Zhailon Levingston Appointed Board Chair for Broadway Advocacy Coalition | Playbill
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Zhailon Levingston Appointed Board Chair for Broadway Advocacy Coalition

The Obie Award-winning director has been involved with the organization since its inception in 2016.

February 18, 2026 By Meg Masseron

Zhailon Levingston (Jenny Anderson)

Broadway Advocacy Coalition (BAC) has appointed Zhailon Levingston as new Board Chair. Levingston has been involved with the Tony Award-winning not-for-profit organization since its inception in 2016, co-creating a hallmark for BAC’s programming.

Levingston is a director and activist who co-directed Cats: The Jellicle Ball, an immersive reimagining of the classic musical that premiered in 2024 at New York City’s Perelman Arts Center. The production, transferring to Broadway this spring, earned him an Obie Award (co-Directing) as well as a Drama Desk, Drama League, and Outer Critics Circle Award nominations for Outstanding Direction of a Musical.

“Zhailon has been a heartbeat of the Broadway Advocacy Coalition from the very beginning,” said BAC Producing Artistic Director Dria Brown in a statement. “As an artist, organizer, and co-founder, he has always insisted that our work be accountable to the people most impacted by harm and that our stages be places where truth is spoken and power is shifted. Stepping into the role of Board Chair, he is not just taking on a title. He is helping guide BACK into its next chapter of bold, imaginative, and deeply responsible artivism, where changing policy, shifting narrative, and caring for our communities are held with the same urgency.”

Levingston is the artistic director of Inheritance Theatre Project, and along with BAC, co-created the “Theatre of Change” course at Columbia University School of Law that is still being taught today. Once a year, he returns to his hometown of Shreveport, Louisiana to direct community theatre to stay connected to his roots.

Founded in 2016, BAC's mission is to use arts and storytelling to build a more equitable society, and build the collective capacity of individuals, organizations, and coalitions to do the same. In 2021, the organization was honored with a Special Tony Award.

For more information, visit BwayAdvocacyCoalition.org.

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