Black Hair in the Big Leagues welcomes the incomparable Gabrielle Beckford to the show! Host, Salisha Thomas sits down with former cast mate of Once Upon a One More Time on Broadway, Gabrielle Beckford. Gabrielle made a splash with her Broadway debut as the character, Rapunzel; smashing stereotypes and while giving a new twist to a classic. Hearing her story of wanting to see herself in the characters of the stories she watched growing up and how she gets to BE the representation that she...

Black Hair in the Big Leagues welcome back Aisha Jackson! If you don't know, she was one of the first episodes to kick off the entire podcast (EP 2)!!! In this episode, Host, Salisha Thomas sits down with Aisha in the dressing room of The Marquis Theatre on Broadway during loadout...aka after Once Upon a One More Time (the musical powered with the music of Britney Spears) had taken it's final bow. A truncated version of this episode is available on youtube at...

Black Hair in the Big Leagues welcome back Aisha Jackson! If you don't know, she was one of the first episodes to kick off the entire podcast (EP 2)!!! In this episode, Host, Salisha Thomas sits down with Aisha in the dressing room of The Marquis Theatre on Broadway during loadout...aka after Once Upon a One More Time (the musical powered with the music of Britney Spears) had taken it's final bow. A truncated version of this episode is available on youtube at...

Phylicia Pearl Mpasi from the upcoming Blockbuster hit, The Color Purple graces us with her presence here on Black Hair in the Big Leagues. Recorded just DAYS before the release of what's sure to be her star turn, Phylicia sits down with host, Salisha Thomas and talks about her journey from The Lion King on tour and on Broadway to writing for the TV show, The Rise of the Pink Ladies, to landing the role of the century: Young Celie in The Color Purple. Phylicia talks about declaring what she...

Phylicia Pearl Mpasi from the upcoming Blockbuster hit, The Color Purple graces us with her presence here on Black Hair in the Big Leagues. Recorded just DAYS before the release of what's sure to be her star turn, Phylicia sits down with host, Salisha Thomas and talks about her journey from The Lion King on tour and on Broadway to writing for the TV show, The Rise of the Pink Ladies, to landing the role of the century: Young Celie in The Color Purple. Phylicia talks about declaring what she...

American Idol's Justin Guarini stops by Black Hair in the Big Leagues with host, Salisha Thomas Weiss for an episode of laughter and nostalgia. Justin recently closed his run as Prince Charming in Once Upon a One More Time at the Marquis Theatre on Broadway. In addition to performing live in front of 30 Million viewers during American Idol season 1 and landing in the top two, Justin has also gone on to have an impressive career on Broadway, headlining 7 shows. He is the author of Audition...

American Idol's Justin Guarini stops by Black Hair in the Big Leagues with host, Salisha Thomas Weiss for an episode of laughter and nostalgia. Justin recently closed his run as Prince Charming in Once Upon a One More Time at the Marquis Theatre on Broadway. In addition to performing live in front of 30 Million viewers during American Idol season 1 and landing in the top two, Justin has also gone on to have an impressive career on Broadway, headlining 7 shows. He is the author of Audition...

Hello! Salisha Thomas here! And I'm excited to share that I making my Theater producing debut of a play written by this week's guest on Black Hair in the Big Leagues: Gail Burton! Gail is a thought leader, public intellectual, director, and a writer. She is a trained and experienced practitioner of the techniques developed to affect radical social change and help bring about social jutice, peace, and empowerment of people whos voices have too often been silenced. Her life's work has been...

Hello! Salisha Thomas here! And I'm excited to share that I making my Theater producing debut of a play written by this week's guest on Black Hair in the Big Leagues: Gail Burton! Gail is a thought leader, public intellectual, director, and a writer. She is a trained and experienced practitioner of the techniques developed to affect radical social change and help bring about social jutice, peace, and empowerment of people whos voices have too often been silenced. Her life's work has been...

Martina Sykes is Royalty among us. She was in Motown the Musical on tour and on Broadway, Raindogs, Rent, Hairspray, and is currently on tour with Lion King as Shenzi! Her brother is Ephraim Sykes, also a major talent in the industry so clearly the Sykes Family has something special running through their veins. She created a nonprofit called the HeART Mission as well as The Sykes Scholarship. Welcome to Black Hair in the Big Leagues Martina Sykes! Follow her @ladysykes1 Follow host, Salisha...

Host, Salisha Thomas sits down with Actress turned Businesswoman Shalita Grant on this week's episode of Black Hair in the Big Leagues. She is the founder and creator of Four Naturals Hair products. Her acting credits include (but are not limited to) TV shows NCIS, Santa Clarita diet, Mercy Street, and You. She was nominated for a Tony award for her role in Vanya and Sonya and Masha and Spike. After a physically damaging experience to her hair on set of a hit TV show, she left the show and...

The one and only Jocelyn Bioh graces Black Hair in the Big Leagues with her presence this week for our 100th Episode!!!!!!! She is the woman who wrote School Girls: The African Mean Girls Play, and Nollywood. She's a playwright with Manhattan Theater Club and Atlantic Theatre Company. She's a resident playwright at Lincoln Center. She adapted Marry Wives for Shakespeare in the Park which was turned into a documentary on HBO Max. The musical soon to hit Broadway starring Amber Iman called...

