BEVERLY HILLS – The Beverly Hills/Hollywood Branch of the NAACP names celebrated host and esteemed honorees for the upcoming 28th Annual NAACP Theatre Awards dinner, scheduled to be held on Monday, June 17, 2019 at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel, 506 S. Grand Avenue, Los Angeles, CA, 90071 at 6pm.

Making her hosting debut at this year’s awards show is accomplished comedian, actress, confirmed bacon lover and award-winning talk-show host, Loni Love.  Ms. Love can be seen daily on the Emmy-winning talk show “The Real,” which is in the midst of their fifth season.  Hailing from the “Motor City,” Love grew up in Detroit’s Brewster-Douglas Housing Projects, once home to members of Motown’s most iconic group, The Supremes.  Despite her meager beginnings, she was a young woman who had options.  Raised by a single, working mother, her hard work ethic afforded her a scholarship to Prairie View A & M University in Texas where she earned a degree in electrical engineering.  It was at Prairie View where she stumbled upon her gift for stand-up comedy after winning $50 in a campus competition.

With a vast stage and screen career that began in 1971, the NAACP Theatre Awards will bestow this year’s NAACP Lifetime Achievement Theatre Award to acclaimed actress and Tony Award winner Lillias White.  Making her Broadway debut in “Barnum” in 1981, Broadway stages have become Ms. White’s home away from home.  This Brooklyn native has numerous iconic musicals on her bio including “Cats,” “Chicago,” and the original 1981 production of “Dreamgirls” as the understudy for Effie, later taking over the role in the 1987 revival of the same. In 1997, she earned a Tony Award, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Award for her spot-on portrayal of a wearied, streetwise hooker named Sonja in Cy Coleman’s “The Life.”

The first African American Actor to earn the Triple Crown of Acting – an Academy Award, an Emmy Award and a Tony Award – is none other than incomparable Viola Davis and she’s this year’s recipient of the NAACP Trailblazer Theatre Award.  Describing her early years as having “lived in abject poverty and dysfunction,” Ms. Davis has risen from the ashes of her humble beginnings like a Phoenix, earning the titles of Thespian, Producer, Philanthropist, Honorary Doctorate degree holder (times 2), Wife and Mother in the process.  Born in South Carolina, when she was only 2 months old, her family migrated north to Rhode Island.  Ms. Davis attended Rhode Island College, majoring in theater and from there it was off to famed arts conservatory, The Juilliard School, graduating in 1993.  With a laundry list of unforgettable roles, she’s played on all platforms from the housekeeper turned reluctant heroine Aibileen Clark in “The Help,” to the often feared, take-no-prisoners attorney Annalise Keating on her current drama series “How to Get Away with Murder” for which she became the first African American woman to win an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series.

The saying: “the fruit doesn’t fall far from the tree” is apropos when describing NAACP Spirit Award honoree Condola Rashād.  Youngest child of iconic stage and screen actress Phylicia Rashād, the younger Rashād has followed in her famous mom’s footsteps.  Her breakout came with the her critically acclaimed performance in the Off-Broadway play “Ruined” in 2009 for which she received the Theatre World Award for Best Debut Performance and was nominated for a Drama Desk Award.  A subsequent Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Play for her performance in “Stick Fly” has proven that she is making her own mark in the industry apart from her successful performing family.   Currently, Ms. Rashād has a reoccurring role in the Showtime drama series “Billions.”

This year, the NAACP President’s Award will be presented to political pioneer Herb J. Wesson, Jr.who has served as the first African American Los Angeles City Council President since 2011.  Mr. Wesson has a long and successful record of serving the constituents of Southern California.  First as Chief of Staff for former City Council member Nate Holden and for LA County Supervisor Yvonne Burke.  He then transitioned into public office in 1998, winning an election to the California State Assembly to represent the 47^th District.  Wesson then became the second African American to be elected as Speaker of the California Assembly with a unanimous vote.  When his term was up, Mr. Wesson returned to Los Angeles City government, having been elected to the Los Angeles City Council representing District 10.

President Ron Hasson states, “Black storytelling on the stages of America is a thriving business that is exciting a wide range of diverse theatre-goers.”

“It is such an honor and privilege for the NAACP to bestow honor on change-makers who have blazed a trail of excellence and elevated the art of theatre to a whole new diverse audience,” says Executive Producer Tia Boyd.

Other gifted entertainers nominated for a 2019 NAACP Theatre Awards include: Joe Morton, Phylicia Rashad, BeBe Winans, August Wilson, Gina Belafonte, Deborah Joy Winans, Colman Domingo, Bill Cobbs and John Legend.

Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased here –>  https://tinyurl.com/TicketsJune17

For media credentials or more information about nominees and honorees for the 28th Annual NAACP Theater Awards, visit: www.naacptheatreawards.com or contact Lisa Humphrey, Premier Concepts at 310.293.4154, email: media@premierconceptspr.com.

Click link to see complete list of nominees: https://tinyurl.com/TheatreAwardNominees

About The NAACP Theatre Awards:
The NAACP Theatre Awards is presented by the Beverly Hills/Hollywood NAACP Branch in partnership with the City of Los Angeles.  The mission of the Theatre Awards is to entertain, educate, inspire the community and create diversity in the arts and entertainment industry. Ron Hasson is Branch President and Tia Boyd is the Executive Producer for the NAACP Theatre Awards Show. The prestigious star-studded dinner gala is produced for the purpose of honoring thespians among the best in the field of entertainment.