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Black theater greats cement their place in E.V.

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Stars of black theater, from left, Brandon Dirden, Douglas Turner Ward, Woodie King, Jr. and Rubin Santiago-Hudson, at Theatre 80 St. Mark’s on Nov. 16. Photos by Amy Russo

BY AMY RUSSO | Legends of the black theater community gathered in the historic Theatre 80 St. Mark’s in the East Village last month to share memories and laughs as Woodie King, Jr. and Douglas Turner Ward were honored for their longstanding contributions to the arts.

King, founding director of the New Federal Theatre, and Ward, founder of the Negro Ensemble Company, are pioneers in New York’s black theater scene and were invited to add their names and handprints to Theatre 80’s Sidewalk of Stars. The new bricks will be sharing the sidewalk with names of other theater luminaries, including Joan Crawford and Alan Cumming.

Brandon Dirden, who has shared the Broadway stage as Martin Luther King, Jr. with Bryan Cranston’s Lyndon B. Johnson in “All the Way,” was one of the evening’s hosts. Dirden wistfully recalled his childhood in Houston and his father, whose home stocked a formidable collection of plays including those of the N.F.T. and N.E.C., about which he remembers writing his high school term paper.

Like many who crossed paths with the N.E.C., Dirden was inspired by alumni like Denzel Washington, who he once saw on a bootleg VHS tape of “When the Chickens Come Home to Roost.”

“It didn’t just change my life, it gave me life,” Dirden recalled. “Throughout my matriculation in college and in graduate school, I always had one goal and that was to come to New York and to be a part of this lineage.”

While waiting for the cement to be prepared, impromptu entertainment was provided on stage by King, who gave a rundown of the history of black theater, gesturing at a board of black-and-white stills of Lynn Whitfield, Mary Alice and Robert Hooks.

“These artists, whether they intended to or not, changed the face of the theater in New York,” he said.

King, Ward and Hooks met in Detroit during a production of Lorraine Hansberry’s famed “A Raisin in the Sun.” During a later encounter with Ward, King was encouraged to move to New York. He took the advice, and upon his arrival, Hooks found him a job.

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Theatre 80’s impresario, Lorcan Otway, right, helping Douglas Turner Ward etch his name into a block of concrete. The names were later set into the sidewalk in front of the theater beside other theater greats.

Now on the cusp of its 50th anniversary season, the N.E.C. will celebrate with eight performances of Ward’s “Day of Absence,” a comedic play about one day in a Southern town whose black residents suddenly vanish. This production, from the 1960s, has been heralded as having made way for black actors, playwrights, designers and directors.

After nearly an hour of storytelling and reminiscing, the two wet cement slabs were finally presented. King and Ward each etched in their names, then pressed their palms into the concrete as photographers quickly encircled them, shutters clicking. Though their work began long ago, King and Ward continue to keep alive the spirit and culture of black theater and are now commemorated in front of 80 St. Mark’s, a theater that has inspired many.