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C T I N N O V A T O R S , 2 0 2 2 5 5 McDONALD A N T HON Y Producing Change McDonald aims to diversify Shubert eatre's audience, community outreach >> BY RYAN LINDSAY On the mornings Anthony McDonald spent commuting to New Haven from Stamford before relocating to the home of e Shubert eatre this summer, Joel Osteen's voice filled his car. Sometimes, wisdom imparted through the pastor's sermon would make it into McDonald's staff meetings. "ere's a lot of prayer happening because I know I have something in front of me that can be an amazing thing if we can make it work," McDonald says. "Man can only do so much. Sometimes you have to take a step back and just pray about it … and doors will open, things will change." When McDonald took the helm as executive director of e Shubert, it was March 2021. ose morn- ing commutes led him to an empty, 1,600- seat theater because of the COVID-19 pandemic. "It was weird," McDonald says. "I came from working on 'Lion King' on Broadway where we had shows eight times a week, six days a week, people always in the the- ater, to a theater where I saw a stage, but there was nothing for six months. So, it was strange having to adapt to that envi- ronment." During his interview process, Ruby Melton recalls McDonald's proposal to prioritize using the theater as a COVID vaccination site, calling it an "unusual, somewhat surprising priority of his." "We were in the midst of a COVID shutdown and the theater was dark. ere was a skeleton staff," says Melton, who is chair of Shubert's board of directors. "Yet Anthony saw this as a way to reach out to the community and provide a service, unrelated to the business of running a the- ater." She says McDonald recognized the theater was "in an ideal location near multiple modes of transportation and that it had the infrastructure that could help with setting up the site and scheduling vaccinations." During that time, hundreds of New Haven residents were able to receive COVID-19 vaccines at the theater's on-site, walk-up clinic. "His first act as executive director was to reach out to the community, not with programming, but with a vital service," Melton says. 'Black greatness' In the Shubert's 107-year history of existence, McDonald is the first person of color to lead the institution. He is the proud son of Jamaican immigrants and a celebrated graduate of one of the most prestigious historically Black universities, Howard University. Just as soon as McDonald graduated from Howard as a the- ater arts and administration major, he headed to Columbia University for a master's of fine arts in theater management and producing. At 21, he was one of the youngest in the pro- gram. "I wouldn't have been in that room if I didn't deserve to be in that room, if I hadn't earned my spot in that room," McDon- ald says. "I was comfortable with the fact that Howard, in many ways prepared me to be in that room." ere is a certain je ne sais quoi that Howard graduates have about them- selves. ey create significant cultur- al currency. From Kwame Ture, Sean Combs (who now goes by just Diddy), and Chadwick Boseman, to Toni Mor- rison, Vashti Murphy McKenzie and Taraji P. Henson, it is undeniable that Howard graduates stand out, shi the atmosphere and carve out space for oth- ers, just as much as they carve space out for themselves. McDonald has a deep reverence for his alma mater, and knows that he too is a part of the legacy of an institution that cultivates "Black greatness." Charles A. Coward, McDonald's col- lege advisor, remembers him as a stu- dent who knew exactly what he wanted and worked hard to achieve it. "From the moment I met him, I knew he was a leader," says Coward. He points to McDonald's drive to secure funding for new seating in the school's black box theater and organize a senior showcase as acts of innovation. For about a decade, McDonald developed out of the spotlight, honing skills as he steadily added more experience to his track record through Broadway and off-Broadway shows. Each job — be it six-month stints as a general manager or associate general manager for theater productions, or two to three years as an as- Anthony McDonald Executive Director Shubert Theatre Education: Howard University; Columbia, master's of fine arts, theater management and producing Age: 33 Continued on next page