Casting Set For Taper's "Blues For An Alabama Sky"

 

Director Phylicia Rashad and the cast of
"Blues For An Alabama Sky"
courtesy photo

Casting has been announced for “Blues for an Alabama Sky” directed by Center Theatre Group’s Associate Artist Phylicia Rashad at the Mark Taper Forum April 6 through May 8, 2022. Set in 1930’s Harlem, this revival of Pearl Cleage’s rich and beautiful work opens April 13, 2022.

Tony Award-winning actress Phylicia Rashad, who originated the role of Angel in the world premiere of “Blues for an Alabama Sky” more than 25 years ago, returns to direct this timeless piece that was first presented in 1995 by Atlanta’s Alliance Theatre. She leads a cast that features Joe Holt, Nija Okoro, Dennis Pearson, Greg Alverez Reid, and Kim Steele.

The creative team includes John Iacovelli (scenic design), Wendell C. Carmichael (costume, wig, and hair design), Elizabeth Harper (lighting design), and Jeff Gardner (sound design), with an original composition by Dontae Winslow. Casting is by Kim Coleman, CSA, and Michelle Blair is the production stage manager.

Angel is a free-spirited Cotton Club singer who's out of luck but never out of dreams. Guy is a costume designer waiting for Josephine Baker to invite him to join her in Paris. Delia, a young activist, is trying to give the women of Harlem a choice about their future. Sam, a prominent physician, is either delivering babies or out at the club letting the good times roll. And Leland, who recently arrived in Harlem from Alabama, is haunted by the wide-open skies and lost love he left behind. The lives and dreams of these men and women converge with passion and politics as the art and celebration of the Harlem Renaissance give way to the harsh realities of the Great Depression.

Tickets for “Blues for an Alabama Sky” are currently on sale at Center Theatre Group/Mark Taper Forum and start at $30. They are available through CenterTheatreGroup.org, Audience Services at (213) 628-2772 or in person at the Center Theatre Group Box Office (at the Ahmanson Theatre at The Music Center, 135 N. Grand Avenue in Downtown L.A. 90012). Performances run Tuesday through Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2:30 p.m. and 8 p.m., Sunday at 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Call for exceptions.

Andre Braugher Joins "The Good Fight"

 

André Braugher

March 9, 2022 – Paramount+ today announced Emmy Award winner André Braugher (“Brooklyn Nine-Nine”) will join the upcoming sixth season of the critically acclaimed Paramount+ Original series THE GOOD FIGHT. Now in production, THE GOOD FIGHT is set to return this summer, streaming exclusively on Paramount+.

Braugher will star as Ri’Chard Lane, a showman lawyer, and rainmaker who is forced on Liz as a new name partner. A force of nature, Ri’Chard is a wild mix of brilliance, geniality, religion, and joyful hedonism. In short, he’s a handful.

“Our dream of an actor is always someone who can mix comedy and drama equally, and André Braugher is exactly that,” said Robert and Michelle King, series co-creators, showrunners, and executive producers. “His work on ‘Men of a Certain Age,’ ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’ and ‘Homicide’ has been amazing and funny. We’re ecstatic that he finally has time in his schedule to come play.”

The series is produced by CBS Studios in association with Scott Free Productions and King Size Productions. The series is distributed worldwide by Paramount Global Content Distribution. 

Most recently, Braugher completed an eight-season run on NBC’s hit comedy “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” as Captain Ray Holt. He won two Critics Choice Awards for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series and received four Emmy Award nominations for his role. Braugher also won an Emmy Award and received a Golden Globe nomination for his starring role in FX’s miniseries “Thief.” In addition to his success on television, Braugher can be seen in numerous feature films including “Baytown Outlaws,” “Salt,” “Passengers,” “The Mist,” “Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer” and “Poseidon,” among others. On stage, Braugher has performed for the New York Shakespeare Festival in “Measure for Measure,” “Twelfth Night” and “Henry V,” earning him an Obie Award for the titular role. Other credits include performances with Joseph Papp’s Public Theater, Manhattan Theatre Club, and the Williamstown Theater Festival.

The sixth season of THE GOOD FIGHT has Diane feeling like she’s going crazy, struggling with an uneasy sense of déjà vu, with everything from Roe v. Wade to voting rights to Cold War aggressions returning. Meanwhile, the lawyers of Reddick & Associates wonder if the violence that they see all around them points to an impending civil war.

