WEBVTT - INTERVIEW: Lencia Kebede On Embodying Elphaba, Black Representation On Broadway, Celebrating Her Growth + More 0:00:00.400 --> 0:00:04.760 Wake that ass up in the morning. The Breakfast Club Morning. 0:00:04.760 --> 0:00:08.680 Everybody is DJ en Vy, Jess Hilarious, Charlamagne, the gud 0:00:08.760 --> 0:00:10.120 We are the breakfast Club. 0:00:10.119 --> 0:00:11.639 We got a special guest in the building. 0:00:11.680 --> 0:00:14.080 Yes, indeed, Lyncia Cabetti. Did I say it right? 0:00:14.600 --> 0:00:15.160 Pretty close? 0:00:15.280 --> 0:00:15.840 Well, what is it? 0:00:15.880 --> 0:00:16.799 Cobetta Cobeta? 0:00:17.600 --> 0:00:18.160 But got it? 0:00:18.280 --> 0:00:20.560 Welcome, thank you, Welcome, welcome, welcome. 0:00:20.800 --> 0:00:22.159 Now, if you don't know who she is, she's an 0:00:22.200 --> 0:00:23.840 actress and the first black actress. 0:00:23.840 --> 0:00:25.680 Oh wait, wait, wait, look let me say something cause 0:00:25.760 --> 0:00:28.360 she because she off here before we just started. She said, 0:00:28.440 --> 0:00:30.960 how did y'all find me? I said, You're the first 0:00:30.960 --> 0:00:33.400 black actress to play alpha Be full time? How can 0:00:33.479 --> 0:00:37.360 we find she said? How dare I exact, sir, black 0:00:37.440 --> 0:00:41.240 actress to play alpha Be full time on the Broadway Wicked? 0:00:41.840 --> 0:00:43.879 How's congratulations first and foremost? 0:00:43.920 --> 0:00:46.680 Thank you so much. I mean, it's a dream come true. 0:00:46.800 --> 0:00:49.840 It's like surreal sometimes and sometimes I'm like, oh, yeah, 0:00:49.840 --> 0:00:51.800 this is exactly where I always thought I would be 0:00:51.960 --> 0:00:56.000 doing something like impactful for our community and our industry. 0:00:56.600 --> 0:01:00.360 But most days are just like I'm just dumbfounded. I 0:01:00.360 --> 0:01:02.560 can't believe I'm singing these songs what. 0:01:02.440 --> 0:01:03.960 Did it mean for you personally and what did it 0:01:04.040 --> 0:01:06.479 mean for Brown personally? 0:01:06.480 --> 0:01:09.720 It was an opportunity to tell the story of my community, 0:01:11.959 --> 0:01:17.320 our struggles, our strengths, our power, for our for our industry, 0:01:17.480 --> 0:01:20.000 for the entertainment industry. I think it just opened the 0:01:20.040 --> 0:01:23.400 eyes of who can do what and who was capable 0:01:23.440 --> 0:01:28.880 of what, and just like brought a more creative outlook 0:01:29.080 --> 0:01:29.920 to art. 0:01:30.680 --> 0:01:32.839 Now you ain't Hamilton before, but I want to start 0:01:32.880 --> 0:01:36.679 from the beginning my birth. Okay, how did you get 0:01:36.720 --> 0:01:37.560 into the arts? 0:01:37.640 --> 0:01:37.720 Like? 0:01:37.920 --> 0:01:39.480 What was it so special to you? Said this is 0:01:39.480 --> 0:01:40.120 what I want to do. 0:01:40.319 --> 0:01:43.479 You know, It's funny. I started at church and I 0:01:43.560 --> 0:01:48.240 hated singing. My parents saw something special in me and 0:01:48.320 --> 0:01:52.080 kind of like thrust me into music and correct. Both 0:01:52.120 --> 0:01:54.640 my parents are from Ethiopia immigrants, so I'm first generation 0:01:56.040 --> 0:01:59.400 and I loved playing outside. I loved playing sports. I 0:01:59.400 --> 0:02:01.000 was super into my academics too. I was just like 0:02:01.080 --> 0:02:03.200 a really hype kid. I feel like I was just 0:02:03.680 --> 0:02:08.200 I couldn't be stopped. Lots of energy, especially for this role. 0:02:08.720 --> 0:02:13.079 But like being inside rahearsing and like I just was 0:02:13.080 --> 0:02:14.120 like I want to be outside and I want to 0:02:14.120 --> 0:02:18.079 be playing. But I started to see like how music 0:02:18.120 --> 0:02:23.399 affected people specifically in church and how that moved people spiritually. 