To develop a successful career in the professional theatre, on Broadway, in regional theatres, and in educational institutions throughout America, theatre professionals must now develop strong backgrounds in performance techniques and have extensive knowledge of literature, history, culture, and business administration. Since the beginning of the Golden Age of Musical Theatre in America (1940s to the 1960s), the abilities of musical theatre artists have developed exponentially. Musical Theatre artists must now be able to work comfortably across diverse areas, including acting, dance, choreography, directing, and teaching. In this regard, Keith Lee Grant has been a consistent creative thread, successfully weaving together many different strands of theatre performance/administration/education for more than forty years.
Keith Grant was born on April 23, 1954, in Chicago, Illinois. In accordance with the above-mentioned high standards for Musical Theatre training, Grant pursued extensive academic credentials. His initial academic degrees include a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre from the University of Utah, completed in 1974, and a certificate from the American Conservatory Theatre in 1976. Likewise, his academic credentials include a Master of Fine Arts from the Yale School of Drama, completed in 1982, and a Master of Arts from Penn State University, completed in 1984.
Grant has performed on Broadway, Off-Broadway, in regional theatres, on television, and in films. Some of his Broadway performances include Show Boat as a member of the ensemble in 1997 and as Jean L’Adrese in Marie Christine (1999-2000) at The Vivian Beaumont Theatre. He also performed in the United States premiere of the musical, Ragtime, in the ensemble and as Coalhouse’s and Booker T. Washington’s understudy at the Shubert Theatre in Los Angeles in 1997. Grant has performed in several other theatre venues, Off and Off-Off Broadway, including Abie’s Island Rose at The Jewish Repertory Theatre in 2000, In Dahomey at the New Federal Theatre in 1999, and in Reunions at City Center Second Stage in 2025.
In regional theatres, Grant worked at The Oregon Shakespeare Festival, 1976-1977, The Yale Repertory Theatre in Love’s Labour’s Lost in 1982, The Indiana Repertory Theatre in Much Ado About Nothing in 1994, Syracuse Stage in A Christmas Carol in 1993-1994, and in A Midsummer Night’s Dream in Harlem at The Pittsburgh Public Theatre in 2023.
In addition to his work as a performer, Grant’s career in directing and choreography demonstrates his extensive and varied list of creative accomplishments. He has directed and/or choreographed over one hundred and thirty professional and university productions, ranging from classical theatre productions like Shakespeare’s As You Like It and A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream to contemporary dramas like Miguel Piñero’s Short Eyes. His musical theatre productions include Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd and A Little Night Music, as well as Jerry Herman’s Mame. Grant has directed large-scale revivals at The Harlem Repertory Theatre (HRT): Dreamgirls (2013), The Wiz (2009), West Side Story (2014), In the Heights (2015), Ain’t Misbehavin’ (2017), A Raisin in the Sun (2017), and Jamaica (2017).
These works at the HRT have received attention from both national and local theatre media outlets, including coverage in The New York Times, Playbill, Amsterdam News, StageBuddy, Backstage, and TDF.
Grant’s directing/choreography extended to opera, when he directed the premieres of The Promise at the Germantown Performing Arts Center in Memphis, Tennessee, and selected scenes from Margaret Garner at the Cincinnati Opera. Internationally, he directed and choreographed a production of Dreamgirls in Hamilton, Bermuda, in 2007. Early in his career, Grant served as the Artistic Coordinator and Resident Choreographer for the Oregon Dance Theater from 1977 to 1979, a position that combined administrative oversight with creative direction. These roles demonstrate his engagement with both the creative and operational aspects of performing arts institutions.
Grant has also distinguished himself with a series of AUDELCO Awards that highlight the best of Black theatre. Grant won Best Director of a Musical and Best Musical Production of the year for Dreamgirls in 2013, and Best Director and Best Choreographer for The Wiz in 2009. He was also nominated for Best Revival for his theatre work on In the Heights in 2016 and A Raisin in the Sun in 2017. Press coverage of his award and nomination was published through independent news sources such as Lia Chang: Backstage Pass and the AUDELCO website.
Throughout his career, Grant has had the opportunity to share the stage and the creative process with an impressive group of actors and theater professionals. He worked with Tony award-winning and nominated talents like Audra McDonald, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Billy Porter, Frances McDormand, Kate Burton, Mary Testa, Anthony Crivello, Mary Bond Davis, and Chip Zien. His collaborations include working with directing stalwarts like Lloyd Richards, Ron Holgate, Gabriel Barre, Frank Galati, and Graciela Daniels. This impressive list of colleagues indicates that Grant is indeed a part of a high-profile group of American Theatre actors, directors, producers, and choreographers.
As a creative talent, Grant has worked as an actor, director, choreographer, and administrator. Various productions with The Harlem Repertory Theatre have enabled Grant to create original works and highly successful revivals of classic plays/musicals. His work draws upon a wide variety of music, theatre, dramatic literature, and cultural traditions. With his impressive body of work, Grant continues to be positively recognized by national and international artistic institutions. Grant has earned and continues to enjoy a robust presence in the professional American theatre.
In conclusion, Keith Lee Grant remains a prominent thread in the American theatre. His work is a weaving together of performance, choreography, directing, and leadership accomplishments that were achieved over decades. As the multifaceted theatre artists cited in the first paragraph, Grant moves effortlessly between classical, contemporary, and musical theatre as director/choreographer/performer, in addition to leading institutions such as the Harlem Repertory Theatre and the Oregon Dance Theatre. His career spans a broad landscape: stages across the country and internationally, opera houses, and educational institutions. By staying active across so many facets of the performing arts, Grant has created an enduring path that links his formal training, organizational leadership, and performance accomplishments into a notable career spanning more than four decades.
