Get Out! GAY Magazine – Issue 437 September 25, 2019

Wow.
So I ran from the theater over to
Columbus Circle and did my audition,
and they said, “That’s great. Do you
want to do it again?” I told him I
couldn’t, I had to run to the show. I ran
back to the theater, did the show, and
then the next week they told me I was
penned for the show. Then it just went
from there, which I’m very grateful for.
What
Broadway
plays have
you been
in?
I’ve done
nine.
That’s a lot.
I know,
crazy, right?
I’ve been
doing this a
long time.
My huge,
huge one
that I was
obsessed
with, I
played the
lead role
in Pippin.
That was the
revival on
Broadway,
which was
originally
the Ben
Vereen
part. Then
I closed
that out
and played
Velma Kelly
in Chicago, which was another dream
role. Then before that I originated
Beautiful: The Carole King Musical.
You’ve done Broadway, television
and probably a host of other things.
What is your ultimate stage fantasy?
That’s a good one. My ultimate stage
fantasy would be to do a one-woman
show, kind of like Audra McDonald
did with “Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar
and Grill”.
I’d love to do it about Lena Horne or
Eartha Kitt. That would be my dream
stage role, and my dream movie and TV
role.
Would you go back to doing
Broadway?
If the timing was right and the role was
right. I’m fortunate enough now, thank
God, to be in a position where I can be a
bit choosier with the projects I take, so I
will definitely
be back on
Broadway,
because I’ve
got to get my
Tony Award,
but now I
can do it
for the right
project and
what feels
good to me.
Sometimes in
this business
you are often
made to
feel like you
have to do
a job just
to take the
job. There’s
no shame
in that, but
I’ve never
been of that
mentality,
so I strive to
make sure I
am making
strategic
moves. So as
long as the
role is right
and the show,
I would definitely say, “Bye, LA.”
Where are you originally from?
I grew up in Columbia, Maryland, but I
lived in New York the longest. I lived in
New York for almost 16 years.
Do you miss New York?
All the time. ALL THE TIME. I’m a New
Yorker. I’ve been on my own since I was
17, and I’ve been in New York. It’s a crazy
life.