Look, Mom, I Finally Made It To Broadway!

By Michel Martin

Published September 19, 2014 at 12:35 PM EDT

OK, I sort of made it to Broadway. It's WNYC's Greene Space in SoHo, the New York City neighborhood.

Friday is date night. But even if you are flying solo, come join us in person, or on Twitter.

We have a terrific lineup of some of the most exciting playwrights working today to talk about Broadway.

We are asking why, despite all the diverse and creative work being produced in other media, Broadway still seems to be "The Great White Way." It has yet to reflect the dynamic stories in the nation, the arts, or the vibrant city it calls home.

We'll ask why that matters, and what might change it.

I will be discussing whether there's A Broader Way in the future of the theater with award-winning playwrights David Henry Hwang, Lydia Diamond, Bruce Norris and Kristoffer Diaz. They have all tackled topics like race and class, and they have done it in a way that makes audiences sit up and listen.

We want to talk about the big issues they have taken on, how they make it work and why they feel inspired to do it.

The conversation will be live-streamed on Friday at 7 p.m. ET from The Greene Space. At the same time, please follow and join on Twitter and Facebook, using #NPRMichel to share your thoughts.

Joining us on Twitter are:

Dennis Allen II(@Dallensequel). He's an actor and playwright, recipient of the 2012 and 2013 Himan Brown Creative Writing Award, and a member of Liberation Theatre Company's 2011 and 2012 Black Playwrights' Group.

Carla Ching (@carlaching). She's a playwright and TV writer, a member of New Dramatists and The Kilroys, and the former artistic director of Asian-American theater company 2g.

Mona Mansour (@MonaMansourNY). She's a member of New Dramatists, recipient of the 2014 Middle East America Distinguished Playwright Award and the 2012 Whiting Award winner.

Arts reporter Jeff Lunden (@jefflunden) will be tweeting from The Greene Space. NPR's Davar Ardalan and Frederica Boswell will tweet from the live event, using @NPRMichel.