Tony-winning director Kenny Leon, who most recently directed Roundabout Theatre Company’s production of A Soldier’s Play, has joined Roundabout as senior resident director. The Broadway debut of Charles Fuller’s Pulitzer Prize–winning A Soldiers Play, seen at Roundabout’s American Airlines Theatre, is currently nominated for seven Tony Awards, including Best Revival of a Play and Best Director.
In this new role, Leon will participate in Roundabout’s selection of plays and musicals, both its seasonal onstage productions and the dozens of workshops and readings produced annually. He will also help lead the development and nurturing of the careers of up-and-coming BIPOC directors at the theatre and play a key part in the theatre’s commitment to anti-racism and increased equity, diversity, and inclusion.
“The great artistry of Kenny’s revival of A Soldier’s Play revealed the possibilities of what Roundabout can, and should, do,” said Todd Haimes, artistic director and CEO. “Roundabout has historically played a large role in which great works of the American theatre get revived in New York. Moving forward we will take our newly embraced responsibilities further, to expand the canon.”
“I look forward to exploring other works on its stages as we continue to help develop and introduce artists in an effort to help build an American theatre that looks like the world,” said Leon.
Leon won the Tony Award for Best Director in 2014 for A Raisin in the Sun and directed American Son (and its subsequent film adaptation), Fences, and Gem of the Ocean, among others Main Stem shows. He is the co-founder of the August Wilson Monologues Competition (highlighted in the documentary Giving Voice, streaming on Netflix December 11) and has directed a number of television projects, including the NBC musicals Hairspray Live! and The Wiz Live!. Leon also serves on the board at The Public Theater and wrote a memoir, Take You Wherever You Go, published in 2018.