0:02:25.560 --> 0:02:27.680 And I was like, wait, I think I'm good at 0:02:27.720 --> 0:02:30.960 this something. I don't know what it is. I don't 0:02:30.960 --> 0:02:32.520 know how to hone in on it, but I know 0:02:32.880 --> 0:02:35.480 that it just feels special. So I wanted to keep trying. 0:02:35.520 --> 0:02:38.200 And then I started doing like community theater and middle 0:02:38.240 --> 0:02:40.720 school and high school, and in college, I decided I 0:02:40.800 --> 0:02:42.520 wasn't going to study it. I had other interests. I 0:02:42.560 --> 0:02:46.480 studied diplomacy and world affairs and undergrad and politics, all 0:02:46.880 --> 0:02:50.640 different angles to make like positive change to the world 0:02:50.720 --> 0:02:51.160 around me. 0:02:51.960 --> 0:02:52.960 I mean how many times? 0:02:53.720 --> 0:02:55.960 And then you got to Broadway, So explain how you 0:02:56.000 --> 0:02:58.519 got to Broadway and those feelings. 0:03:00.240 --> 0:03:04.919 Midway through my five year run in Hamilton, the audition 0:03:05.000 --> 0:03:08.760 for Alphabat came up and I already actually had another 0:03:09.240 --> 0:03:11.480 job offer that I was very excited to embark on, 0:03:11.960 --> 0:03:14.440 and my team was like, I mean, it depends on 0:03:14.440 --> 0:03:15.720 what you want to do, and I was like, WHOA, 0:03:16.560 --> 0:03:18.040 no black woman has ever played this role. I'm not 0:03:18.040 --> 0:03:20.960 going to pass up this opportunity. So auditions it was 0:03:21.040 --> 0:03:24.320 like six rounds across maybe like four months of me 0:03:24.400 --> 0:03:30.040 flying to New York from La on Zoom, just lots 0:03:30.080 --> 0:03:33.080 of different It's a long process. If that's such a 0:03:33.160 --> 0:03:36.440 technical skill, would that that is required for this character. 0:03:36.560 --> 0:03:39.840 So after all those rounds and the up and downs 0:03:39.840 --> 0:03:41.440 of the emotions, I got it. I don't, I gotta, 0:03:41.440 --> 0:03:42.800 I don't, am I good? I don't know. It's just 0:03:42.800 --> 0:03:46.119 like so much inner turmoil. I finally got the call 0:03:46.160 --> 0:03:49.080 from my agent and I started cracking up. I'd like 0:03:49.160 --> 0:03:53.480 I couldn't even like emote. I was just like, this 0:03:53.560 --> 0:03:55.360 cannot be happening right now. 0:03:55.480 --> 0:03:57.000 I think thought it was a joke or you or 0:03:57.000 --> 0:03:58.040 you didn't know what you felt. 0:03:58.520 --> 0:04:01.520 I think I didn't know what I felt. I was 0:04:02.320 --> 0:04:04.920 like in shock. Yeah, at that point, I think I 0:04:04.960 --> 0:04:09.640 had convinced myself that it was highly possible. I was. 0:04:09.760 --> 0:04:12.400 I was in the final like four people maybe, but 0:04:12.440 --> 0:04:16.920 I was like Universe, God, Mother, Earth, I receive whatever 0:04:17.040 --> 0:04:20.520 is mine, however, I want this set, and I feel 0:04:20.520 --> 0:04:23.360 like I would be great for this moment, but like, 0:04:23.400 --> 0:04:25.200 I accept the outcome. So I think I was. I 0:04:25.640 --> 0:04:30.440 was playing both outcomes internally so well that no matter 0:04:30.480 --> 0:04:33.400 what that call would have whatever the outcome of that 0:04:33.440 --> 0:04:35.159 call would have been, I would have been ready so 0:04:35.240 --> 0:04:39.600 I think my body was like, oh, okay, this is happening. 0:04:39.920 --> 0:04:41.359 I had to like go on a walk and like 0:04:41.400 --> 0:04:44.760 ground myself to remember what was real. I couldn't believe this. 0:04:45.520 --> 0:04:47.000 Mean, how many times do people try to gas like 0:04:47.080 --> 0:04:48.880 you like, is America ready for a black alpable? 