Layon Gray


Layon Gray is an American playwright and director known for work about African-American subjects. 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 focusses on creating conversational dialogue in his works, including traditional African-American theater. His play Kings Of Harlem, about the New York Renaissance, also known as the Renaissance Big Five and as the Rens, was performed for the NBA Legends during All-Star week. His latest work Black Sparta about the Dahomey Amazons, 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, was selected to perform at the 2017 National Black Theatre Festival and is in development as a motion picture. His play Cowboy about marshal Bass Reeves premiered in 2019 at the National Black Theatre Festival
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, and Miss Evers' Boys.

Works

Awards and honors