Born: 17 November 1945, United States
Died: NA
Country most active: United States
Also known as: NA
Theater producer and playwright Vy Higginsen co-wrote and co-produced the musical Mama, I Want to Sing! in 1983, based on the life of her sister, Doris Troy. It ran for eight years at Harlem’s Heckscher Theater, becoming the longest-running African-American musical in history, and was also adapted into a film of the same name. Higginsen performed in the production as the narrator, and appeared in the film. Higginsen-co-wrote and co-produced two sequels, Sing, Mama 2 and Born to Sing: Mama, as well as the musical Alive: 55+ and Kickin’,
Higginsen was also the first woman advertising executive at Ebony magazine and a contributing editor for Essence, later publishing her own magazine, Unique NY. She worked in radio for 10 years, reporting for WNBC-TV and The Metro Channel and hosting shows on WBLS and WWRL. In 1999, she founded the non-profit Mama Foundation for the Arts. In 2006, she launched the foundation program Gospel for Teens, and started the independent record label Harlem Records in 2012.