 

 

 

Movement Is At The Heart of Alonzo King's World

Alonzo King LINES Ballet dancer

By Darlene Donloe

It’s cold in New York, but Alonzo King doesn’t mind. He’s there heating things up by doing what he loves, choreographing ‘something’ for the American Ballet Theater (ABT).

On March 16, he will bring his talent to the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa where he will present a new, untitled World Premiere, featuring music by jazz artist Jason Moran, scenery, and costumes by Robert Rosenwasser, and lighting by Jim French.  This is King’s first for the ABT. 

The American Ballet Theatre, the official dance company of Segerstrom Center for the Arts, presents ABT Forward, a mixed repertory program performed March 16–19, 2022, with three impressive works highlighting the company’s incredible artistry and athleticism, and the inspiring visions of King, Ratmansky and Lang. 

The King piece joins two other offerings from the company in a full evening of mixed works, including ZigZag by Jessica Lang, featuring the music of Tony Bennett (and one of his duets with Lady Gaga), and an Alexei Ratmansky work to Bernstein music - played by the Pacific Symphony.

A visionary choreographer who is said to be altering the way the world looks at dance, King calls his works “thought structures” created by the manipulation of energies that exist in matter through laws, which govern the shapes and movement directions of everything that exists.  

Talking to King, it’s obvious his zest for his artistry hasn’t waned. In fact, in some ways, even after decades of sharpening and perfecting his craft, he’s just beginning. 

An affable sort, King is known for creating an unforgettable dialogue between movement and music. 

A world-renowned trailblazer who was born in Georgia to civil rights activist parents, he’s never at a loss for words, has a quick wit, and has found his own form of expression through the language of movement. 

He attended the School of American Ballet and the Harkness School of Ballet, and in 1982, founded Alonzo King LINES Ballet, a San Francisco-based contemporary ballet company that nurtures dynamic artistry and the development of authentic, creative expression through dance. 

I recently caught up with King during a recent phone interview while he was in New York.  He was in a great mood. We spoke about the Alonzo King/LINES Ballet currently celebrating its 40th anniversary, what audiences can expect from his upcoming show, and his career as one of the most talked-about and inspirational dancer/choreographers in the world. 

Alonzo King

DD: When you are choreographing, what do you see in your mind’s eye? 

AK: I look for energies. Working with people new to you – you look at how they move. You don’t put them in a mold. You do a lot of intuitive tuning in. Sometimes you put something on someone and there’s no understanding. In any first meeting, there is this period of grace when you’re trying to smell each other – if you know what I mean. In my head, I go to the idea. Some dancers don’t go to the idea. I play in the realm of ideas. It’s a trust thing.

DD: What happens when you and the dancers don’t mesh? 

AK: I think when you're a tailor, you have to make a suit. You are either going to find stalwarts who are going to do the job, or you’ll find real resistance and no contributions. If you’re not jumping into the world of ideas – what are you here for? You can’t stand there like an empty cup. 

Jason Moran

DD: Talk about your collaboration with Jason Moran. How do you two make it work?

AK: I chose Jason Moran. He’s incredible. He’s so good at what he does. We’ve done a lot of collaborations together. We have a sense of what we both need and like. We are comfortable with each other. Adjustments are easy. We choose the dancers and begin to build the work. We come together. Like the Amish, we build a barn. We have the willingness, fearlessness, cooperation, - everything we want in humanity.  It’s not always smooth, but we work it out.

DD: The Alonzo King LINES Ballet is currently celebrating its 40th anniversary season.  Does it feel like 40 years? 

AK: No, not at all. It feels like this is the work I do. I do it and I’m in the moment. When you’re involved in the work, you’re not looking up. You’re not looking at the clock. You’re just in it. Now, it does feel like it when it comes to fundraising. Then, it feels like 100 years. When I’m choreographing, it feels like 30 seconds because you are drunk in the world of discovery. You think, how can I go deeper? You are obsessed.

Alonzo King with one of his dancers

DD: You have been at this for a long time.  How has your approach to dance changed over the years? 

AK: I’ve become more succinct and human. The ideas behind the movement and what movement is – science tells us the body is an electromagnetic wave. The body is fireworks. That’s what life is. We don’t tell our heart to beat, our eyes to water or blink, it just works. When it doesn’t, it’s trauma. This machine is miraculous.  We are a miniature of the macrocosm. The Bible says, ‘Know ye not that you are gods.’

