Shelly Garrett's Beauty Shop Play Turns 30 and Celebrates with Hair Radio Show

Shelly Garrett’s Beauty Shop Play Turns 30 and Celebrates with Hair Radio Morning Show

by Kerry Hines

How Do We Pay Tribute to the 30^th Anniversary of Shelly Garrett’s Beauty Shop the Play and Its Creator? 

Shelly Garrett revolutionized the landscape of the African American theater experience   “I’m so proud to have gone thirty years and the show has grown and grown and changed.  We’re now starting out on October 29^th at Symphony Hall in Newark, New Jersey and on October 30^th in Brooklyn, New York,” says Shelly Garrett.  He reflects back on thirty years of the play’s success during an interview on Hair Radio Morning Show with Kerry Hines.

Whether or not you’re a fan of theater shows, it’s likely you’re familiar with Shelly Garrett’s work, in one way or another.  Shelly Garrett has launched the careers of many actors, writers and not to mention behind the scenes technical folks and so many others.  Not until Garrett did they know how to bridge the gap to a successful theater career.     

Garrett’s hit play launched a super successful “…Beauty Shop” franchise that has never really left our collective consciousness.   The play spawned an ABC television situation comedy and three big screen feature films.  Beauty Shop starred Queen Latifah.  His legendary theater career included other hit stage productions like The Living Room while the demand remained high for Beauty Shop.  So, he created and produced additional productions: Beauty Shop II, Beauty Shop: 10 Years Later, Beauty Shop: Under New Management, Beauty Shop 2010, Beauty Shop 2011 and for television’s Raising Whitely on OWN, Garrett did the 25^th year anniversary.  That was a ratings bonanza for OWN.

Some of the others who have made a huge dent in showbiz today are popular actors like Omari Hardwick from television’s Power, Tommy Ford from Martin, the late Michael Clark Duncan from The Green Mile fame and Wendy Raquel Robinson from television’s The Game and The Steve Harvey Show. 

This is a great time for Shelly Garrett as his Beauty Shop is not just celebrating the 30^th year of the play or tour but also a huge honor with his recent induction to the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History in Washington, DC.  He watched the inaugural coverage on television news with President Obama but didn’t realize (at the time) that he was an actual inductee.  Shortly after, Mr. Garrett received an emailed invitation to come to the museum.    “I feel humbled and honored to be included in the museum and I just can’t wait to see it” Mr. Garrett says.  He is planning to travel there with his wife.

Visit ShellyGarrettEntertainment.com online and come out to see Shelly Garrett’s Beauty Shop.   Shelly Garrett has said that the show has grown and changed but haven’t we all. 

Kerry Hines Hosts The Hair Radio Morning Show on HaiRadio.com and is the Author of How to Get Rich in the Hair Business.