Get Out! GAY Magazine – Issue 316 – May 17, 2017

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BY EILEEN SHAPIRO CELEBRITY CORRESPONDENT Billy Porter, a member of Broadway’s elite aristocracy and winner of both a Tony and a Grammy, has just presented and released his brand new album, “The Soul of Richard Rodgers,” via Bee & El/Sony Masterworks Broadway. Available on all digital venues, the release features tracks including “Edelweiss,” “My Funny Valentine” and “Oh What A Beautiful Morning.” The artists featured on the album include Tony and Grammy winners Cynthia Erivo, Leslie Odom and Renee Elise Goldsberry; Tony winner Patina Miller; and Grammy winners Pentatonix and India Arie. Also included are Brandon Victor Dixon, Joshua Henry, Christopher Jackson, Todrick Hall, Ledisi and Deborah Cox. One of the most respected artists in the community, Billy Porter is a singer, actor, playwright and director. He originated the role of Lola in Broadway’s smash hit Kinky Boots, for which he earned his Tony Award. Amongst the other productions he has appeared in are Dreamgirls, Grease, Angels in America, Miss Saigon and countless others. Having the honor of speaking with Porter, I found him to be one of the most upbeat, positive people I have ever had a conversation with. Photo Credit Ron Cadiz © Sony Music Entertainment
INTERVIEW You have a new album that’s just come out. How did you come up with the idea or the inspiration for “The Soul of Richard Rodgers”? It’s a series of things. My whole life, I never fit into anything. I grew up in the Pentecostal Church. I sang God’s music, I sang R&B, I sang soul, and then I got this theater bug. I wanted to be on stage, and the two worlds were so far apart. I was such a specific artist: I opened up my mouth to sing, and I felt like a black person singing. I felt like a soul singer. I felt like a gospel singer. No matter what it is, I could be trained, and I could take that out, but that wasn’t me being authentic. I spent a lot of my career bringing those worlds together, my brand in Broadway and soul, from the classic to the contemporary. I am a believer in the craft. I’m a believer in, yes, you have natural talent, then you train it, you learn the rules, so that you can spend the rest of your life breaking them. But, if you don’t know them, then everything else is an accident, and I don’t want to live my life as an accident. I wanted to know. So, this is a culmination of that energy. This is a culmination of that life’s work. If you look at my work from the time I started until now, it’s always been this. I just have a Tony and a Grammy now, so people are listening. What was it like for you winning either that Grammy or that Tony award? The Tony was the original dream. The theater saved my life. The theater got me out of a really challenging childhood. It was that dream that started at 11 that I was blessed and focused with. I was blessed with a passion early, so I could put all of my energy into it. So that was the original dream. To win that Tony was, THAT! It was that, “Thank you, Lord! Thank you, thank you, thank you.” Now what can I do with it? How can I be of service? How can I reach back and be of a service to those who need it, like I needed it? Photo Credit Ron Cadiz © Sony Music Entertainment Do you know the moment that altered the entire trajectory of your life? Yeah. There have been several. First of all, being bitten by the bug in sixth grade in middle school, when I did Babes in Arms by Rodgers and Hart, incidentally, and seeing Jennifer Holliday on the Tony Awards. That was life-changing. But the second moment which moved the energy of my intention was Angels in America. Before Angels in America, I just wanted to be a star. That’s not about nothing. After Angels in America, I needed to be of service with these gifts that I’ve been given. That was a significant change, because with that intention everything changes. Do you have a particular song that never fails to move you emotionally? “Edelweiss.” If you could have your ultimate stage fantasy, what would it be? I’ve already had it. It’s called Kinky Boots. What gets better than that? I don’t know what gets better than that. Hopefully something will. You get to create a role, and it gets to be passed on to iconic theater roles. The show also had a message. It doesn’t get any better than that. So I’m on the lookout for the next one, and I’m hoping. I’m leaving myself open to the possibility of what that could be.
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Get Out! GAY Magazine – Issue 316 – May 17, 2017

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