DD: Tell me what audiences will see when they check out your new work.

AK: The most accomplished and beautiful dancers in the world, from the most accomplished dance theater in the world. They will see a work of love and logic. 

Alonzo King LINES Ballet dancers

DD: In Los Angeles, there are many entertainment options. Why should people spend their money and come see your new show? 

AK: There is something about coming out of the commercial world and stepping into the world of personal views, views that aren’t concerned with pleasing, or concerned with box office. Views that speak to our commonality in humanness. A human commonality. The music, watching people who are supremely concentrated. People not looking at their phones. They are living in the moment.

DD: Is everything about movement?

AK: Yes, if you think of the Big Bang Theory. What happened first - movement or sound? They are inextricably linked. There is motion. The piano has to be struck with fingers. It’s movement that is making sounds. Yes, everything we do begins with thought. We behave because of what we have thought. Behavior is movement. 

DD: What is the message of your new work or do you leave the interpretation to the audience to see whatever they see?

AK: It’s both. The Talmud (religious text) says – ‘We don't see things as they are, we see things as we are.’ For me, it’s back to the idea that we have within us unimaginable power, and if we can get a glimpse of that on stage to remind us - we can be fearless, generous, risk-taking. Those qualities are in the artist. This is what I see. You don't’ have to go by what someone told you you should see. 

Alonzo King rehearses with his dance company

DD: Tell me about the moment you knew you wanted to dance. 

AK: I was always dancing. I couldn’t keep still. My mother was a dancer. She taught me some things. It blew my mind. Watching her move would burst my head open. She moved so differently from other people. She manipulates music. I never stopped. In high school, I had a lot of scholarships to big schools. My father said, ‘Do what you want.’ My mother said, ‘Go to one of these schools.’ I said, ‘Mom, I don’t want to.’ She said, ‘Please, for one semester.’ I didn’t go. I went to dance. 

DD: How did your mom feel about that? 

AK: She became very proud. 

DD: Why is dance important to you? What does it do for you?

AK: It is an embodiment of the world that has no words. It’s a step beyond the five senses into an eternal world that is enormous. It’s where creativity emerges from. It’s personal. It's the realm of spirit. The arts began with people going into meditative states to get bliss.  Dancing was a form of prayer.  We still have that today. 

Alonzo King LINES Ballet

DD: Are great dancers/choreographers born or are they taught? 

AK: If you have an obsession you can become anything. Talent is fire. You believe in yourself even when there is no external result. You have to have the, ‘I will die trying mentality,’– that’s real talent.

DD: Has your feeling about dance changed over the years? 

AK: What I’ve learned over the years is that as much as I love movement, stillness is the place where profundity begins. Stillness is the doorway into spirit.

American Ballet Theatre, ABT Forward, March 16-19, World Premiere by Alonzo King – music by Jason Moran; Alexei Ratmansky’s Bernstein in a Bubble – Leonard Bernstein’s (Divertimento), performed live by Pacific Symphony; Jessica Lang’s ZigZag – songs are sung by Tony Bennett with a special duet with Lady Gaga; Segerstrom Center For The Arts, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa, CA; March 16-18, 7:30 p.m.; March 19, 2 and 7:30 p.m.; tickets start at $39; 714 556-2787.

 

 

 

'Slave Play,' A Painful and Cathartic Experience

 

Antoinette Crowe-Legacy and Paul Alexander Nolan

By Darlene Donloe 

This is a painful play to watch, feel and experience! 

There is a lot to unpack in Jeremy O. Harris’ Slave Play, now running at the Mark Taper Forum through March 13, 2022.

With themes like race, sex, power relations, trauma, and interracial relationships, it’s not an easy show to watch. That’s because there is an uneasy, uncomfortable realness to all of those issues that aren’t easy to witness, especially while in the midst of a mixed audience sitting silently within a theater. And yet, it’s the perfect place to do just that.

There were many moments in this complex show when it was quite clear some white people didn’t know if it was appropriate to laugh. There were many more moments when they laughed in places that were totally inappropriate – and literally were not funny.

This play, which takes place on a Southern plantation co-opted for therapeutic purposes, makes you think - hard. And just like the characters, the audience finds itself in the middle of a therapy session. 

