The Office of Minority Services is offering a special treat to the UCA community in honor of Black History Month. Debbie Allen, a talented and successful actress, director, choreographer, author, singer and dancer, is coming to UCA on Thursday, Feb. 21 at 7:30 p.m. for a special free event in Donald W. Reynolds Performance Hall. 

"The Office of Minority Services is excited to offer an evening with Debbie Allen to the UCA and local communities," Director of Minority Services Wendy Holbrook said. "We're also pleased that we are able to offer this show with free admission to students, faculty, staff and local residents."

Debbie Allen continues to be one of the most respected and versatile talents in the entertainment industry today. The talented and successful actress, director, producer, choreographer, singer and dancer, has added the credit of author to her impressive array of merits. Allen has composed her first children’s book, titled, Brothers of the Knight for Penguin Putnam Publishing.

Allen was inspired to write the illustrated book after she staged a musical for the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, called Pepito’s Story, which was loosely based on the classic fairytale, The Twelve Dancing Princesses. After changing the main characters in the musical from girls to boys, Allen came up with the premise for her book.

Allen’s latest film work was the successful and highly acclaimed DreamWorks production, Amistad, a story about a famed mutiny on a slave ship in 1839. This was DreamWorks first project that Steven Spielberg directed with Allen producing. Written by David Franzoli and Academy Award winner Steve Zalilian, Amistad portrayed the dramatic and heroic story that Allen possessed for more than 10 years - a credit to her dedication and passion for this film.

Dedication and passion are no stranger to Allen, who received favorable notices for her role as Richard Pryor’s feisty wife in the semi-autobiographical film Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life is Calling. Her other feature films include Milos Forman’s Ragtime and The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh, which she also choreographed. Allen also directed the feature film Out of Sync, starring LL Cool J, Victoria Dillard, Yaphet Kotto and Howard Hesseman. Set in the underground world of rave music, this film told the story of a down and out DJ trying to get his life back on track.

Allen received two Emmy’s and one Golden Globe for her role as Lydia Grant in the hit series, Fame. She then forayed form acting to directing; first with the series Fame, followed by Family Ties and Bronx Zoo, before taking the reins at NBC’s A Different World as director and producer in 1988. Steering the creative thinking toward pertinent issues on a college campus, Allen’s leadership helped A Different World place in the top five consistently. This, among other credits, continued to establish Allen as one of the most sought after director/producers in the television industry.

Allen got her start on Broadway in the chorus of the show Purlie, which brought her instant recognition. She then performed in Raisin and the 1979 production of West Side Story for which she received the prestigious Drama Desk Award and her first Tony nomination in 1986 for her role as Bob Fosse’s Sweet Charity and in 1988 went behind the scenes of the theater to choreograph the new American Musical Carrie with the Royal Shakespeare Company.

In 1992, Allen became Dr. Allen when she was awarded an honorary doctorate from the North Carolina School of Arts as well as from her alma mater Howard University. She is a board member of AFI and a member of the executive committee of the new board of advisors at UCLA’s School of Theater, Film, and Television where she directed a play on the UCLA campus titled Wedding Band.

Allen received the prestigious Essence Award in 1992 and in 1995 she received the first Lena Home Award for Career Achievement at the Soul Train Lady Awards Ceremony.