Samuel L. Jackson, LaTanya Richardson Jackson, Lee Daniels, Jesse Williams to Speak at Variety’s Business of Broadway Breakfast

Danielle Brooks celebrated the opening night of her Broadway show The Piano Lesson just days ago and she sadly has to take a break from performing as she just tested positive for COVID-19.

EXCLUSIVE: Yasha Jackson has joined the romantic comedy film Space Cadet alongside Emma Roberts, Poppy Liu and Gabrielle Union.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Samuel L. Jackson had his marching orders. So when actor John David Washington approached him for tips about playing Boy Willie, a role Jackson originated in the 1987 production of August Wilson’s “The Piano Lesson,” he clammed up. “I was specifically told by the director not to give him advice,” Jackson says. “John David asked several times, but when he realized that I was not allowed to help him, he stopped asking.” The director, in this case, is LaTanya Richardson Jackson, who also happens to be Jackson’s wife, as well as the first woman to oversee a production of Wilson’s work on Broadway. The two are teaming up on the hotly anticipated revival of the classic drama, only this time Sam is playing Boy Willie’s uncle, Doaker Charles. It marks his first time on Broadway since 2011’s “The Mountaintop,” in which he played Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and LaTanya’s  first time directing after a run of acclaimed stage performances, including the 2014 revival of “A Raisin in the Sun” and 2018’s “To Kill a Mockingbird.”

Gordon Cox Theater Editor Each year, Variety compiles a list of Broadway stars on the rise. This year, Variety fill fete this round-up of stage actors, directors and writers at its Business of Broadway Breakfast presented by City National Bank will take place on Oct.

Jesse Williams isn’t keeping up with Grey’s Anatomy.

Jesse Williams is heading back to Broadway for Take Me Out, but he isn’t worried about suffering another leak.

Gordon Cox Theater Editor The Tony-winning Broadway revival of “Take Me Out” returns this fall, and Jesse Williams is back with it. In Richard Greenberg’s 2002 play, the “Grey’s Anatomy” actor plays a biracial baseball player who comes out as gay at the height of his career. Why bring “Take Me Out” back to Broadway? We weren’t done. We had a lot more in the tank, and I felt like we were really hitting a new stride. The possibility of coming back was brought up to me before we even finished the first run, and frankly, I didn’t want to do it; I was tired and missed my children. But once I was able to recharge at home, I just kept thinking about the show. I’d find myself running lines in the shower or just doing scenes alone while I was sailing.

William Earl “Death of a Salesman” actor Wendell Pierce, “The Piano Lesson” director LaTanya Richardson Jackson and “Till” star John Douglas Thompson are among the honorees set for the inaugural Salute to Broadway presented by the African American Film Critics Association. The event is set for Oct. 17 at The Lambs Club in the heart of Midtown’s theater district. “It’s no secret that some of our greatest actors have come from the stage or have tested their chops on it,” said Gil Robertson, co-founder of AAFCA. “Sidney Poitier, Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis are just a handful of our beloved icons for which this was true, with Tony winners Denzel Washington, Viola Davis, Audra McDonald, Adrienne Warren and Myles Frost among those continuing that legacy. As a reliable pipeline for outstanding Black talent in front of the camera as well as behind it, Hollywood has benefited greatly from this esteemed training ground and AAFCA Salutes Broadway celebrates that rich heritage.”

Janet Jackson is sharing a cute snap with her niece.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Samuel L. Jackson, Laurence Fishburne, Whoopi Goldberg and Zendaya are just some of the stars who appear in Elvis Mitchell’s “Is That Black Enough for You?” Netflix documentary. Mitchell’s doc bows this weekend at the New York Film Festival. Mitchell, a film critic who has written for LA Weekly and The New York Times takes on the role of writer, director and narrator as he traces the history of Black representation in cinema. The documentary examines Black cultural achievement in the 1960s and ’70s and debunks the notion that Black cinema in that period only meant Blaxploitation films.

EJ Panaligan editor The fifth season of “Inside Amy Schumer” has its official trailer, which Paramount+ released today (October 6th). The first two episodes of the season are set to premiere on the service Thursday, Oct. 20, with the remaining three episodes dropping weekly afterward. In addition to Schumer, the new season features Amber Tamblyn, Bridget Everett, Cara Delevinge, Chris Parnell, Ellie Kemper, Jesse Williams, Laura Benanti, Michael Ian Black, Olivia Munn and Tim Meadows, and returning writers Christine Nangle, Tami Sagher, Jon Glaser and Jeremy Beiler. Meadows, Derek Gaines, Jaye McBride and Georgie Aldaco also join the writing staff this season.

Crystal Lucas-Perry, Fedna Jacquet, Marchánt Davis, Shannon Matesky and Ebony Marshall-Oliver will join the previously announced Jordan E. Cooper in the cast of Cooper’s upcoming Broadway play Ain’t No Mo’, produced by Lee Daniels.

Love gone wrong? The notoriously private Lauren Keyana “Keke” Palmer and Darius Jackson, also known as Darius Daulton, went public with their romance when the Scream Queens actress shared a photo of the pair on her Instagram account in August 2021.

Samuel L. Jackson and Uma Thurman have had a Pulp Fiction reunion backstage on Broadway.The actors, who played Jules Winnfield and Mia Wallace respectively in Quentin Tarantino’s 1994 film alongside John Travolta, met up last Saturday (October 1) at the Broadway revival of August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson.The play is currently being performed in previews at the Barrymore Theatre in New York.

Jesse Williams had a win in his custody case with ex-wife Aryn Drake-Lee. On Sept.

EXCLUSIVE: Emmy-nominated actress Mckenna Grace and Tony-nominated Jesse Williams are set for Dan Kya’s Spider & Jessie.

Sarah Drew still has hope that a spinoff featuring April and Jackson could come to fruition.The actress spoke to ET on Wednesday night at the Power of Women event, where she acknowledged that fans of the medical drama often ask about a possible series alongside her pal and former co-star, Jesse Williams.«So many people ask me about a 'Japril' spinoff, and Jesse and I have both been very verbal about how much we would love to see something like that happen,» Drew told ET's Deidre Behar.«We love working together. We love that relationship and any opportunity to get to see them onscreen together more, I think a lot of people would be happy about that,» she acknowledged. «We'd be happy with that, so we'll see.»Drew initially returned to after several years away to help wrap up Williams' storyline before he departed near the end of season 17.

Woman In Film, Los Angeles said Thursday that that She Said producer Dede Gardner, star Carey Mulligan and New York Times reporters Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey will be honored next month at the 2022 WIF Honors. They join a recipient list that already includes the bestowing the group’s Crystal Awards to Abbott Elementary creator Quinta Brunson, The Woman King director Gina Prince-Bythewood, and Don’t Worry Darling writer and director Katie Silberman and Olivia Wilde, respectively.