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Rick Miramontez / Marie Bshara
rick@omdkc.com / marie@omdk.com
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, PLEASE

BROADWAY RECORDS
AND
BLACK THEATRE COALITION
TO RELEASE
“BLACK WRITERS AMPLIFIED”

AN ALBUM
CONSISTING OF ENTIRELY NEW WORK BY
ESTABLISHED AND EMERGING
BLACK MUSICAL THEATRE WRITERS

SUBMISSIONS NOW BEING ACCEPTED

New York, NY (February 10, 2021) – Broadway Records and Black Theatre Coalition (BTC) announced today the creation of Black Writers Amplified, an album consisting entirely of new works by Black musical theatre writers, to be released in 2021. Black Writers Amplified is a project to immediately take steps toward significantly increased representation of Black writers in musical theatre and hold the American Theatre accountable through the creation of a resource for artistic directors, producers and other theatre creators to find and support new voices and emerging Black talent.

The album will feature approximately two dozen tracks from established and emerging Black musical theatre writers. Each participating writer will contribute a never-before recorded composition from a musical theatre piece to be included on the album. Songs will be selected by a panel of experienced industry professionals. In addition to elevating the voices of black writers, the production of the album will also create opportunities for Black engineers, arrangers, orchestrators, musical directors, copyists, musical contractors and musicians, thus creating a platform for the entire Black theatrical music ecosystem.

Established and emerging Black musical theatre writers are encouraged to submit their new work for consideration. For more information and to upload materials, please go to blacktheatrecoalition.org/black-writers-amplified. The deadline for submissions is March 31, 2021.

Scheduled to be released in 2021, the Black Writers Amplified album will be made available to producers and artistic directors nationwide. A portion of the proceeds from the album will be donated to Black Theatre Coalition to support their work in increasing representation of Black theatre professionals throughout the entire industry.

Black Writers Amplified is produced by Broadway Records and Black Theatre Coalition in association with Jacquelyn Bell and Jarrett Murray.

Black Theatre Coalition was founded by T. Oliver Reid and Warren Adams during the Summer of 2019. They identified the disparity between the growing inclusivity onstage, versus the almost non-existence of Black professionals off stage. They invited their colleague, Reggie Van Lee (Chief Transformation Officer of the Carlyle Group) to join them as Co-Founder and Chairman of The Board. Afton Battle is the Executive Strategist and Tamica Clanton is Digital Marketing Strategist.

BTC’s mission is to remove the “illusion of inclusion” in the American Theatre, by building a sustainable ethical roadmap that will increase employment opportunities for Black theatre professionals. Their vision is to reshape the working ecosystem for those who have been marginalized by systemically racist and biased ideology.

Black Theatre Coalition officially filed as a nonprofit 501(c)(3) in June of 2020.

Broadway Records (Van Dean, President) is the Grammy^® Award-winning record label dedicated to preserving musical theatre and theatre vocalists. Recent releases include If The Fates Allow: The Hadestown Holiday Album, Lea Salonga Live In Concert with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Legacy: Two Song Cycles by Ahrens and Flaherty, Georgia On My Mind with an all-star Broadway cast, the soundstage recording of Estella Scrooge, the Grammy® and Tony Award-winning The Color Purple (2015 revival), the Tony Award® winning and Grammy® nominated revival of Once On This Island, the Grammy® nominated Matilda The Musical, Fiddler on the Roof (2015 revival) and My Fair Lady (2018 revival), Anastasia, Bandstand, Groundhog Day, The Lightning Thief and NBC’s television events, “The Wiz Live!” and “Peter Pan Live!”. The label’s critically-acclaimed “Live at Feinstein’s/54 Below” series features top Broadway stars including Patti LuPone, Aaron Tveit, Annaleigh Ashford, Norbert Leo Butz, Sierra Boggess, Laura Benanti, Emily Skinner & Alice Ripley, Adam Pascal & Anthony Rapp, Micky Dolenz and many others. Broadway Records launched the Broadway for Orlando initiative (in partnership with creators Seth Rudetsky and James Wesley) culminating in the all-star benefit single, “What the World Needs Now is Love,” which leaped to #1 on iTunes with no radio airplay. Broadway Records philanthropic endeavors also include the From Broadway With Love benefit concerts for Sandy Hook, Orlando (Emmy Award for Sound) and Parkland. To learn more, visit BroadwayRecords.com.

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