Boulevard of Bold Dreams by LaDarrion Williams

An historic night at the Oscars.
A dream of what could have been.

IT IS FEBRUARY 29, 1940, the night of the Academy Awards in Hollywood, California. Bartender Arthur Brooks, an ambitious Black man from rural Alabama, dreams of becoming a movie director. His best friend, Dottie Hudson, is a maid at the Ambassador Hotel who finds herself to be a cynic of all dreams. When Academy Award...
An historic night at the Oscars.
A dream of what could have been.

IT IS FEBRUARY 29, 1940, the night of the Academy Awards in Hollywood, California. Bartender Arthur Brooks, an ambitious Black man from rural Alabama, dreams of becoming a movie director. His best friend, Dottie Hudson, is a maid at the Ambassador Hotel who finds herself to be a cynic of all dreams. When Academy Award Nominee Hattie McDaniel stops in at the bar and decides not to attend the biggest event in show business, Arthur and Dottie must do everything in their power to convince her to go and claim her historic win—while confronting their dark past and making their own dreams come to life.

This play is about race, class, gender, and the ever-changing landscape of Hollywood.
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Boulevard of Bold Dreams

Recommended by

  • David Beardsley:
    10 Mar. 2023
    “ Boulevard of Bold Dreams reminded me why I love plays that use history to tell stories. Hattie McDaniel, on what should a triumphant and celebratory night, the night she wins an Academy Award for her role in Gone With the Wind, finds herself in a hotel bar deciding whether to skip the ceremony. This lifelong-dream evening has turned into a nightmare of indignities, all because she is black. Like any powerful piece of historical fiction, the play isn’t a lesson or a lecture; it’s a moving story with roots in reality that make it even more powerful. ”

ARTHUR BROOKS - Black man, a dreamer/bartender who moved from Alabama in hopes of becoming a movie director.

DOTTIE CUNNINGHAM - Black woman, a bit of a cynic who seems to be running from something. She and Arthur are best of friends.

HATTIE MCDANIEL - Black woman, an infamous actress currently nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the Academy Awards.

Development History

Production History

Awards

Selection
,
New Works
,
Jeff Awards
,
2023