Founder, Lead Producer
LaChanze
With a career that has spanned nearly forty Broadway seasons, LaChanze consistently brings women of complexity and triumph into the cultural lexicon.
In 2022, LaChanze made her debut as producer on two shows, the 20th anniversary revival of Suzan-Lori Parks’ acclaimed Pulitzer Prize-Winning play, Topdog/Underdog, as well as Kimberly Akimbo, a new musical by Tony-Winning Composer Jeanine Tesori and Pulitzer Prize-Winning Playwright David Lindsay-Abaire, earning a combined 11 Tony Award nominations and 6 Tony Award wins, including Best Revival of a Play and Best Musical, respectively. In Spring 2023, she produced Here Lies Love by David Byrne and Fatboy Slim and Jaja’s African Hair Braiding written by Jocelyn Bioh and directed by Whitney White, earning a combined 9 Tony Award nominations. The following Spring 2024, she joined the producing team of The Outsiders, a new musical based on S.E. Hinton’s beloved novel, which won the Tony Award for Best Musical. This season, she made her New York City directorial debut with Alice Childress’ Wine in the Wilderness at Classic Stage Company, while also serving as a producer on Buena Vista Social Club and the Pulitzer Prize winning play Purpose. They earned a combined 16 nominations and 7 Tony Awards wins, with Buena Vista Social Club receiving a special award acknowledging the band and Purpose winning Best Play. She was also honored as a 2025 TIME’S Closer.
LaChanze won a Tony Award for her performance as Celie in The Color Purple, originated the role of Ti Moune in Once on This Island (Tony Award nomination), and upheld her commitment to artistic excellence as Wiletta in Alice Childress’ historic play, Trouble In Mind (Tony Award nomination). Other notable stage performances include roles in Summer: The Donna Summer Musical (Tony Award nomination), A Christmas Carol, The Secret Life of Bees, If/Then, The Wiz, Ragtime, Uptown… It’s Hot! and Dreamgirls.
On screen, she has delivered memorable roles in both TV and film including: “East New York,” “The Blacklist,” “Handel’s Messiah Rocks: A Joyful Noise” (Emmy Award), “Melinda,” The Help, HBO’s “The Night Of,” “Law & Order: SVU,” “The Good Fight,” “Sex And The City,” and Disney animated feature film Hercules, among other titles. Upcoming films include Spike Lee’s Highest 2 Lowest which will be shown at Cannes Film Festival and By Any Means directed by Elegance Bratton, and starring Mark Wahlberg and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II.
In June of 2024, LaChanze launched LaChanze Productions, a production company that is “Making Broadway Cool.”. LaChanze Productions discovers, develops and delivers groundbreaking Broadway and commercial entertainment projects. Their mission is to nurture untapped talent both on and off stage, as we usher in a new era of entertainment. You can learn more about her company at www.lachanzeproductions.com.
She is the President of Black Theatre United, recipient of a honoree Made in NY Award for Theatre and Live Performance, a community of creatives dedicated to awareness, accountability, and advocacy. Proud mother of Celia Rose and Zaya LaChanze. She resides in Westchester, New York with her three cats and gardening hats.
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With a career that has spanned thirty-eight Broadway seasons, LaChanze consistently brings women of complexity and triumph into the cultural lexicon.
Last season, LaChanze made her debut as producer on two shows, the 20th anniversary revival of Suzan-Lori Parks’ acclaimed Pulitzer-Prize-Winning play, Topdog/Underdog, as well as Kimberly Akimbo, a new musical by Tony Award Winning Composer Jeanine Tesori and Pulitzer-Prize-Winning Playwright David Lindsay-Abaire, earning a combined 11 Tony Award nominations and 6 Tony Award wins, including Best Revival of a Play and Best Musical, respectively. This season, she produced Kimberly Akimbo, Here Lies Love by David Byrne and Fatboy Slim and Jaja’s African Hair Braiding written by Jocelyn Bioh and directed by Whitney White. In Spring 2024, she joined the producing team of The Outsiders, a new musical based on S.E. Hinton’s beloved novel. Next season, she will make her New York City directorial debut with Alice Childress’ Wine in the Wilderness at Classic Stage Company.
LaChanze won a Tony Award for her performance as Celie in The Color Purple, originated the role of Ti Moune in Once on This Island (Tony Award nomination), and upheld her commitment to artistic excellence as Wiletta in Alice Childress’ historic play, Trouble In Mind (Tony Award nomination). Other notable stage performances include roles in Summer: The Donna Summer Musical (Tony Award nomination), A Christmas Carol, The Secret Life of Bees, If/Then, The Wiz, Ragtime, Uptown… It’s Hot! and Dreamgirls.
On screen, she has delivered memorable roles in both TV and film including: “East New York,” “The Blacklist,” “Handel’s Messiah Rocks: A Joyful Noise” (Emmy Award), “Melinda,” “The Help,” HBO’s “The Night Of,” “Law & Order: SVU,” “The Good Fight,” “Sex And The City,” and Disney animated feature film “Hercules” among other titles.
She is the President of Black Theatre United, a community of creatives dedicated to awareness, accountability, and advocacy. Proud mother of Celia Rose and Zaya LaChanze. She resides in Westchester, New York with her three cats and gardening hats.
Associate Producer
Dottie Cannon
Originally from Minnesota, Dottie moved to New York City in 2011 after networking through a single source on LinkedIn.
According to her immediate family, Dottie’s passion for the arts stems from her natural inclination for the theatrics. As a child, she participated in dance classes for more than 16 years, developed an ear from piano lessons and music theory classes for 12 years, and explored a variety of other musical instruments, including the clarinet, bassoon, and violin.
During her time in high school, Dottie danced as a chorus member in the annual musical production. As an impressionable teenager, this solidified her love of the arts. Even before moving to New York, she sought out any and all creative opportunities in the Twin Cities area, including regional theatre tours and local small stage productions.
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Originally from Minnesota, Dottie moved to New York City in 2011 after networking through a single source on LinkedIn.
According to her immediate family, Dottie’s passion for the arts stems from her natural inclination for the theatrics. As a child, she participated in dance classes for more than 16 years, developed an ear from piano lessons and music theory classes for 12 years, and explored a variety of other musical instruments, including the clarinet, bassoon, and violin.
During her time in high school, Dottie danced as a chorus member in the annual musical production. As an impressionable teenager, this solidified her love of the arts. Even before moving to New York, she sought out any and all creative opportunities in the Twin Cities area, including regional theatre tours and local small stage productions.
Since 2015, Dottie has documented attendance to more than 475 productions both here and abroad, and there are undoubtedly numerous others.
Ever learning and growing, Dottie is committed to expanding her knowledge base, identifying where her business skills could make an impact, and supporting the arts financially – her first investment and exposure to a fraction of the process was The Secret Garden at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles, California.
Dottie currently lives in Manhattan with her husband, twin toddlers, and dog. Throughout the week, Dottie shifts her energy between family, friends, and personal time – whether attending a play or musical, reading for book club, or volunteering locally and abroad.