It can’t be easy being the daughter of Phylicia Rashad. She’s one of America’s favorite TV moms, not to mention a Tony Award winning actress, but her daughter, Condola, manages to hold her own, particularly as one of the most talked about cast members in the Broadway play “Stick Fly.”

The New York Times recently profiled the 25-year-old California Institute of the Arts graduate and noted her remarkable ability to command attention from the audience among seasoned veterans like Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Tracie Thoms, Dulé Hill, and Mekhi Phifer. Kenny Leon, Director of the play says he gave Condola the role of Cheryl in “Stick Fly” after she auditioned for the character Angela Bassett currently portrays in “The Mountaintop.”

“Condola was too young to play the part in “Mountaintop,” but she had a maturity that made me think she can do older and Hot.”  “Most actresses, they can do blue, red, green and that’s it, they do what they do. But if I say to Condola, ‘Do blue,’ she says, ‘What shade of blue do you want?’

Check out the rest of the profile on NYTimes.com

If you saw “Stick Fly,” what did you think of Condola’s performance?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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Katori Hall’s play, The Mountaintop, opens on Broadway this month to great acclaim having already won an Oliver Award in London; and the buzz surrounding Samuel J. Jackson and Angela Bassett’s performances hasn’t stopped. (Check out the video after the jump of Ms. Bassett performing a piece from the play on “The Gayle King Show.”)

What inspired a 30-year-old woman who didn’t live through the civil rights movement to retell the story of the night before Martin Luther King, Jr.’s assassination? Hall told Elle that her mother, who was a teenager at the time of MLK’s death, was forbidden to attend Dr. King’s “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech for fear of violence. Now she’s able to bring that experience to her and many others 43 years later. Read on for more details of the interview from Elle:

It’s not everyday you see black faces on Broadway. And it’s even more rare to see black women behind the scenes. But this season on Broadway things are a little bit different. This season three African American women will have their plays debut on Broadway. Check out the lineup for this holiday season and be sure to get your tickets and support.

(USA Today) — In recent years, African-American playwrights, directors and performers have been responsible for some of Broadway’s most conspicuous hits. This fall brings two new black authors, and black actors will play key roles in a number of high-profile productions expected in the near future.  Yet anyone who would propose that racial diversity is no longer a concern should consider some data from the Broadway League. According to in-theater surveys, the Broadway audience remained about three-quarters white from the spring of 1998 through the spring of 2010.  African-American audiences peaked at just 6.7%, in the 2006-07 season, with Hispanics and Asians respectively topping out at 8.6% (in 2008-09) and 6.3% (2009-10). (Figures for 2010-11 are not yet available.)  ”It is called the Great White Way,” says Samuel L. Jackson, now in previews for Katori Hall’s The Mountaintop. Jackson worries, in fact, that most African Americans “won’t be able to afford to see” Hall’s play, in which he portrays Martin Luther King Jr. “The people who will see it are either affluent or black people who have saved some money for a special event, or maybe someone got them tickets.”

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