Micki Grant, who wrote and starred in Broadway’s groundbreaking 1972 Black musical revue Don’t Bother Me, I Can’t Cope, died Sunday at the age of 80.

With Don’t Bother Me, Grant became the first woman to write both the music and lyrics to a Broadway musical, and her collaborator Vinnette Carroll entered the history books as the first Black woman to direct on Broadway.

Grant, whose death was first reported by the Broadway World website and confirmed by licensing and publishing company Concord Theatricals, returned to Broadway in 1976 by contributing additional music and lyrics for Alex Bradford’s musical Your Arms Too Short to Box with God, a retelling of the Book of Matthew directed by Carroll.

Described by Broadway director Kenny Leon as “a brilliant, passionate writer who gave everything to our industry,” Grant had already broken new ground on television by the time she made her seminal stand on Broadway,...