A rising star emerges from the Hilltop. At just 22 years old, Kennedi Reece — a musical theatre major at Howard University’s Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts (CABCOFA) — is poised to make waves.
Kennedi has been cast as “Hazel” in the upcoming sequel to the beloved 1987–1993 sitcom A Different World. For many, A Different World wasn’t just a sitcom — it was an invitation to picture themselves on an HBCU campus, navigating friendships, classes, romance, exams, and celebrations in a space shaped by Black excellence.
An unexpected path to the spotlight
Interestingly, Howard U — and musical theatre — weren’t part of Kennedi’s original plan. She entered college as a psychology student, aiming perhaps for law school. Her dream schools included institutions like the University of South Carolina, UCLA, Vanderbilt, and NYU.
But her father — an alumnus of Morehouse College — encouraged her to apply to HBCUs, which led her to Howard and Spelman College. She was accepted to both, and when some of her other top-choice schools wait-listed her, she chose Howard. She says it became “the best decision I could have made.”
Training at Howard: more than just singing and dancing
Reece admits that she was initially intimidated: she didn’t come from a performing-arts high school, she had never attended elite theater camps, and she didn’t have a traditional “showbiz resume.” But once she stepped into Howard’s musical theatre program, she found herself in a conservatory-like environment that challenged and nurtured her.
“Classes started early — like 8 a.m. ballet — and it was intense,” she said. The program pushes its students in singing, acting, and dancing, forging “triple threats,” rather than offering just a “sing and dance all day” experience.
Getting the call — and a trip to Los Angeles
In April 2025, Howard students received word that legendary alum Debbie Allen would be directing an HBCU-centered project on campus. The call went out for acting reels. Even though Kennedi didn’t have one, she cobbled together clips from past class work and a student short film. That got her an audition.
She auditioned at Howard’s Ira Aldridge Theater in front of Allen, showrunner Felicia Pride, and other producers. A few weeks later, she was asked to fly out to Los Angeles — during finals week — for a chemistry read. A short time afterward, she got the official call: she had been cast as Hazel.
Bringing real HBCU life to the screen
Kennedi Reece is one of the few — if not the only — cast members in the new A Different World who is actually attending an HBCU. For her, that authenticity matters. She’s excited to bring real perspectives to Hillman College’s new class while also helping her castmates understand HBCU culture — from Homecoming and Royal Court to the sense of community only living on such a campus can create.
More than that, she frames this opportunity as continuation of legacy — of walking in the footsteps of Black creatives who came before her. In her own words, her “backspace” is full of trailblazers: Debbie Allen, Phylicia Rashad, Taraji P. Henson, Anthony Anderson — and thousands more whose work opened doors for artists like her.
She’s not just excited — she’s ready. Ready to tell stories, ready to light up the screen, and ready to represent not just herself but every HBCU student who dared to dream.
The original "A Different World" followed Denise Huxtable (Lisa Bonet) and her new classmates at Hillman College, a fictional historically Black college. Though Bonet exited after one season, the show continued with the leading cast of Jasmine Guy, Kadeem Hardison, Dawnn Lewis, Darryl M. Bell, Sinbad, Charnele Brown, Cree Summer and Glynn Turman.
The ground breaking "The Cosby Show" spinoff ran for six seasons on NBC.
About Kennedi Reece
Kennedi Reece is a dedicated musical theatre student at Howard University, whose journey took her from studying psychology to embracing the stage. Far from her initial plans, she followed her passion for performance, trading law-school ambitions for audition reels and ballet classes. Now, she’s on the brink of stardom — cast as Hazel in Netflix’s A Different World sequel — ready to represent her HBCU and her generation.About
About the New A Different World Sequel
The upcoming sequel to A Different World — recently green-lit by Netflix — marks the return to Hillman College. This new series follows Deborah Wayne, the daughter of original characters Dwayne Wayne and Whitley Gilbert, as she begins her freshman year and tries to build her own legacy among a fresh crop of students. The cast includes Tony-winner Maleah Joi Moon alongside fresh faces like Kennedi Reece as Hazel, bringing a modern HBCU-centered story to a new generation.
About Howard University Musical Theatre
Howard University — and its Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts — offers a rigorous BFA in Musical Theatre, one of the few such programs at an HBCU. The training spans acting, singing, and dancing, shaped like a conservatory, aiming to craft “triple-threat” performers. For many students like Kennedi, Howard represents both a home and a platform to launch into professional performing arts.
