(from Mark Zimmerman, theatre arts director Firestone CLC and Akron School for the Arts)
Lloyd Richards (1919-2006) was a Canadian-American theatre director, actor and dean of the Yale School of Drama from 1979 to 1991, and Yale University professor emeritus.
Lloyd Richards became the first African-American to direct a play on Broadway in 1959 when he directed Lorraine Hansberry’s "A Raisin in the Sun." His partnership with writer August Wilson was legendary, and he directed six of his works: "Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom," "Fences," "Joe Turner’s Come and Gone," "The Piano Lesson," "Two Trains Running" and "Seven Guitars."
