New Managing Director Joins Crossroads Theatre Company at a Crossroads

NEW BRUNSWICK – Crossroads is at a crossroads.

The Crossroads Theatre Company , which has been the pinnacle of Black theater for nearly half a century, has cast its eyes toward raising its profile, honoring its storied past and telling new stories in a world still reverberating in the wake of racial reckoning following the murder of George Floyd.

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It’s an ambitious agenda, especially considering many arts organizations – and even Broadway Theaters - continue to recover from the damage wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Enter Ezra Ezzard, stage left.

The new managing director of the New Brunswick-based company is bringing unbridled enthusiasm and a youthful spirit to his new role. In just three months on the job, he formed a collaborative partnership with Crossroads founding father Ricardo Khan.

Together, they are forging a new future for the theater company that won the 1999 Tony Award for outstanding regional theater and has been a home for the art and artistry of Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, George C. Wolfe, Viola Davis and others.

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“I took a deep dive into the history (of Crossroads) and I said, ‘I know exactly what to do with this legacy. I know exactly how to treat it. I know exactly how to tell this story so that future generations can benefit from it, so that the community of New Brunswick can stand proud behind this organization, so that it’s something that represents the people of the town,’” Ezzard said.

Ezzard’s education and experience make him uniquely qualified for the role. He spent 9½ years working in marketing and other divisions at BBC Studios. He also founded the media production and distribution company Artification.

Before he was a star of the boardroom, he often graced the stage as a performer, dancer and musician. Ezzard is a graduate of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in Fordham University’s BFA program.

“What was unique about Ezra, in my mind, was vitality,” said Khan. “There was a level of vitality and passion for the theater and the desire to explore theater’s connection to other forms of art. These are things that Ezra was passionate about, and he reminded me of myself when I was younger.”

Bringing a managing director aboard who can handle the business and administrative side of the company has been a goal of Khan’s since he returned to Crossroads about five years ago.

The pandemic struck just as Crossroads Theatre Company was hitting its stride. It was still getting acclimated to its new digs inside the recently completed New Brunswick Performing Arts Center when the curtain was closed and shows were canceled. In fact, rehearsals for “Freedom Rider” were set to start in two weeks when everything stopped.

Khan said, however, that as of 2022, Crossroads had paid off millions of dollars in debt it had accrued over years. Now, Crossroads is seeking to shed the business model of a regional theater that relied on donations, grants and other revenue streams for a new model.

“So, Ezra is coming in at a time without a debt or structure that says, ‘This is the way it must be done,” Khan said. “The blackboard’s clean and the future is whatever we imagine it to be. And I like how Ezra thinks and how he imagines and how he dreams. And, like I said, he reminds me of me.”

As the calendar inches closer to the debut of Crossroads’ new season in September (no, the performances have not been announced), Ezzard said he has put a priority on rebuilding the administrative team and working with the company’s board of trustees to fill the company's coffers.

He’s also keenly aware that his work through Crossroads will result in creating well-paying jobs for Black performers, stage crew members, playwrights, choreographers, dancers and others.

“What I also see my job doing is facilitating opportunities for people who build lives as artists to have a sustainable living as an artist, to be not just at the lower tier of the health equity conversation because if the actor doesn’t work, the actor doesn’t have health insurance,” Ezzard said. “So guess what we need to do? We need to ensure that we can hire actors so that they can work six to eight weeks, they can work longer so that we are part of that equation so that they can get the equity, they can qualify for health insurance.”

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