In the summer of 1976, a young Atlanta actress named LaTanya Richardson stepped onto the Elitch Theatre stage in Gore Vidal’s political comedy-drama The Best Man. She played the First Reporter. Her 1976 program biography shows an actress already deeply experienced. She had toured the Southeast in Jesus Christ Superstar and appeared in more than thirty plays in and around Atlanta, including the Alliance Theatre’s Purlie. She had also created the role of Julie Augustine in Wedding Band at the New Cosmos Cultural Theatre, a performance some critics called the best the city had seen that year. She had just finished a residency as actress and writer for the City of Atlanta’s Bureau of Cultural and International Affairs. At Elitch she shared a company with veteran stars E. G. Marshall, Victor Jory, and Kevin McCarthy, and she had also appeared with them on the Georgia-Florida tour of the same production.
Richardson was a Spelman College graduate. It was at Spelman in 1970 that she met Morehouse student Samuel L. Jackson, whom she married in 1980. After their daughter was born in 1982, she stepped back from regular work for several years. She later built a career in New York, including years at the New York Shakespeare Festival/Public Theatre, where she appeared in For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf. Through the 1990s and 2000s she became a respected presence on screen in films such as Malcolm X, Fried Green Tomatoes, Losing Isaiah, and U.S. Marshals. Her many television credits include 100 Centre Street, Show Me a Hero, Luke Cage, and Grey’s Anatomy.
Her Broadway work has made her one of the American theatre’s most admired figures. She made her Broadway debut in 2009 in Joe Turner’s Come and Gone. She earned a Tony nomination in 2014 for A Raisin in the Sun, then appeared in To Kill a Mockingbird and, in 2025, in Purpose, which brought another Tony nomination. In 2022 she became the first woman to direct an August Wilson play on Broadway, with The Piano Lesson. She is now Vice Chair of the American Theatre Wing.
HET is proud that this much-honored artist spent a summer on the Elitch stage early in her career.
Richardson’s Bio from the 1976 The Best Man Program:
LaTANYA RICHARDSON (First Reporter) has travelled with the Southeastern tour of JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR. Ms. Richardson has appeared in over thirty plays in and around the Atlanta area including the musical PURLIE, in which she played Missy at the Alliance Theatre. Most recently she created the role of Julie Augustine in the New Cosmos Cultural Theatre’s production of Alice Child’s play, WEDDING BAND, in which she was hailed by some critics as having done the best performance the city had seen that year. Also she has recently completed work as actress and writer in residence for the City of Atlanta’s Bureau of Cultural and International Affairs. LaTanya also appeared with E. G. Marshall, Victor Jory, and Kevin McCarthy in the Georgia-Florida tour of THE BEST MAN.
Seasons at the Theatre
- 1976
Elitch Theatre Productions/Roles:
- The Best Man by Gore Vidal / First Reporter
Notable Roles, Awards, and Other Work:
- Joe Turner’s Come and Gone (2009): Made her Broadway debut as Bertha Holly in August Wilson’s play at the Belasco Theatre.
- A Raisin in the Sun (2014): Played Lena Younger on Broadway and received a Tony Award nomination for Best Actress in a Play.
- To Kill a Mockingbird (2018–2019): Played Calpurnia in Aaron Sorkin’s Broadway adaptation at the Shubert Theatre.
- The Piano Lesson (2022): Made her directorial debut and became the first woman to direct an August Wilson play on Broadway, at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre.
- Purpose (2025): Originated the role of Claudine Jasper on Broadway. The role earned Tony, Drama League, and Outer Critics Circle nominations, and she reprises it at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles in late 2026.
- Film: Appeared in Fried Green Tomatoes (1991), Malcolm X (1992), When a Man Loves a Woman (1994), Losing Isaiah (1995), U.S. Marshals (1998), and The Fighting Temptations (2003).
- Television: Her credits include 100 Centre Street (2001–2002), Show Me a Hero (2015, NAACP Image Award nomination), Luke Cage (2016–2018), and a recurring role on Grey’s Anatomy (2017–2023).
- Leadership and honors: Vice Chair of the American Theatre Wing, a Black Women on Broadway Legacy Recipient, and a 2026 ESSENCE Black Women in Hollywood honoree. Spelman College awarded her an honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts in 2012. She and her husband recently opened Spelman’s LaTanya Richardson Jackson and Samuel L. Jackson Performing Arts Center.
Elitch Theatre Connections:
- The Super (film, 1991): LaTanya Richardson (Judge Smith) and Carole Shelley (HET 1976) are both in the credited cast, alongside Joe Pesci and Vincent Gardenia.
Wikipedia Link:
