[WATCH} an excerpt from INSIDE NEW YORK's first interview with theatre icon DOUGLAS TURNER WARD in 1999. This show is part of our Special mini-series, in celebration of the NEC'S 50TH Anniversary & his 50+ years in theatre!!

In 1967, the Negro Ensemble Company was officially opened with Mr. Ward serving as artistic director; some of the its notable productions include "A Soldier’s Play," "The River Niger," which became the company’s first play to go to Broadway. The River Niger eventually won a Tony Award for Best Play.

The Negro Ensemble Company went on to produce more than two hundred plays, and to become a place for Black actors to gain experience and prominence in the theatre.

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Copyright INSIDE NEW YORK 2021. (Please note the recording or reproduction of this interview in any form is not permitted.)

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