Layon Gray

{{Use American English|date=October 2022}} {{short description|American playwright and director (born 1969)}} {{Multiple issues| {{more footnotes|date=March 2019}} {{advert|date=May 2019}}}}{{Infobox person | name = Layon Gray | image = Layon Gray.jpg | birth_date = {{bda|January 26, 1969}} | birth_place = Alexandria, Louisiana, U.S. | occupation = Playwright, film director | website = https://www.layongray.com/ }} '''Layon Gray''' (born January 26, 1969) is an American playwright and director. His best-known work is the off-Broadway play ''Black Angels Over Tuskegee'', about the Tuskegee airmen.

==Career== A native of Louisiana, Gray writes, directs and develops stage plays and films. He focuses on creating conversational dialogue in his works, including traditional African-American theater. His play, ''Kings Of Harlem,'' depicts the New York Renaissance and was performed for the NBA Legends during All-Star week. This work has won several theater awards and is in development as a feature film. His work ''The Dahomey Warriors''<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cristi |first=A. A. |title=THE DAHOMEY WARRIORS Takes the Stage In Miami |url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/miami/article/THE-DAHOMEY-WARRIORS-Takes-the-Stage-In-Miami-20220209 |access-date=2023-01-31 |website=BroadwayWorld.com |language=en}}</ref> about the Dahomey Amazons depicts an all-female military regiment of the Kingdom of Dahomey, in the present-day Republic of Benin, which lasted until the end of the 19th century. This work was selected to perform at the 2017 National Black Theatre Festival and is in development as a television series. His play ''Cowboy''<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dutch |first=Samantha |title=Layon Gray's 'Cowboy' tells story of Bass Reeves |url=https://www.rmusentrymedia.com/top-stories/layon-grays-cowboy-tells-story-of-bass-reeves/ |access-date=2023-01-31 |website=RMU Sentry Media}}</ref> about marshal Bass Reeves premiered in 2019 at the National Black Theatre Festival and returned for a performance in August 2022. His two man play about Redd Foxx and Richard Pryor entitled Foxx/Pryor was to begin performances in June, 2021.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cristi |first=A. A. |title=FOXX/PRYOR to Begin Performances in June 2021 |url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/off-broadway/article/FOXXPRYOR-to-Begin-Performances-in-June-2021-20201110 |access-date=2023-01-31 |website=BroadwayWorld.com |language=en}}</ref>

Gray has also directed plays such as: ''A Raisin in the Sun'', ''A Soldiers Play'', ''The Crucible'', ''Before It Hits Home'', ''For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When The Rainbow is Enuf'', ''Miss Evers' Boys and De Moor.''<ref>{{Cite web |last=Waltz |first=Amanda |title=New Horizon presents alternative view of King Arthur with world premiere of de Moor |url=https://www.pghcitypaper.com/pittsburgh/new-horizon-presents-alternative-view-of-king-arthur-with-world-premiere-of-de-moor/Content?oid=20442225 |access-date=September 30, 2022 |website=Pittsburgh City Paper |language=en}}</ref>

