The Black Theater Alliance Awards (BTAA) are theatrical awards presented annually to honor artistic excellence in the African American theatre community of the Chicagoland area. They were established in 1995.
History The Black Theater Alliance Awards were established in 1995 by Vincent Williams, an arts historian. It is a non-profit volunteer organization with the aim to celebrate excellence by African American theatre artists in the Chicagoland area.
As of 2025, the BTAA featured twenty-two award categories – Best Actor (Play), Best Actress (Play), Best Supporting Actor (Play), Best Supporting Actress (Play), Best Writing (Play), Best Director (Play), Best Production (Play), Best Actor (Musical), Best Actress (Musical), Best Supporting Actress (Musical), Best Supporting Actor (Musical), Best Writing (Musical), Best Direction (Musical), Best Original Book (Musical), Best Revival (Musical), Best Production (Musical), Best Ensemble (Musical or Play), Best Choreography (Musical), Best Sound (Musical or Play), Best Set Design (Musical or Play), Best Costume Design (Musical or Play), and Best Lighting Design (Musical or Play).
Cheryl Gatson is the president of the BTAA Board, McKinley Johnson is the treasurer, Valorie Harris is the secretary, and J. Michael Jones and Toney Hall are the directors.
Best play 1995 - Doo Wop Shoo Bop - Black Ensemble Theater 1996 - Train Is Comin' - Chicago Theater Company 1997 - This Far By Faith - ETA Creative Arts Foundation 1998 - Chicago's Golden Soul - Black Ensemble Theater 2025 - Purpose - Steppenwolf Theatre
Best production of a musical or revue 2003 - Howlin' At The Moon - Black Ensemble Theater 2004 - Eyes (play) - ETA Creative Arts Foundation 2005 - At Last: A Tribute To Etta James - Black Ensemble Theater 2006 - Nina Simone: The High Priestess Speaks - Black Ensemble Theater 2007 - Memphis Soul: The Story of Stax Records - Black Ensemble Theater 2008 - Sounds So Good Makes You Wanna Holler - Old School vs. Nu Skool - Black Ensemble Theater 2009 - Sanctified (play) - Congo Square Theatre Company 2025 - A Fall From Royalty - APC Theater
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