The first act of the play is a send-up of tongue-in-cheek, sex-filled, master-slave vignettes that take place during slavery. It’s all part of the therapy.

One vignette has a Black, female slave enticing an overseer, another has a mistress enticing a male slave and yet another has a white, male slave and a Black overseer. 

Jonathan Higginbotham and Elizabeth Stahlmann

The play, which earned a record 12 Tony nominations, the most for any play in the history of those awards, focuses on three interracial couples.  One is comprised of a Black woman and a white man (Antoinette Crowe-Legacy and Paul Alexander Nolan), the next with a mulatto male and a white woman (Jonathan Higginbotham and Elizabeth Stahlmann), and a Black man and his white male lover (Jakeem Dante Powell and Devin Kawaoka).  Each brings their own drama while dealing with some form of actual or perceived racism. 

Jakeem Dante Powell and Devin Kawaoka

The question becomes just how far racism has or hasn’t evolved since the abolition of slavery. 

The second act of the play takes place within a therapy session involving all three couples – where they have a chance to unpack the Antebellum Sexual Performance Therapy they went through in the beginning. The therapy is designed to help Black partners reengage intimately with white partners from who they no longer receive sexual pleasure. 

That’s when all of the real talk begins to happen. And what is revealed is disturbing, cathartic, and necessary. 

Chalia La Tour

The therapy session is facilitated by two, hilarious women Tea (Chalia La Tour) and Patricia (Irene Sofia Lucio) who try to get to the core of each of the couple’s relationships. Sometimes it’s successful, sometimes it isn’t.

Irene Sofia Lucio

There is no one way to watch this show. It will affect everyone differently – which is probably what Harris was going for. 

The actors are exceptional! Kudos to director Robert O’Hara who assembled an impressive cast that includes Antoinette Crowe-Legacy, Jonathan Higginbotham, Devin Kawaoka, Chalia La Tour, Irene Sofia Lucio, Paul Alexander Nolan, Jakeem Dante Powell, and Elizabeth Stahlmann.

Slave Play, Mark Taper Forum, 135 N. Grand Avenue, LA; 8 p.m. Tuesday-Fridays, 2:30 and 8 p.m. Saturdays, 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sundays through March 13; $35-$110, 213 972-4400 or CenterTheatreGroup.org

Running time: 2 hours (with no intermission)

COVID protocol: Proof of full vaccination and booster is required. Masks are required at all times.

On the DONLOE SCALE: D (don’t bother), O (oh, no), N (needs work), L (likable), O (oh, yeah), and E (excellent), Slave Play gets an O (oh, yeah).

29th Annual Los Angeles Women's Theatre Festival Returns March 24

Tanya Thomas in 'Naturally Tan'
photo by Cameron Jordan

The Los Angeles Women’s Theatre Festival will again present virtually this year. The overall theme of the Festival this year is BEYOND BOUNDARIES.

The Los Angeles Women’s Theatre Festival (LAWTF) marks 29 years of producing well over 600 extraordinary multicultural and multidisciplinary solo performers from around the globe.

The longest-running Annual Solo Festival for women in Los Angeles, LAWTF will take place March 24- March 27, 2021, online.

The virtual Champagne GALA and Awards Ceremony will take place Thursday, March 24, 2022, at 8 p.m. PST and will be hosted by Hattie Winston (Becker) and Ted Lange (The Love Boat). The event will honor women of exceptional achievement and contribution to the world of theatre. The honorees will be announced in a forthcoming press release. There will be live performances in addition to the awards presentation. Theme: BRAVA!.  Performers include:

Karen A Clark in A Tribute to Women.   This spoken word and musical excerpt will pay homage to women.

Shelley Cooper in 'La Divina'
photo by Cameron Jordan

Shelley Cooper in an excerpt from La Divina: The Last Interview of Maria Callas. Opera singer Maria Callas will be honored in this vocal piece. A different excerpt will be presented on Saturday at 3 p.m.

Juli Kim in Joy. A dance that celebrates the joy of youth as it tells the story of vibrant women of Hwang Hae Island who, in efforts to dominate and mesmerize the audience, wore bells on their wrists or feet while clad in lovely, colorful costumes.

The rest of the schedule is as follows:

Friday, March 25 at 8 p.m. Theme: The Other.