== Works == {| class="wikitable" !Play !Year Premiered !Length !Notes |- |''Meet Me At The Oak'' |2003 |120 Minutes |''Meet Me At The Oak'' premiered at Whitmore Lindley Theatre Center, in North Hollywood, CA in 2003 under the direction of Layon Gray. It would win Best Director, Best Play, Best Writer, Best Supporting Actor, Best Ensemble. |- |''Diary Of A Catholic School Dropout'' |2005 |80 Minutes |''Diary Of A Catholic School Dropout'' premiered at the Avery Schreiber Theatre in North Hollywood. It was directed by Layon Gray. It would go on to win Best Play that year. It ran in Los Angeles for 5 Years.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.diaryofacatholicschooldropout.com/ |title=Dropout |access-date=May 16, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171027234153/https://www.diaryofacatholicschooldropout.com/ |archive-date=October 27, 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref> |- |''WEBEIME'' |2006 |90 Minutes |''WEBEIME'' premiered at the Whitmore Lindley Theatre Center in North Hollywood in 2006. Additional performances were held at the Midtown International Theatre Festival in 2007, the National Black Theatre Festival in 2008, the Negro Ensemble Company in 2009, and Planet Connections Theatre Festivity in 2012. All performances under the direction of Layon Gray. The play would go on to win Best Director, Best Play, Best Ensemble, Best Production, Best Choreography. |- |''Black Angels Over Tuskegee'' |2009 - open run |120 Minutes |''Black Angels Over Tuskegee'' tells the story of the Tuskegee Airmen. The show premiered at the Whitmore Lindley Theatre Center in North Hollywood in 2009. Additional performances were held at the National Black Theatre Festival in 2009, St. Luke's Theatre in 2010, and The Actors' Temple in 2012. It has also been performed at the Smithsonian Institution, the NAACP, the National Urban League, The National WWII Museum, the United States Military Academy, the United States Army, the National Civil Rights Museum, Tuskegee University, and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The play would win an NAACP Award for Best Play. It is in pre-production for a Broadway transfer. '<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.blackangelsovertuskegee.com/|title=Black Angels Over Tuskegee|website=Black Angels Over Tuskegee|accessdate=May 3, 2019}}</ref> |- |''The Girls Of Summer'' |2009 |120 Minutes |''The Girls Of Summer'' premiered off-Broadway at The Actors' Temple in 2010, under the direction of Layon Gray. It would go on to win an NAACP Award for Best Play.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thegirlsofsummer.org/|title=Layon Gray's THE GIRLS OF SUMMER|website=summer|accessdate=May 3, 2019}}</ref> |- |''Searching For Willie Lynch'' |2012 |120 Minutes |''Searching For Willie Lynch'' premiered at the National Black Theatre Festival in 2013. In 2015, it had a staged reading at the Signature Theatre Company in New York City produced by the Negro Ensemble Company. Under the direction of Layon Gray. |- |''Kings Of Harlem'' |2015 |90 Minutes |''Kings Of Harlem'' premiered at the National Black Theatre Festival in 2015. Additional performances were held at The Actors' Temple In New York in 2016 and the M Ensemble in Miami in 2018. The play would go on to win Best Play, Best Director, Best Ensemble, and Best Supporting Actor. Under the direction of Layon Gray. The play is in development as a feature film.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.kingsofharlem.com/|title=kingsofharlem|website=kingsofharlem|accessdate=May 3, 2019}}</ref> |- |''CowBoy'' |2019 |85 Minutes |National Black Theatre Festival debuted ''Cowboy,'' the story of Bass Reeves, in August 2019 under the direction of Layon Gray. |- |}

==References== {{Reflist}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20110109111428/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/136879-Black-Angels-Over-Tuskegee-Opens-Off-Broadway-Feb-15 Andrew Gans] (January 29, 2010) * [http://offbroadway.broadwayworld.com/article/BLACK_ANGELS_OVER_TUSKEGEE_Comes_To_St_Lukes_Theatre_20100214 BWW News Desk] (February 15, 2010) * [https://web.archive.org/web/20100901021235/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/142318-All-American-Girls-Opens-Off-Broadway-Aug-25 Andrew Gans] (August 25, 2010) * [https://web.archive.org/web/20101011222744/http://theater.nytimes.com/show/25001/All-American-Girls/overview New York Times] (August 26, 2010) * [http://www.africandiasporatourism.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=411:black-angels-over-tuskegee&catid=76:news&Itemid=73 African Tourism] (September 20, 2010) * [http://www.LayonGray.com Layon Gray] * [http://www.BlackSparta.com BlackSparta] * [http://www.DiaryOfACatholicSchoolDropout.com Diary Of A Catholic School Dropout] * [http://www.BlackAngelsOverTuskegee.com Black Angels Over Tuskegee] * [http://www.TheGirlsOfSummer.org The Girls Of Summer]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gray, Layon}} Category:Living people Category:21st-century American dramatists and playwrights Category:1974 births