Get Out! GAY Magazine – Issue 484

I think that’s a special thing, to
acknowledge them in the world that
may never see their full potential.
Is there a favorite role that you’ve
played?
That’s so hard. I think one of my
favorite shows, because of the on
and off stage, was Beautiful. I got
the full Broadway experience when I
joined The Book of Mormon on the
2011 Tony Award nomination day.
It had opened, but I was creating
a new swing track and I got to
the Tonys and all of that. But with
Beautiful, I was there from the out
of town tryouts to the Broadway
transfer to the albums and the
Tonys, and I originated a role on
Broadway. I had my own song
featured and that was
really cool. Doing a story
about a writer’s coming of
age somehow encouraged
me to go for it, and then
I ultimately wrote four
different projects offstage
at Beautiful.
wants to answer. That moment of
young black girls coming into the
theater and seeing someone that
looks like them is a dream come
true. That’s a fantasy come true.
Is there anything that I didn’t
cover that you’d like to talk
about?
I just think when it comes to the
queer community, this play also
deals with what it is to grow up as a
queer person and to navigate family
and to be embraced by family,
misunderstood by family, and that
is rarely seen on a Broadway stage
in a black community. I think it’s
reaching out to young black queer
boys.
Have you had your
ultimate stage fantasy
yet?
You know what? I don’t
know that I’ve had an
ultimate stage fantasy. You
know, being in a Broadway
show is a dream come
true and that is, I think, the
largest fantasy. But I think
what I’m most excited
about now is exposing the
world, the theater world,
to these kinds of different
characters that they don’t
ordinarily see in this
space. And I think we’re
going to see these little
black girls that are inspired
when they see characters
like La’trice, who is a nosy
cousin asking too many
questions that nobody