Vinie Burrows is a legendary actor, producer, playwright, and activist. In 1950, she made her Broadway debut in Joshua Logan’s adaption of The Cherry Orchard, entitled The Wysteria Trees, alongside Helen Hayes and Ossie Davis. Following, Burrows appeared in productions such as Green Pastures, Jezebel’s Husband, Mrs. Patterson, and The Skin of Our Teeth (again with Helen Hayes). Burrows wrote and starred in eight solo-performances, and toured multiple continents. Her Off-Broadway credits include:  FEMALE OF THE SPECIES(1960) THE BLACKS (1961), LADY IN WAITING (60S), WALK  TOGETHER  CHILDREN (1968), NAT TURNER (1968), AFRICA  FIRE! (1986-1991), HER TALKING DRUM (1987), SISTER! SISTER! (1992),ROSE McCLENDON (1999), THE CHERRY  ORCHARD (2005), HECUBA (2006), RED  NOIR (2010), GOOD PERSON OF SZECHWAN (2013), I RECKON THAT’S WHY THEY CALLS US COLORED (2014),LETTERS FROM LANGSTON (2016), MINOR  CHARACTER (2016), I WILL LOOK FORWARD TO THIS LATER (2016), A MIDSUMMER  NIGHT’S  DREAM (2017), SAMARA (2017), HOMECOMING QUEEN (2018),LIGHT  SHINING  IN BUCKINGHAMSHIRE (2018) and MIES JULIE (2019). 

Burrows  was born in Harlem, New York, where she worked as a child actor on radio programs. She was greatly influenced by her mother, who was an activist for the injustices towards African Americans and supported Clarence Norris and the Scottsboro Boys in 1931. Burrows attended NYU for her undergraduate degree, and in 2018 earned her Master’s Degree in Performance Studies from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts.  Vinie Burrows worked with the United Nations Economic and Social Council, focusing on the anti-Apartheid movement and the empowerment of women. For her work and activism, Burrows received numerous awards  including  Actors’ Equity Association’s  Paul Robson Award in 1986, the Susan B. Anthony Award from the National Organization for Women in 1992, the Hattie McDaniel Award in 2017, and the Theater for the New City Award at the Love and Courage Gala 2018.