Darryl Maximilian Robinson Provides His Booker T. Washington In "Ragtime" Notes

Now celebrating his 50th anniversary as an American Stage Performer, Darryl Maximilian Robinson ( A Veteran of Chicago, St. Louis And LA Stage Productions ) Enjoyed One Of His Finest Supporting Roles Ever When He Portrayed The Historic Black Educator, Orator and Adviser To Presidents Booker T. Washington In The Kentwood Players of Los Angeles' 2013 Revival of "Ragtime"!

"...Darryl Maximilian Robinson a tower of strength as Booker T. Washington..." -- Don Grigware, Kentwood Players Stage Melodically Rousing RAGTIME, BroadwayWorld.com March 20, 2013

Veteran Chicago, St. Louis and Los Angeles stage actor Darryl Maximilian Robinson has had the honor of playing multiple black historic figures on the stage during the course of his 50-year-long career in The Performing Arts ( in the year 1983 alone, he played Windy City Founder and Frontiersman Jean Baptiste Pointe DuSable in Playwright Alice Rubio's "Chicago: A Tale Of One City" in a touring production to Chicago Public Schools for the Urban Gateways Arts Organization as well as notorious African-American / Mexican-American Cowboy, Bank Robber & Confidence Man Ben Hodges in Producer Val Gray Ward's Kuumba Theatre Company musical of "Deadwood Dick: The Legend Of The West" at The Old Pakula Building in The Loop of Downtown Chicago).

By far his most personal favorite was the famed and historic black educator and orator Booker T. Washington ( April 5, 1856-November 14, 1915 ) whom Mr. Robinson had the great joy of playing in the 2013 Kentwood Players' staging of the Tony Award-winning musical "Ragtime" ( based on E. L. Doctorow's novel ) at The Westchester Playhouse in Los Angeles. With an award-winning Score by Stephen Flaherty, Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens and Book by Terrence McNally, "Ragtime" is an American musical theatre masterpiece addressing issues of race, immigration and women's rights like no other!

The Kentwood Players' revival was wonderfully choreographed by Victoria Miller, expertly musical directed by Bill C. Wolfe, and superbly staged by the brilliant director Susan Goldman Weisbarth.

It's large, gifted and talented cast was highlighted by fine performances by the dashing Deus Xavier Scott as Coalhouse Walker, Jr. ( whom Mr. Robinson was delighted to play his most important scene as Booker T. Washington in the show opposite ), the lovely and charming Jennifer Sperry as Mother and triple-threat musical theatre pro Bradley Miller as Tateh.

For his preparation and research for the role of Booker T. Washington in "Ragtime," Darryl Maximilian Robinson listened to recordings of his fine and eloquent speaking voice and read Mr. Washington's acclaimed biography "Up from Slavery" which related his struggles being born under the yoke of slavery in America before The Emancipation, and how after he gained his legal freedom, he worked hard and studied hard to better himself to such a degree that he became one of the most revered and respected black citizens in the country who would also go on to serve as a Special Advisor on Race Relations to two U.S. Presidents and create The Tuskegee Institute ( later Tuskegee University ) which would be called by many "The Capitol of Black America."

A life-long advocate of justice, fairness, education and economic opportunity for his fellow African-American citizens, Booker T. Washington secretly ( to avoid losing financial donations to Tuskegee from his white supporters ) spent his own money to help in legal cases of unfairly charged black defendants and to assist organizations ( including the newly-formed NAACP ) that strived to improve conditions and civil rights for African-Americans.

During the last months of his life, before his premature death on November 14, 1915, Booker T. Washington joined several black and white leaders around the country and the world in condemning the release of the technically-brilliant, but notoriously racist silent screen epic "Birth Of A Nation" directed by white supremacist D. W. Griffith.

The negative and horrifically stereotypical depiction of blacks in the film ( several of them played by white actors in black face "minstrel show style" ) caused race riots, protest marches and boycotts around the country.

Do any of these events sound familiar?

The film also helped as a major screen propaganda tool to restart the then disbanded Klu Klux Klan ( who are portrayed as the heroes of the film as they were in the racist film's basis novel the Reverend Thomas Dixon's "The Klansman" ), aided to continue to justify unfair Jim Crow Laws, and encouraged multiple barbaric, racist lynchings and vicious and brutal murders of black American citizens ( men, women and children ) around the country.

