Kenny Leon

Kenny Leon (born February 10, 1956) is an American director and actor. He is notable for his extensive work on Broadway and television as well as in regional theater. He has received a Tony Award and a Drama League Award as well as nominations for three Primetime Emmy Awards and a Drama Desk Award.

Leon won the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play for A Raisin in the Sun (2014). He was Tony-nominated for Fences (2010), A Soldier's Play (2019), Purlie Victorious (2023), and The Balusters (2026). He has also directed notable productions of Radio Golf (2007), Topdog/Underdog (2022), and Our Town (2024). He received Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Hairspray Live! (2017), American Son (2019), and Robin Roberts Presents: Mahalia (2021).

Early life and education

Kenny Leon was born on February 10, 1956, in Tallahassee, Florida. His father is Leroy Leon, He has five siblings. In high school, he participated in a federally funded Upward Bound academic and cultural enrichment program at Florida Presbyterian College.

For college, Leon attended Clark Atlanta University, where he received his B.A. degree in political science in 1978.

In 1988, he was selected as associate artistic director of the Alliance Theatre Company, During Leon's tenure, the company staged premieres of Pearl Cleage's Blues for an Alabama Sky, Alfred Uhry's The Last Night of Ballyhoo, and Elton John and Tim Rice's musical Aida, which went on to Broadway. The Alliance's endowment also rose from $1 to $5 million during his time there.

Leon resigned from the Alliance in 2000 to take on other projects. These included being the co-founder and artistic director of True Colors Theatre Company, a group based in both Atlanta and Washington, D.C.

In 2014, he directed the Broadway revival of A Raisin in the Sun starring Denzel Washington and LaTanya Richardson Jackson and the Broadway premiere of the musical Holler If Ya Hear Me, featuring the discography of Tupac Shakur. A Raisin in the Sun earned Leon a Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play. That same year Leon directed NPR Presents Water±, written by award-winning NPR Science Correspondent Christopher Joyce, and award-winning theater writers Arthur Yorinks and Carl Hancock Rux, with an original sound score by violinist Daniel Bernard Roumain (DBR). The show toured nationally, co-hosted by NPR's Michele Norris and WWNO's Eve Troeh and featuring Tony Award-winner Anika Noni Rose (Caroline, or Change); Tony Award-nominee Michele Shay (August Wilson's Seven Guitars); Jason Dirden (Tony Award-winning production A Raisin in the Sun); and Lucas Caleb Rooney (Boardwalk Empire).

In 2015, Leon directed the live musical The Wiz for NBC. Cirque du Soleil partnered on the production with plans to bring the show to Broadway. He was slated to direct both the television production and the planned Broadway revival. In 2016, Leon once again partnered with NBC for Hairspray Live!, starring Ariana Grande, Jennifer Hudson, Kristin Chenoweth, and Harvey Fierstein.

In addition to his directing experience, he has extensive acting experience on stage and in television and film. He made an appearance in the Hollywood Black Film Festival winner Big Ain't Bad, playing the role of Thomas Jordan, the mayor of Atlanta. His memoir, Take You Wherever You Go, was released in June, 2018, by Grand Central Publishing. The title derives advice he received from his grandmother, Mamie Wilson. Leon directed the 2019 Netflix film American Son, based on the play of the same name which he had directed on stage.

In 2019, he directed the Broadway premiere of Charles Fuller's Pulitzer Prize winning play, A Soldier's Play, starring Blair Underwood and David Alan Grier at Roundabout Theatre Company. He also directed The Underlying Chris at Second Stage Theatre Company and summer 2019's acclaimed production of Much Ado About Nothing at the Delacorte/Shakespeare in the Park. In May 2022, the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta debuted Trading Places: The Musical! directed by Leon.

In 2026, Leon was appointed Chair of the American Theatre Wing.

Works Television Director

TV movies A Raisin in the Sun (2008) Steel Magnolias (2012) The Watsons Go to Birmingham (2013) In My Dreams (2014) American Son (2019) Robin Roberts Presents: Mahalia (2021)

TV special The Wiz Live! (2015) Hairspray Live! (2016)

Acting roles

TV movies

Stage As a director Year Title Venue Ref. 2004 A Raisin in the Sun Royale Theatre, Broadway 2004 Gem of the Ocean Walter Kerr Theatre, Broadway 2005 Margaret Garner Michigan Opera Theatre, Detroit 2005 Tambourines to Glory Lincoln Center, Washington D.C. 2007 Radio Golf Cort Theatre, Broadway 2010 Fences Cort Theatre, Broadway 2011 The Mountaintop Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, Broadway 2011 Stick Fly Cort Theatre, Broadway 2014 A Raisin in the Sun Ethel Barrymore Theatre, Broadway 2014 Holler If Ya Hear Me Palace Theatre, Broadway 2016 Smart People Second Stage Theatre, Off-Broadway 2017 Our Town Fox Theatre, Atlanta 2018 Children of a Lesser God Studio 54, Broadway 2018 American Son Booth Theatre, Broadway 2019 Much Ado About Nothing Delacorte Theatre, Off-Broadway 2019 The Underlying Chris Second Stage Theatre, Off-Broadway 2019–20 A Soldier's Play American Airlines Theatre, Broadway 2022 King James Steppenwolf Theatre, Chicago 2022 Trading Places: The Musical! Alliance Theatre, Atlanta 2022 Topdog/Underdog Golden Theatre, Broadway 2022 Ohio State Murders James Earl Jones Theatre, Broadway 2023 Purlie Victorious Music Box Theatre, Broadway 2023 Hamlet Delacorte Theatre, Off-Broadway 2024 Home Todd Haimes Theatre, Broadway 2024 Our Town Ethel Barrymore Theatre, Broadway 2025 Othello Ethel Barrymore Theatre, Broadway 2025–26 Amahl and the Night Visitors Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater, Off-Broadway 2026 The Balusters Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, Broadway 2026–27 The ConversationAstor Place Theatre, Off-Broadway

As an actor

Reception and honors In 2004, People named him one of the "50 Most Beautiful People" of the year. In 2007, he was a recipient of the 2007 Georgia Arts and Entertainment Legacy Award for his contributions to Georgia's cultural legacy. In 2010, Leon won the Drama League Award for Excellence in Directing for the play Fences. In 2014, he won the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play for A Raisin in the Sun.

Leon was awarded the 2016-2017 "Mr. Abbott" Award for outstanding artistry and creativity, which is presented by the Stage Directors and Choreographers (SDC) Foundation, in recognition for his over 40-year career. In October 2017, Leon was the recipient the Governor's Award for the Arts and Humanities for the State of Georgia.

He held the Denzel Washington Endowed Chair in Theatre at Fordham University, previously held by Joe Morton and Phylicia Rashad.

Awards and nominations Year Award Category Project Result Ref. 2004 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Director of a Play A Raisin in the Sun 2024 Purlie Victorious 2026 The Balusters 2010 Drama League Award Excellence in Directing Fences 2023 Outstanding Direction of a Play Topdog/Underdog 2005 Helen Hayes Award Outstanding Director Tambourines to Glory 2009 Outer Critics Circle Award Outstanding Direction of Play Fences 2023 Outstanding Direction of a Play Topdog/Underdog 2024 Purlie Victorious 2017Primetime Emmy Award Outstanding Special Class Program Hairspray Live! 2019 Outstanding Television Movie American Son