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The life and legacy of Woodie King Jr. (1937–2026) will be honored at a special tribute at The Shubert Organization’s Barrymore Theatre on April 27. Additional details to come.
Woodie King Jr., a visionary force in Black theater who dedicated his life to amplifying Black and BIPOC voices in the performing arts, died on January 29 in New York City from complications of heart surgery. He was 88 years old.
Born in Bladon Springs, Alabama, Mr. King began his career as an arc welder at Ford Motor Company before moving to New York City for college. He received his bachelor’s degree from Lehman College and an M.F.A. from Brooklyn College. In 1965, King joined Mobilization for Youth, where he spent five years as Cultural Director.
Hailed as “The Renaissance Man of Black Theater,” Mr. King founded the New Federal Theatre in 1970 during the Black Arts Movement with the goal of amplifying the voices of Black playwrights, directors, actors, designers, and other underrepresented artists.
New Federal Theatre’s mission is “to integrate artists of color and women into the mainstream of American theater by training artists for the profession and by presenting plays by writers of color and women to integrated, multicultural audiences. These plays evoke the truth through beautiful and artistic re-creations of ourselves.”
To date, NFT has produced over 450 plays, including works by Ntozake Shange, Amiri Baraka, Leslie Lee, David Henry Hwang, Ron Milner, J.E. Franklin, and countless others. Performers who received early career opportunities through the company include Denzel Washington, Chadwick Boseman, Debbie Allen, Morgan Freeman, Phylicia Rashad, LaTanya Richardson Jackson, Samuel L. Jackson, Issa Rae, and Viola Davis, among many others.
Mr. King stepped down as NFT’s Producing Director in 2021 but remained on its board. His wife, director and actor Elizabeth Van Dyke, has since served as Producing Artistic Director of the company, whose full name will remain Woodie King Jr.’s New Federal Theater.
In 2012, King was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame. In 2020, the Off-Broadway Alliance named Mr. King a “Legend of Off-Broadway.” That same year Mr. King received the Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre, which recognized his outstanding contribution to the Broadway industry with the New Federal Theatre.
Mr. King is survived by his wife Elizabeth Van Dyke, his three children, and five grandchildren.