0:04:49.000 --> 0:04:49.200 Right? 0:04:49.320 --> 0:04:51.040 Like the damn green face isn't fantasy enough. 0:04:51.640 --> 0:04:55.240 It's so silly, and it's people say things like she's green, 0:04:55.400 --> 0:04:57.080 like it doesn't matter what her race is, and I'm like, 0:04:57.400 --> 0:05:00.120 she's green exactly. She looks different than everybody else. That 0:05:00.240 --> 0:05:02.680 is the point. So I do think the world was ready. 0:05:02.960 --> 0:05:06.440 I do think the world was ready, and I feel 0:05:06.480 --> 0:05:07.520 so grateful that it was me. 0:05:07.920 --> 0:05:08.799 You know, it's only interesting. 0:05:08.880 --> 0:05:10.520 Like I took my nine year old and my six 0:05:10.640 --> 0:05:12.480 year old to see Working on Broadway and they saw 0:05:12.560 --> 0:05:15.000 the movie, so it's the Dim Alpha. 0:05:15.000 --> 0:05:17.960 But is black? 0:05:18.360 --> 0:05:18.760 Isn't that? 0:05:19.160 --> 0:05:20.520 Like if I say, if I say that to them, 0:05:20.520 --> 0:05:22.360 you're like, you know, she's black, right, Like of course. 0:05:23.440 --> 0:05:24.000 That's all they know. 0:05:24.120 --> 0:05:30.120 Is as crazy that this generation gets to live in 0:05:30.200 --> 0:05:33.600 this in this climate and see it as normal, Like 0:05:33.680 --> 0:05:35.640 that's what they get to grow up experiencing. And that's 0:05:35.680 --> 0:05:38.000 my favorite part of this is this whole generation that 0:05:38.120 --> 0:05:40.280 is just this is their norm. 0:05:40.440 --> 0:05:41.800 Why do you think it took decades for a black 0:05:41.839 --> 0:05:43.120 woman to get this role full time? 0:05:43.160 --> 0:05:43.240 Like? 0:05:43.320 --> 0:05:47.840 What does that say about Broadway? If anything, I. 0:05:47.760 --> 0:05:53.200 Think art is a reflection of the society it represents. 0:05:53.720 --> 0:05:57.120 So I don't think Broadway was particularly doing anything outside 0:05:57.160 --> 0:06:01.440 of what our country represented. And as times have changed, 0:06:02.279 --> 0:06:08.359 so has art. Art has shifted. So I feel like 0:06:08.400 --> 0:06:11.040 it's exactly the timing is exactly right. And again, like 0:06:12.320 --> 0:06:14.320 I can't speak to why I took this long, but 0:06:14.360 --> 0:06:15.520 all I know is I'm happy I'm here. 0:06:15.720 --> 0:06:16.800 Do you get a lot of love or do you 0:06:16.800 --> 0:06:17.480 get a lot of hate? 0:06:17.520 --> 0:06:19.679 I get a lot of love. I mean, haters are haters. 0:06:19.720 --> 0:06:21.520 There's always haters, there's always critics. 0:06:21.880 --> 0:06:24.159 The reason I asked is like I took my kids too, 0:06:24.600 --> 0:06:27.880 And of course the majority of people in there are others. 0:06:28.000 --> 0:06:30.400 Well, I should say all white. 0:06:31.800 --> 0:06:36.280 I was gonna say, but I was wondering lovers. 0:06:37.520 --> 0:06:39.880 You're the other. 0:06:39.960 --> 0:06:44.320 Actually I'm green, okay? 0:06:44.480 --> 0:06:46.159 And what type of hate do you get? Is it letters? 0:06:46.240 --> 0:06:46.680 Is it? You know? 0:06:46.880 --> 0:06:48.840 Because I thought that the play was phenomenal, Like I said, 0:06:48.920 --> 0:06:50.520 when I seen you in Hall, I took my three 0:06:50.600 --> 0:06:52.120 year old, and then I took my twenty three. 0:06:52.080 --> 0:06:53.560 Year old, Wow, and they both enjoyed it. 0:06:53.600 --> 0:06:55.360 They both joyed great. 