MUSE • Musicians United for Social Equity

Biography

Christine Toy Johnson is a multi-award-winning writer, actor, director, filmmaker, and advocate for inclusion. Her written works for the theatre have been produced and/or developed by the Roundabout, Lortel, Village Theatre, Florida Studio Theatre, Barrow Group, Prospect Theatre, Weston Playhouse, the O’Neill, National Women’s Theatre Festival, CAP 21, Ars Nova, Greater Boston Stage Company, Abingdon Theatre Company, Goodspeed Opera House, Musical Theatre West, the Lortel, are included in the Library of Congress’s Asian Pacific American Performing Arts Collection (Playwrights Division) and published by NoPassport Press, Smith & Kraus, Rowman & Littlefield, and Applause Books. She is the co-director (with Bruce Johnson) and Executive Producer of the multiple award-winning documentary feature “Transcending: The Wat Misaka Story”, Executive Producer and writer (screenplay and lyrics with composer Michael Mott) of the multiple award-winning short movie musical, “Riding Out the Storm”, and received the 1^st annual Alvin Epstein Memorial Prize for Solo Performance for her play with music “A Little More Blue”, and honorable mention from the Jonathan Larson Awards for the libretto of her musical “Till Soon, Anne” (book and lyrics written with composer Bobby Cronin).

As a performer, she has been breaking the color barrier for over 35 years, and has been featured extensively on Broadway, off-Broadway, in regional theatres across the country, in film, television, and concerts worldwide. Highlights include Broadway and off-Broadway revivals of “The Music Man”, “Merrily We Roll Along” and “Pacific Overtures”, the first national tour of “Come From Away”, “Sunday in the Park with George” at the Guthrie Theatre, and season 2 of Netflix/Marvel’s “Iron Fist”.

An avid advocate for inclusion, Christine is a founding member of AAPAC (Asian American Performers Action Coalition – 2022 Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre, 2021 Obie Special Citation for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) and founder of the Asian American Theatre Artists Collective (via the Dramatists Guild Foundation’s inaugural Catalyst for Change Fellowship). She serves as Treasurer of the Dramatists Guild, chair of the Guild’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Access committee, and host of their podcast “Talkback” on Broadway Podcast Network. She previously served for 28 years as part of the elected leadership of Actors’ Equity Association (and Chair of the union’s Equal Employment Opportunity Committee for 22 years), and on the Board of the Tony honored Alliance for Inclusion in the Arts for over 15 years.

Christine is also the recipient of the 2024 Patrick Quinn Award for distinguished service from the Actors’ Equity Foundation, the 2013 Rosetta LeNoire Award for “outstanding contributions to the universality of the human spirit” from Actors’ Equity Association, the 2012 “Wai Look Award for Service in the Arts Award” from the Asian American Arts Alliance,  a 2010 leadership award from the JACL (the nation’s largest and oldest Asian American civil rights organization) for “exemplary leadership and dedication”, as well as 25 competitive grant awards in support of her work over the past 15 years. She is a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College and the Certificate of Screenwriting Program at NYU, an alum of the BMI Musical Theatre Writing Workshop and was a 2016 fellow of The Writers Lab (supported by Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman and Oprah Winfrey). For details, please visit www.christinetoyjohnson.com.  Insta/Threads: @CToyJ