Lynne Jassem in Tapping My Way to the Nuthouse. One child dancer's story of mental pain and ultimately mental health is told through the lenses of multi-media, tap dance, mime, music, and humor.

Manca Ogorevc in The Child Behind the Eyes. On the eve of her son’s first day of school, the character Maya reflects on her child who has Down’s Syndrome.

Kathryn Smith in A Mile in My Shoes. Esther, an omniscient “Shoe Whisperer,” walks us through her life on Skid Row.

Saturday, March 26, at 3 p.m. Theme: Around the World and Back.

Roxanne Beckford in Walk Good: A Jamerican Journey. How the littlest Head Girl at St. Andrews Preparatory in Kingston, Jamaica became a driver in a presidential motorcade for the leader of the free world...after pit stops as a beauty queen, a mother of four, and a female actor.. 

Shelley Cooper in another excerpt from La Divina: The Last Interview of Maria Callas. Callas explores her complicated relationship with the mogul,  Aristotle Onassis.

Azo Safo in I Heart Maroc. Journey into the lives of rural Moroccans through the eyes of Azo, a 24-year-old Peace Corps volunteer who goes to Morocco to find her life’s purpose.

Tanya Thomas in Naturally Tan. Told through the bold perspective of a vivacious drag queen named Tanvi, this piece follows Tanya Thomas’ desperation to fit in as a minority in Singapore and her search for acceptance in America.

Saturday, March 26 at 8 p.m. Theme: Identity.

Barbara Brownell in Finding My Light. It’s not the cards you are dealt but the attitude that makes all the difference. This excerpt follows one woman’s search for her biological father.

Kira Powell in Caught in the Mix. A journey through the life of a mixed Black and Latina woman who grew up being taught she was white and ultimately embraces her true identity.

Bethany Vee in I Have Too Many Feelings. Bethany’s feelings may have dominated her existence from the beginning of time, but now she’s actually facing them.

Sunday, March 27 at 3 p.m. Theme: In Relation to…..

Kirsten Laurel Caplan in Lady LiberTEASE. Kirsten is thrilled to have discovered the long-forgotten American goddess Columbia- an inspiring symbol of female empowerment but, after making a commitment to anti-racism, uncovers truths about her family’s history that connects her to Columbia’s own problematic past.

Dee Freeman in The Poison Gun. Dee, a naïve 6-year-old Black girl from rural Louisiana becomes a key witness in a murder investigation as she fights to keep a secret from a racist cop who has his own agenda for finding out the truth.

Victoria Montalbano in The Princess Strikes Back: One Woman’s Search for the Space Cowboy of Her Dreams. In 1997, Victoria Montalbano was introduced to her perfect man, Han Solo, and she’s been looking for him ever since.

Sunday, March 27 at 7 p.m. Theme: Resilience.

Sandra Booker in She Can Be Evil- A Survivor’s Story. This excerpt takes a look at the life of a Black jazz singer and pole dancer who was sexually assaulted by the man she loved, all the while finding solace in her world of music.

Amanda Broomell in Mandy Picks a Husband. This romantic odyssey of a nearly 40-year-old singleton and her aged cat channels the trials and tribulations of courting in the modern age, to ask: How can you create intimacy with someone if you can’t love yourself?

Alma Collins in Strong Like Honey. The story of a little girl growing up in Venice, CA who experiences the generational relationship between grandmother, mother, and daughter, and how understanding and forgiveness allowed her to find healing in the dynamics of this African-American family.

Jessica Lynn Johnson will return this year with her FREE workshop for writer-performers, The Art of Creating the One-Person Play, to be held virtually on Saturday, March 12 from 10 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.

Founded by Executive Producer Adilah Barnes and Miriam Reed., the Los Angeles Women’s Theatre Festival is an Annual Event unique among Los Angeles cultural institutions, not to be missed.

The Los Angeles Women’s Theatre Festival is a non-profit arts organization supported in part by the California Arts Council, LA County Arts and Culture, Department of Cultural Affairs of the City of Los Angeles, City of Culver City, City National Bank, KPFK 90.7, Lendistry, Women in Media and Adilah Barnes Productions.

