Last year, when The Black Rep founder Ron Himes stepped onto a New York stage to receive a Lifetime Achievement Audelco Award, one of the people celebrating him understood better than most what the moment represented.
Elizabeth Van Dyke had the honor of presenting the award to the man who built a nationally respected Black theater institution from St. Louis.
“A director, leader, organizer, visionary, producer, builder, administrator, impresario,” Van Dyke said in her tribute. “Ron Himes possesses a knowledge and love of Black history, Black people, our ancestors, our contributions, our legacy, and for those who paved the way.”
The moment was not lost on Himes.
“We are a company based in St. Louis, founded in St. Louis, producing work for St. Louis,” Himes said when reflecting on last year’s national recognition. “We’re committed to using and developing local artists. To have that mission recognized on a national stage, it’s a wonderful affirmation of what we’ve built.”
A year later, the roles will be reversed.
Van Dyke will receive the Woodie King Lifetime Achievement Award during The Black Rep’s 2026 Gala at the 560 Music Center on Saturday, November 14. She will be honored alongside stage and television veteran S. Epatha Merkerson and arts leader Eileen J. Morris as part of the company’s yearlong 50th anniversary celebration.
Van Dyke is an acclaimed actress, director, writer and producer, particularly recognized for bringing literary and cultural icons to life on stage, including Zora Neale Hurston and Lorraine Hansberry. In 2020, she succeeded Woodie King Jr. as artistic director of New Federal Theatre, extending a legacy that helped shape generations of Black theater artists.
For Himes, the gala reflects what has sustained The Black Rep since he founded the company in 1976 while a student at Washington University.
The Black Rep grew from a student-led vision into one of the nation’s leading African American theater companies and a creative home for generations of Black actors, directors, playwrights and arts advocates.
A centerpiece of the gala will be the return of Tell Me Somethin’ Good, Himes’ popular musical revue celebrating rhythm and blues, soul and funk.
The one-night-only concert production revisits a Black Rep favorite that traces the evolution of Black popular music from 1950s doo-wop through the sounds of the 1990s. Named after the Rufus classic, the production has enjoyed multiple revivals over the years, drawing enthusiastic crowds and earning a reputation for getting audiences out of their seats.
With songs such as “Dr. Feelgood,” “Selfish One” and the revue’s namesake hit, Tell Me Somethin’ Good often feels less like a stage production and more like a shared soundtrack of Black life and love. That familiarity has helped make it one of the most requested shows in the company’s history.
“For fifty years, St. Louis has trusted us to tell our stories, and music has always been at the heart of how we tell them,” Himes said. “Tell Me Somethin’ Good is the show our audiences ask for more than any other. Bringing it back for our 50th is our way of saying thank you, and inviting everyone to celebrate what comes next.”
The concert will feature Olivia Neal, J. Samuel Davis, Tyler White, Kelvin Roston Jr., Jennifer Kelley, Olajuwon Davis, Amber Rose, Herman Gordon and Morgan Taylor. Guest performers include Anita Jackson, Denise Thimes, CJ Jefferson, Kim Fuller, Drummond Crenshaw, Charles Glenn and Cherise Louis-Mason.
Several artists appearing in the production are part of The Black Rep’s extended family. They are performers whose careers intersected with the institution at various stages of their artistic journeys. Some launched careers from its stages. Others found mentorship, professional opportunities or affirmation of their creative voice through the company and have returned to help celebrate the milestone.
Himes said watching former students and company members establish careers across the country remains among his most meaningful accomplishments.
“That’s legacy,” Himes said. “People are excited to be part of what The Black Rep represents. Some because it shaped their artistic lives, others because they understand its history and want to contribute to it.”
That notion of legacy also extends beyond the stage.
During the gala, Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis President and CEO Michael P. McMillan and Regional Arts Commission President and CEO Vanessa Cooksey will receive the Frankie Muse Freeman Spirit Award, recognizing service, leadership and commitment to the community.
The celebration comes during a landmark season that includes The Colored Museum, Purpose, a 50th-anniversary production of Ntozake Shange’s for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf and August Wilson’s Gem of the Ocean.
“We are, as our ancestors have been, resilient,” Himes said. “And we are constantly moving forward. We are still moving toward the right to produce our work, to support our artists and to create a space for the institutionalization of a major Black cultural institution in St. Louis.”
For Himes, those productions, and the gala itself, represent more than a season lineup. They are evidence of a mission that continues.
“That’s legacy,” Himes said.