This week on Black Hair in the Big Leagues, host Salisha Thomas sits down with celebrity stylist, Sophie Rose (Gutterman). She's been in the hair industry for over 10 years, is California based (but travels), and has worked for Italian Vogue, Hollywood Reporter, Harper's Baazar, Maybelline, Christian Dior, Karlie Kloss, Gwyneth Paltrow, and more! Sophie has styled hosts on ESPN and MTV, and done hair on Red Table Talk, Good Morning America, and the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. The list...

Aurelia Michael Holmgren joins the Black Hair in the Big Leagues lineup with host, Salisha Thomas Weiss. Aurelia is a Motivational Speaker, Dancer, a body builder, a major voiceover artist (booking gigs like McDonald's, Hulu, and Netflix!) and the creator of Voice On Demand. She swung the Donna Sumer Musical on Broadway. She's the associate choreographer for the upcoming Wonderful World coming soon to Broadway! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode was recorded during the Broadway Revival run of 1776 with a full cast of Women and Nonbinary actors and a whole lot of People of Color. Originally, 1776, a show about the making of the Declaration of Independence was performed by a cast of all white men (and a couple of women to play their wives). In this episode of Black Hair in the Big Leagues, Salome B Smith and Imani Pearl Williams joins host, Salisha Thomas. Imani Pearl Williams (she/her) toured with Pippin and Pretty Woman...

Greg and Joanne Starkman join the lineup for Black Hair in the Big Leagues with host, Salisha Thomas making history as the show's first guests who are not people of Color. And it is not by mistake. Greg and Joanne are the creators of a product line called INNERSENSE Organic Beauty. Innersense is all clean ingredients, there isn't a bunch of crap in it, and you get a LOT of bang for your buck. The bottles seem to last longer than expected; Because they aren't watered down, a little goes a long...

The One and Only Curl Doctor, Shai Amiel graces us with his presence this week on Black Hair in the Big Leagues with host, Salisha Thomas. Shai has been in the business of hair (and in particular, CURLS) for over 20 years and it shows in his work. Getting in his chair at Capella Salon in Studio City is the equivalent of seeing the original Broadway cast of Hamilton: it feels like a moment in time, like history, a PRIVILEGE. Enjoy this episode as he humbly breaks it down on how to care for...

From the 'And Peggy' cast of Hamilton on tour, Marja Harmon who's currently starring as Angelica Schuyler visits Black Hair in the Big Leagues with host, Salisha Thomas! Marja is a light! A graduate of USC, she was in God Friended Me, Jessica Jones, and Madam Secretary. She's toured with The Lion King as Nala, and was on Broadway in Cat On a Hot Tin Roof and The Book of Mormon. Yes, she is the bomb. Follow Marja on Instagram at @missmarjaharmony or check her out on the Hamilton tour...

Broadway Star and founder of BIA, Black Hair in the Big Leagues welcomes Michelle West to the show!!!!! She's performed in Regional Theaters all over the country including Sacramento Music Circus, Walnut Street; She's Toured with Memphis and Aladdin, and made her Broadway debut in Tina: The Tina Turner Musical. During her time as a Swing in Tina, she built a Fitness and Nutrition Coaching Business called BIA. Check her out at www.bianutrition.com/connect and on instagram @chelleywest. Check...

We welcome stylist to the stars, Kendall Dorsey to Black Hair in the Big Leagues today! Kendall Dorsey’s cliental includes Saweetie, Kelly Rowland, Alicia Keys, Solange, Lizzo, and so many more and recently created Rihanna’s iconic “traditional Aaliyah inspired sweep” style. Kendall is an expert on curly hair and and a Color Wow ambassador! Follow Kendall on IG @kendalldorsey1 Follow Host Salisha Thomas @salishathomas Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Emancipation, The Watchmen, Lovecraft Country and now Oscar shortlisted celebrity stylist Andrea "Mona" Bowman stops by Black Hair in the Big Leagues with host, Salisha Thomas. Other credits of Andrea's include working with Regina King, Anna Kendrick, working on Respect, Gifted, Just Mercy, Women of the Movement and Pitch Perfect 3. In this episode, Andrea discusses how her love for hair and helping others with their found her. She talks about hair health, and how when she was an...

Joining this week's episode on Black Hair in the Big Leagues with Salisha Thomas is Kelley Nicole Girod. Hailing from Louisiana and with an MFA in playwriting from Columbia, she's the founder and executive director of Obie award winning Fire This Time Festival. It's a huge writing factory for new works by black writers of all genders. And she’s the editor of the anthology: 25 plays from the Fire this time festival— a decade of recognition, resistance, resilience, rebirth, and black theater....

Cendie Stanford joins the Black Hair in the Big Leagues line up with host, Salisha Thomas! She's a started a non-profit called ACE's Matter. WHAT HAPPENS TO PEOPLE IN THEIR CHILDHOOD INFORMS WHAT KIND OF ADULTS THEY BECOME. ACEs Matter is an organization that helps us understand why we are the way we are and encourages more compassion. What is an ACE Score? Your ACE score can help provide information about potential risks later in life.​A 10 question survey about childhood experiences,...

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Dawn L Troupe joins Black Hair in the Big Leagues with Host Salisha Thomas. An actor, singer, artist mother, director, writer, and producer who has performed at just about every major regional house in the United States including but not limited to ART, Cal Shakes, Joes Pub, Hill Barn, Berkeley Rep, and Theatreworks, to name a few. And now Dawn has made her Broadway debut in the revival of 1776! Salisha here! Dawn is truly the gem of the earth. Dawn Troupe was there when I got my Equity Card...