Vy Higginsen is an American theater producer,

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...

, former

disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at nightclubs or music fes ...

, and radio and television personality. She is the founder and executive director of the Mama Foundation for the Arts, and the co-writer of the 1983 musical '' Mama, I Want to Sing!'', the longest running black

off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

musical in American history.

Early life and education

Higginsen grew up in

Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

, New York City in a musical family; her parents, sister, and grandmother all sang. Her father was a

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a movement within the broader Evangelical wing of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes direct personal experience of God in Christianity, God through Baptism with the Holy Spirit#Cl ...

minister. When her sister, singer

Doris Troy Doris Troy (born Doris Elaine Higginsen; January 6, 1937 – February 16, 2004) was an American R&B singer and songwriter, known to her fans as "Mama Soul". Her biggest hit was " Just One Look", a top 10 hit in 1963. Life and career She was ...

, won Amateur Night at the

Apollo Theater The Apollo Theater (formerly the Hurtig & Seamon's New Theatre; also Apollo Theatre or 125th Street Apollo Theatre) is a multi-use Theater (structure), theater at 253 125th Street (Manhattan), West 125th Street in the Harlem neighborhood of U ...

and began touring, Higginsen came along with her. Higginsen graduated from the

Fashion Institute of Technology The Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) is a public college under the State University of New York, in New York City. It focuses on art, business, design, mass communication, and technology connected to the fashion industry. It was founded in ...

Career

Higginsen became the first female advertising executive at ''Ebony'' magazine. She later worked as a contributing editor for ''Essence'', then published and edited her own magazine, ''Unique NY''. Higginsen moved on to work in radio for ten years, hosting shows on

WBLS WBLS (107.5 MHz) is an urban adult contemporary radio format, formatted FM broadcasting, FM radio station, city of license, licensed to New York, New York. It is currently owned and operated by Mediaco Holding, along with sister station WQHT (97 ...

and

WWRL WWRL (1600 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station licensed to New York, New York, owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. The station airs an all-news radio format as an network affiliate, affiliate of the Black Information Network (BIN). Founded in 1926, WW ...

, and reporting for

WNBC-TV WNBC (channel 4) is a television station in New York City that serves as the flagship of the NBC network. It is owned and operated by the network's NBC Owned Television Stations division alongside Linden, New Jersey–licensed Telemundo s ...

and The Metro Channel. In 1983, Higginsen co-wrote and co-produced the musical '' Mama, I Want to Sing!'' with her husband-to-be, Ken Wydro. The play was based on the life of her sister,

. The show opened at the Heckscher Theater in Harlem in 1983 and ran there for eight years, becoming the longest-running off-Broadway black musical in history. Higginsen played the role of the narrator in the musical. Her brother, Randy, and sister Doris also appeared in ''Mama''. The play was made into a film of the same name, in which Higginsen also appeared along with her daughter, Knoelle. Higginsen and Wydro wrote and produced two sequels to the successful musical: ''Sing, Mama 2'' and ''Born to Sing: Mama 3''. They also wrote and produced the musical ''Alive: 55+ and Kickin'', which was featured on the newsmagazine ''

60 Minutes ''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who distinguished it from other news programs by using a unique style o ...

'' in 2015. In 1999, Higginsen founded the Mama Foundation for the Arts, a non-profit arts organization in Harlem. In 2006, she created Gospel for Teens, offering free

gospel music Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music vary according to culture and social context. Gospel music is compo ...

instruction to teenagers through the foundation. The program was featured on ''60 Minutes'', in a show that won two

Emmy Awards The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

in 2012. The show had previously featured a segment on Higginsen tracing her ancestry, and learning that she was genetically linked with a white cattle rancher from Missouri. In 2012, Higginsen founded Harlem Records, an independent record label.

Selected awards and recognition

* 1988 –

Candace Award The Candace Award is an award that was given from 1982 to 1992 by the National Coalition of 100 Black Women (NCBW) to "Black role models of uncommon distinction who have set a standard of excellence for young people of all races". Candace (prono ...

, Business * 2012 – 'Shine A Light' recognition,

BET Black Entertainment Television (BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting Black American audiences. It is the flagship channel of the BET Media Group, a subsidiary of Paramount Global's CBS Entertainment Group. Originally launched ...

Awards * 2012 –

Thomas A. Dorsey Thomas Andrew Dorsey (July 1, 1899 – January 23, 1993) was an American musician, composer, and Christian evangelist influential in the development of early blues and 20th-century gospel music. He penned 3,000 songs, a third of them gospel, in ...

Most Notable Achievement Award, Stellar Gospel Music Awards

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Higginsen, Vy 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights 21st-century American dramatists and playwrights African-American company founders African-American dramatists and playwrights American theatre managers and producers American women company founders American company founders American women dramatists and playwrights Fashion Institute of Technology alumni Living people People from Harlem 21st-century American women writers 20th-century American women writers Year of birth missing (living people) 20th-century African-American women writers 20th-century African-American writers 21st-century African-American women writers 21st-century African-American writers