Broadway BUZZ

Danielle Brooks starred as Tasha "Taystee" Jefferson in Netflix’s Emmy nominated series Orange is the New Black, a role that garnered her two NAACP Image Award nominations for Best Actress in a Comedy Series. She also received the Young Hollywood Award for Breakthrough Actress. Next up, Brooks will star opposite John Cena in the HBO Max series Peacemaker, the spinoff series to James Gunn’s upcoming The Suicide Squad movie. Brooks starred as the legendary Gospel singer Mahalia Jackson in director Kenny Leon’s Mahalia which premiered on Lifetime in April. For her performance, Brooks earned the Actress Award for Television from the Critics Choice Association Celebration of Black Cinema & Television. Additionally, Brooks was nominated for a Critics Choice TV Best Actress in a Limited Series or Movie Made for Television Award and received a Primetime Emmy Award Nomination as a producer on Mahalia. On stage, Brooks starred as Beatrice in The Public Theatre’s Shakespeare in the Park production of Much Ado About Nothing, directed by Kenny Leon. For her performance, she received the AUDELCO Award for Lead Actress in a Musical, the ANTONYO Award for Best Actor in a Play, Off-Broadway, and a Drama League Award nomination for Distinguished Performance. Brooks made her Broadway debut in the Tony Award-winning revival of The Color Purple, which earned her a Tony Award nomination, a Drama Desk Award, and an Outer Critics Circle Award. She also received a Grammy Award and a Theatre World Award for Significant Broadway Debut. Other feature work includes a leading role opposite Anna Kendrick in Chris Morris’ The Day Shall Come, produced by See Saw and released by IFC, and a role opposite Alfre Woodard, Wendell Pierce, and Aldis Hodge in Clemency, which won the Sundance Grand Jury Prize and was released by Neon. Other television work includes a recurring role on Aziz Ansari’s Emmy Award-winning Netflix comedy series Master of None, and guest lead roles on HBO’s High Maintenance and Girls. Brooks’ voice work includes Sony’s animated feature Angry Birds, HBO Max’s Close Enough, and Netflix’s Karma’s World. Danielle released her four track EP entitled FOUR. Brooks co-wrote the songs including “Seasons,” which is featured in the series finale of Orange if the New Black. Danielle is the co-founder of “Black Women on Broadway,” which honors the legacy of Black Women’s contributions to the theatre. She serves on the Artistic Board of Urban Arts Partnership, which advances the intellectual, social and artistic development of underserved public school students through arts-integrated education programs to close the achievement gap. Danielle grew up in South Carolina and is a graduate of The Juilliard School.