Denzel Washington honored by Crossroads Theatre in New Brunswick

NEW BRUNSWICK — He’s one of those stars who have an instantly recognizable name.

Say “Denzel,” and most know you’re talking about Oscar- and Tony-winning actor Denzel Washington, who added to his long list of accolades and accomplishments on Oct. 19 when recognized by city-based Crossroads Theatre Co. with its inaugural Ozzie Davis and Ruby Dee Living Legends Award.

Humble and approachable throughout the up-to-$7,500-per-ticket “Night with Crossroads” gala, Washington thanked the Tony-winning black theater company, as well as his family and a capacity State Theatre audience. But the Mount Vernon, New York-raised son of a Pentecostal minister gave all the glory to God.

“I’m unafraid to say thank you to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,” Washington said. “I’m unafraid to go anywhere and tell anyone of what He has done for me. I’m happy and satisfied with where I am and where I’m going. I pray you come with me. I thank you for supporting me. And I pray that I continue to make you proud of me. I promise you, I’ll do God’s will to my last breath.”

SEE ALSO:Denzel Washington to be honored by Crossroads Theatre

The event was co-organized for the past year by Crossroads Board President Anthony P. Carter, Washington’s friend since their days together in the early 1970s at Fordham University in The Bronx. The gala is one of many opportunities Washington has taken to give back to the black theater community that gave him his start in a 1981 New Federal Theatre production of “When Chickens Come Home to Roost” as Malcolm X, a role he would reprise in Spike Lee’s 1992 film, “Malcolm X.”

Founding New Federal director Woody King, who later directed Washington (as well as Dee) on Broadway in “Checkmates” in 1988, was among several who paid tribute to the philanthropic star.

“Can you imagine directing Denzel Washington and Ruby Dee?” King said. “That was an incredible experience. You didn’t have to do much.”

Susan Kelechi Watson, an Emmy nominee for NBC-TV’s “This Is Us,” shared how Washington and Phylicia Rashad, who also paid tribute to the honoree, sent her and other actors to Oxford University in England to study Shakespeare. As part of her tribute, she adapted a bit of “Henry V” in honor of Washington.

Others who paid tribute were Courtney B. Vance, who appeared with Washington in the 1996 film “The Preacher’s Wife,” also starring Whitney Houston, and Guy and Hasna Muhammad Davis, two of the children of Davis and Dee. Hasna joked about how her mom slapped Washington during a scene in the 2007 film “American Gangster.”

She said, “I never could see my mother in the roles she played … but when she slapped Denzel, I thought, ‘Oh, there she is.’ ”

Davis and Dee were ardent supporters of Crossroads, as well as civil rights. Living in New Rochelle, the couple was Westchester County’s big celebrities, Washington said, while he was growing up in nearby Mount Vernon.

Dee was Crossroads’ associate artist from 1992 to 1995. The theater’s co-founder Ricardo Khan announced the return of the associate artist program and named the five participants that he will oversee on behalf of Producing Artistic Director Marshall Jones III. They are:

• Guy Davis, who appeared with his parents at Crossroads in 1995 in “Two Hahs Hahs and a Homeboy”
• Denise Nicholas, an actress-playwright whose works have been produced by Crossroads, including “Buses” about civil rights leader Rosa Parks, who came to see the 1991 production
• Ghanaian poet Abena Busia, a former Crossroads board member and Rutgers University literature professor who now is her homeland’s ambassador to Brazil
• Leah C. Gardiner, who directed the Jason Robert Brown musical “The Last Five Years” at Crossroads in 2012
• Playwright Richard Wright, whose works often have been produced by Crossroads.

“We are going to assign young people, emerging artists to each of these artists as their mentors, and we’re really thrilled by what we think is going to happen in the future for Crossroads,” Khan said.

Khan thanked Washington for coming to Crossroads in 1989 to see “Sheila’s Day” by “Sarafina!” creator Mbongeni Ngema, an associate artist with the theater at the time.  

Washington said he would like to return to Crossroads to direct and/or star in a production.

Meanwhile, he is producing for Netflix film adaptations of several works by Crossroads collaborator August Wilson. The first will be “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” starring Crossroads alum Viola Davis, an Oscar-winner for Washington’s 2016 film production of Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning “Fences,” a 2010 Broadway revival of which won a Tony for Washington.

He’s also won Oscars for 1989’s “Glory” and 2001’s “Training Day.”  

"A Night with Crossroads" also included performances of past and upcoming productions, including "The Divine One," starring Ashley Tamar Davis as Jersey jazz great Sarah Vaughan, as well as a set by Gregory Porter, who credited his Grammy-winning career to Crossroads. 

Bob Makin has won 11 New Jersey Press Association Awards and four Best of Gannett Awards. A news veteran of nearly 40 years, Makin covers business and entertainment. Contact him at 732-565-7319 and bmakin@gannett.com.