Black Ensemble Theater to be Honored with Special Equity Jeff Award for 50 Years of Impact

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The organization receives recognition at the Joseph Jefferson Awards for Equity Theater.

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Black Ensemble Theater will be honored with a Special Equity Award at the 2025-2026 Joseph Jefferson Awards for Equity Theater, celebrating the Chicago company's 50-year legacy of artistic achievement and community engagement.

The award will be presented during the 58th Anniversary Jeff Awards ceremony on Monday, September 14 at the Harris Theater in Chicago. Black Ensemble Theater Founder and CEO Jackie Taylor and Artistic Director Daryl D. Brooks will accept the honor on behalf of the company.

Founded by Taylor in 1976, Black Ensemble Theater began as a small community arts organization operating from a theater in Chicago's Old Town neighborhood. The company has since grown into an internationally recognized institution with a mission to eradicate racism through theater and community engagement.

Black Ensemble Theater has become particularly known for its original musical biographies celebrating African American artists, including productions centered on Marvin Gaye , Teddy Pendergrass, Dionne Warwick and Jackie Wilson . The company has received 68 Jeff Award nominations and 14 Jeff Awards and is nominated in seven categories this season.

In 2005, the company established the Black Playwrights Initiative to develop original work and support Chicago's African American playwriting community.

The Black Ensemble Theater Cultural Center opened in Chicago's Uptown neighborhood in 2011, giving the company its first permanent home. The 50,000-square-foot facility includes a 299-seat mainstage. A new 150-seat flexible studio theater is scheduled to open within the center this October, providing additional space for original plays, cabaret performances and other programming while expanding opportunities for the Black Playwrights Initiative.

The company's continued expansion also includes the Free to BE Village, a five-story mixed-use arts development approved by the City of Chicago in 2025. Planned for a site across the street from the theater, the development will include affordable artist housing, a Performing Arts Education Center, a Media and Technology Center and retail space, including a literary café.

As Black Ensemble Theater celebrates its 50th anniversary, its Mainstage season will revisit several productions from the company's history in celebration of Black culture and the theater's legacy.

The 58th Anniversary Jeff Awards ceremony will begin at 7 p.m. CST on Monday, September 14 at the Harris Theater, located at 205 East Randolph Street in Chicago. Red carpet interviews with nominees and members of the theater community will begin at 5:30 p.m.

Tickets are $100 for general admission and $80 for union members, with a group rate of $85 available for parties of 10 or more. Additional information and tickets are available through The Jeff Awards .

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_Originally reported by [BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/chicago/article/Black-Ensemble-Theater-to-Receive-Special-Equity-Jeff-Award-Honoring-50-Year-Legacy-20260909)._