"Birth Of A Nation" would also prove the "casting template" used by the vast majority of white producers and directors and writers for all black actors and actresses in Hollywood and Broadway for nearly a century, which would relegate performers of color ( no matter how talented, gifted, knowledgeable or skilled ) to submissive, unintelligent, stereotypical and demeaning characterizations of blacks for the full-length of their careers.

Fully-aware of the power of cinema, and the damage the Griffith film would no doubt do to African-Americans in their ultimate pursuit of equal opportunity and economic growth as well as his own efforts to advance the progress and hopes and dreams of his people, when the film was released, Booker T. Washington had a response.

With his trusted and skilled personal assistant, Dr. Emmett J. Scott, Booker T. Washington was making plans to create a silent screen adaptation of "Up From Slavery" as a response to Griffith's racist ( and extremely financially-successful ) film. But with his death, a screen version of "Up From Slavery" ( which would have portrayed "the most famous negro in the country" and other successful, well-spoken, well-educated, black citizens of America in a positive light ) never came to fruition. Alone, Dr. Scott would go on to produce a completely co-opted, flawed, racially-sabotaged and irrelevant film called "Birth Of A Race," which was soon forgotten.

To this day, in 2024, in our culturally-enlightened, technologically-advanced, United States of America, there remains no single, full-length, comprehensive, screen depiction of the historic and well-documented life of the educator, orator and adviser to U.S. Presidents Booker T. Washington from Hollywood.

Sadly, systemic racism really is present in The Arts, too.

Darryl Maximilian Robinson earned fine notices and a 2013 Los Angeles Kentwood Players' Marcom Masque Theatre Award nomination for Best Actor In A Major Supporting Role for his performance as Booker T. Washington in "Ragtime."

Booker T. Washington was and is one of Mr. Robinson's great American heroes! And playing him in "Ragtime" was a true honor!

"Amazing how Director Weisbarth was able to pull off this ambitious production with such a huge cast in such a small space without anybody falling into the orchestra pit... perhaps because there is no pit. Wonderful choral harmonies, and some stellar performances, notably by second leads Darryl Maxmillian Robinson, Joanna Curgin, and above all, Bradley Miller..."

-- Hal G. Attended Ragtime, Goldstar Review, Sunday March 31, 2013 / 2:00 pm.  

The Kentwood Players revival of the acclaimed musical "Ragtime" is Winner of 9 2013 Los Angeles Marcom Masque Theatre Awards including Best Play and Best Director for Susan Goldman Weisbarth. In addition, the production received a 2014 Los Angeles NAACP Theatre Award nomination for Best Costume Design.

Chicago-born and stage-trained actor Darryl Maximilian Robinson was recently seen by Windy City theatregoers in his critically-praised dual roles of The Chairman Mr. William Cartwright and The Mayor Thomas Sapsea in the 2018 Saint Sebastian Players Chicago revival of Rupert Holmes'The Mystery of Edwin Drood' at the more than a century old St. Bonaventure Church for which he received a 2019 BroadwayWorld Chicago Award nomination for Best Performer In A Musical or Revue ( Resident Non-Equity ). Most recently, Darryl Maximilian Robinson was named a winner of a 2022 Making The World Happening Award from Allevents.in for his numerous online theatre-related offerings during the early years of The Covid-19 pandemic.

Darryl Maximilian Robinson has become noted as the very first black actor in American Theatre History to portray on stage a trio of classic dramatic roles including: Sir Thomas More in Robert Bolt's "A Man For All Seasons" ( in a 1984 revival presented by The University Players of The University of Missouri-St. Louis and directed by AEA Member John Grassilli at The Benton Hall Theater ); King Henry II in a 1992 multiracial cast revival of James Goldman's "The Lion In Winter "( directed by Mr. Robinson for his chamber theatre Excaliber Productions, Ltd in St. Louis and staged at The Wabash Triangle Cafe ); and Andrew Wyke ( opposite the talented actor Sean Nix as Milo Tindle ) in a 2000, 30th Anniversary, all-black cast revival of Anthony Shaffer's "Sleuth" presented under Mr. Robinson's direction by his chamber theatre The Excaliber Shakespeare Company of Chicago at The Harrison Street Galleries Studio Theatre of Oak Park, Illinois.