Early Bird single show tickets are $15 until March 1 or $20 thereafter. Early Bird GALA tickets are $20 until March 1 or $25 thereafter. A VIP all-access pass for the entire Festival is available for $80. Reservations will be available at (818) 760-0408 or go to http://www.lawtf.org To join and follow LAWTF on Facebook and Twitter, click on their links at http://www.lawtf.org

Prime Video Preps 'Lizzo's Watch Out for the Big Grrrls' for March 25 Premiere

CULVER CITY, California—February 17, 2022—Today, it was announced that global superstar Lizzo’s first project as part of her first-look deal with Amazon Studios, Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls, will premiere Friday, March 25 on Prime Video. The exciting and powerful eight-episode Amazon Original unscripted series will be available exclusively on Prime Video in the U.S. and available in other countries and territories around the world in May 2022.  

Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls is a new unscripted series following global superstar and icon Lizzo, who is on the hunt for confident, bad-ass women to join the elite ranks of the Big Grrrls and join her world tour. With 10 hopeful women moving into the Big Grrrls House, they must prove they have what it takes to make it to the end and join Lizzo in front of a global audience on the center stage.

Joining Lizzo to help her in the search for dynamic dancers are legendary choreographers Tanisha Scott and O.G. Big Grrrls Chawnta’ Marie Van, Shirlene Quigley, and Grace Holden, and several special guests, including choreographer Charm La’Donna, body movement expert Rashida KhanBey Miller, and multi-platinum singer/songwriter SZA.

In addition to appearing in the series, Lizzo will also serve as executive producer alongside Makiah Green, Kevin Beisler, Julie Pizzi, Farnaz Farjam, Myiea Coy, Kimberly Goodman, and Glenda Cox. The series is directed by Nneka Onuorah and produced by Amazon Studios, Bunim-Murray Productions, and Lizzo’s production company Lizzo Bangers.

About Prime Video

Prime Video offers customers a vast collection of movies, series, and sports—all available to watch on hundreds of compatible devices.

Included with Prime Video: Watch movies, series, and sports, including Thursday Night Football. Enjoy series and films including Emmy-winner The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Emmy-nominated satirical superhero drama The Boys, and the smash hits Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, Hotel Transylvania: Transformania, The Tender Bar, Being the Ricardos, The Tomorrow War, and Coming 2 America. Prime members also get access to licensed content.

Prime Video Channels: Prime members can add channels like discovery+, Paramount+, BET+, EPIX, Noggin, NBA League Pass, MLB.TV, STARZ, and SHOWTIME—no extra apps to download, and no cable required. Only pay for the ones you want, and cancel anytime.  View the full list of channels available at amazon.com/channels.

Rent or Buy: Enjoy new-release movies to rent or buy, entire seasons of current TV shows available to buy, and special deals just for Prime members.

Instant access: Watch at home or on the go with your choice of hundreds of compatible devices. Stream from the web or use the Prime Video app on your smartphone, tablet, set-top box, game console, or select smart TV.

Enhanced experiences: Make the most of every viewing with 4K Ultra HD- and High Dynamic Range (HDR)-compatible content. Go behind the scenes of your favorite movies and TV shows with exclusive X-Ray access, powered by IMDb. Save it for later with select mobile downloads for offline viewing.

Actor Clifton Davis Reprises Role in 'Wicked'

  

Clifton Davis

By Darlene Donloe

Clifton Davis has had a helluva successful career in Hollywood.

He’s been entertaining, he says, for 55 years.

His work has been seen on film, television and, on stage where he made his Broadway debut in the 60s in Hello Dolly. 

Fast-forward seven decades and Davis hasn’t skipped a theatrical beat.

On Feb. 9, the consummate entertainment veteran will reprise his role as Dr. Dillamond in Wicked, set to open at Segerstrom Center from Feb. 9 through March 6, 2022.  

He previously played Dr. Dillamond in Wicked in 2012-2013 and was asked to make a return engagement.

The handsome Tony and Grammy-nominated actor, best known for his roles in Amen, That’s My Mama, and other television series like Madam Secretary, New Amsterdam, Blue Bloods, and Billions is excited about returning to the stage, yet again.  

Davis, who recently released his jazz album, Never Can Say Goodbye, has appeared in eight Broadway shows including Aladdin where he originated the role of Sulta.  He also played Valentine in Two Gentlemen of Verona. 

I recently caught up with Davis (CD) while he was in Arizona, to discuss his latest turn in the play, Wicked. 

DD:  Why did you want to do Wicked again? This time at the Segerstrom Center? 

CD: I have been doing it for five months.

