I Finally Won The Lotto

When my manager told me I got the part in Harlem Song, it felt like I'd won the Lotto.  As far as I was concerned, that's exactly what happened.  I hadn't told anyone that I was auditioning for it--I certainly hadn't told my family--and for some reason, I didn't want to let the cat out of the bag just yet.  I had to savor the enormity of it all by myself.  The very thought of it sent me into some kind of a tizzy that made me slaphappy and lightheaded: no more proofreading, no more waiting on tables.  Dare I say never?  Of course not.  I'd like to believe that I will work from now on as an artist and not ever have to do other things to make money but hey, like the Lotto guy says--you never know. There's plenty of famous people out there with no money, on welfare, homeless even.  No matter what happens, I will always be willing to roll up my sleeves and do an honest day's work to pay the rent.  I'm just tired of putting my ideas on hold to keep a roof over my head.

Being in this show is really cool for a lot of reasons.  The main one at the moment is that I finally get to originate a role.

I know this probably doesn't sound like a really big deal, but in theater/musical theater, the opportunity to originate a role on (or off) Broadway in an original production (read: not a revival) doesn't come along very often, especially if you are a person of color. Right now, there are lots of revivals and movies as musicals (and even themed musicals) because no one wants to risk millions upon millions of dollars on a project that isn't a sure fire crowd-pleasing hit. Let's face it: on the average, it takes 7 - 9 years to develop a musical and 8 - 10 million dollars to finance it.  That's a lot of money to lose on a show that closes before you see a return monetarily because of a lousy review.

When you originate a role, you make your mark. Everyone else that does the part after you has to readjust inside your imprint because as an originator, you've cemented certain choices into the character that you've built.  If you've done your job right, everyone will be expecting to see those choices because they've come to define who that character is.  If they don't see those choices, they'll think that the person who's replaced you has done an okay job because the character's moments aren't complete--unless the replacement can make choices that are better than yours (and when/if they do, they may have the kind of director that won't allow it.)

I've done enough regional theater to know how long that train's been gone.  One day, I woke up and decided that I wasn't going to go for that okey-doke anymore.   No more regional productions of 20+ year old black musicals.  I knew that I would have to wait a long time for this chance. And now its here.

Gee.  I wonder what its going to be like to work with George Wolfe.