work of young and upcoming Black theatre artists, both onstage and off.
With all the things I’ve learned about McDonald over the years, I couldn’t be prouder of 5-year-old me for picking the best role model imaginable. Audra McDonald is the epitome of talent, style, and grace all packed into one powerhouse performer. She’s the woman who has continued to inspire me every day, and one day, I hope to be someone’s Audra. If you’ve ever wanted to casually get into musicals, Audra’s your best bet. And she’s got over 50+ career credits to choose from! So, on behalf of me at 5, 13, and 19 years old: Audra McDonald, you will always be famous.