I wanted to do it because I did it nine years ago in 2012-2013. I toured with the national company for a year and a half. I had a ball. I left and went to Broadway in  Aladdin for four years.  I was semi-retired and went to Florida. Then, I kept getting jobs. I was getting bored sitting on the sofa. An actor and artist – we don’t feel as alive sitting around like when we’re working. I was enjoying quasi-retirement.  I got a call asking if I’d do Wicked again for six more months.

Clifton Davis as Dr. Dillamond in 'Wicked'

DD:  What do you like about your character?

CD: I like that he is brilliant and that he is well-loved by his students and is an excellent professor. I actually play a goat. I like that he has uncovered one of the most plot cases in our play – the mistreatment of animals. I like the arc of the character and what it says about keeping your ear to the ground. The show deals with issues that come out of the paper – like not always taking what leaders say at face value. The show deals with relationships.  People can believe a big lie if you tell it often enough.

DD: How long have you been in showbiz and why did you want to semi-retire?

CD: I started in 1967.  I semi-retired because for a while I was working on Broadway six days a week, two shows a day for years, I was tired. I wanted to play golf and have more time to myself.  Then I got a recurring role on Madam Secretary. I did the fifth and sixth seasons.  I also had a recurring role on Godfather of Harlem. 

DD:  You play Dr. Dillamond. He is a goat who has the ability to speak and interact with humans, as well as a professor at Shiz University. He is a supporting character in the Broadway musical, Wicked. Is it easier to play this character or to be yourself on stage? How is this character like you? 

CD: He is only like me only in the passion and pursuit of knowledge and the joy of teaching. Other than that, he’s nothing like me. I play a goat that talks. He’s not at all like me, Clifton. 

DD: Talk about how you prepare for a role.  

CD: I come in early to be relaxed. I come in one hour early and look around and look at my costume and open my script and go through every word I have to say on the stage. I read the notes, and remember the directions. I embrace those fresh every night. That way I don’t go out cold. As years go by you learn a lot of things. It’s very easy to get distracted. My advice is to review before going on.

DD: Have you ever forgotten your lines?

CD: Yes, I have forgotten my lines. It’s called ‘going to the white room.’ You open your mouth and nothing comes out. It is the worst feeling, especially if you’ve done the show for years. 

DD: Do you have to like/love a character in order to play them? 

CD: No. I’ve had roles where I didn’t like the person I had to become, but I did it anyway. These days unless it’s an outright villain who gets his comeuppance, I won’t do it. Right and wrong have to be clearly defined.  I played a pimp once. I didn’t like him. I played it full out. It was acclaimed.

DD: What is it about the stage?  What does it do for you?

CD: It challenges you. It’s not easy to go in front of 2,500 people every night and perform. It's a challenge. It’s also enlivening knowing there are real live people out there. You can’t say, “cut, let's do that again.” You have to bring it now and experience it night after night and share your emotions, lines, moods, and songs every night, and do it fresh because that person out there may not have ever seen it before.  It’s where I started. You can tell a whole story under those lights.

DD: You’ve been in the business a minute. Aside from money, which we all need, what gets you excited these days to go to work?

CD: Getting a role in a really fine dramatic TV series. Getting a role period. It’s great to know I’m still wanted and can pull this off. It’s uplifting to know you still got it and have a good time doing it as well. I also want to encourage and help young talent.

DD: Are you satisfied with what you’ve accomplished in your life?

CD: I am because this has been fulfilling. When I try to belittle myself – there are those who tell me I’m out of my mind. I did pretty good for myself. I sure did achieve a lot. I thank God every day

DD: What are you most proud of in your career? 

CD: The show, Amen. I loved that character. It was the closest character to being myself. Rev. Reuben Gregory is a part of Dr. Clifton Davis.

DD: What did you expect from showbiz and what did you get?

CD: When I got into showbiz, I expected to have the joy of performing on stage. That was it. I had seen a Broadway show and I thought that was it. I wanted to have that performing experience. Eight months after that I was in the chorus of Hello Dolly and having that experience. That’s all I expected. I didn't’ expect to be a star or famous. I didn’t even expect money. I didn’t think about all of that. I thought, ‘yes, I could make a living.’  It’s been rich and rewarding. This has been a blessing from God who had to save me many times along the way.  I have friends who love and respect me. I have wonderful memories that I will cherish. And hope for my future. There is more in store.