0:06:55.440 --> 0:06:59.720 Across the generations people relate. I mean, it's the hate. 0:06:59.800 --> 0:07:01.680 I don't know. I wouldn't even call it hate more 0:07:01.720 --> 0:07:06.479 than just like strong opinions, because less so about race, 0:07:06.960 --> 0:07:09.000 more just because this is a long running show twenty 0:07:09.000 --> 0:07:12.680 two years. Everyone who has seen who comes to see 0:07:12.680 --> 0:07:15.680 Wicked has seen Wicked more or less. The amount of 0:07:15.720 --> 0:07:18.000 people who are new to this piece of work is 0:07:18.640 --> 0:07:22.240 very little, so everybody knows every word, every intonation, like 0:07:22.360 --> 0:07:25.840 every way every single line goes or every vocal part goes. 0:07:26.120 --> 0:07:28.560 So it's less like why they're a black Alphaba. I 0:07:28.560 --> 0:07:31.600 don't really get that. There's more celebratory energy about the 0:07:31.680 --> 0:07:35.360 racial thing. But people just like what they like, and 0:07:35.400 --> 0:07:38.480 you know what, that's fine. I cannot be for everyone, 0:07:38.520 --> 0:07:39.960 and I think that's what this show is teaching me, 0:07:40.120 --> 0:07:43.720 especially this character who has to fight with the world 0:07:43.720 --> 0:07:46.400 around her not trusting her and misunderstanding her. But she 0:07:46.400 --> 0:07:48.320 always says true to who she is, and that I 0:07:48.320 --> 0:07:50.080 think is my biggest takeaway from playing this role. 0:07:50.400 --> 0:07:53.800 What was the most challenging part about playing Alphaba? 0:07:53.840 --> 0:07:56.440 If there are any I would say a mental and 0:07:56.520 --> 0:08:04.520 emotional fatigue. The show is very emotionally taxing. I am 0:08:04.560 --> 0:08:09.920 constantly faced with like the biggest, most complicated inner feelings 0:08:10.000 --> 0:08:14.480 that specifically a black woman can experience, feeling othered, feeling misunderstood, 0:08:15.520 --> 0:08:20.040 not being trusted, disillusionment, believing in someone, trusting in someone, 0:08:20.080 --> 0:08:22.880 and then realizing that it's not what it seems. So 0:08:22.960 --> 0:08:25.080 I think there's a lot of times when I leave 0:08:25.120 --> 0:08:26.200 the show and I have to just like I don't 0:08:26.200 --> 0:08:28.480 even turn on the lights in my apartment for hours. 0:08:28.560 --> 0:08:31.800 I have to be like dead in my head because 0:08:31.800 --> 0:08:34.559 it's just like the emotional rollercoaster of what the character 0:08:34.679 --> 0:08:38.400 requires also requires me to plug in and charge when 0:08:38.400 --> 0:08:39.000 I'm not there. 0:08:39.400 --> 0:08:41.600 Let's stay there for a minute. Yeah, because alphabet is 0:08:41.640 --> 0:08:43.240 one of the most demanding roles in. 0:08:43.480 --> 0:08:45.120 If not the most, you have the most. 0:08:45.440 --> 0:08:47.960 So what's your apprecial ritual to get into that headspace 0:08:48.040 --> 0:08:49.439 and voice space every night? 0:08:49.840 --> 0:08:52.760 I think I definitely take stock in how I'm feeling. 0:08:53.000 --> 0:08:55.200 If I'm feeling like more tired, maybe I listen to 0:08:55.240 --> 0:08:58.120 like hype music, or like take a walk, or like 0:08:58.160 --> 0:09:00.079 take a hot yoga class, something to get me my 0:09:00.200 --> 0:09:03.120 energy going. But if I'm feeling particularly stimulated that day, 0:09:03.720 --> 0:09:07.000 sometimes listening to like jazz and something calmer, I usually 0:09:07.000 --> 0:09:09.440 do like a thirty minute warm up, half of it physical, 0:09:09.800 --> 0:09:12.920 half of it vocal. And then while I'm getting the greening, 0:09:12.960 --> 0:09:14.880 which takes thirty minutes to do my makeup every day. 0:09:15.920 --> 0:09:19.280 When they're doing that for me, that's when I play music, 0:09:19.360 --> 0:09:21.800 and music I feel like is what drops me into 0:09:21.840 --> 0:09:24.720 whatever emotional space I need to get into the character. 0:09:24.920 --> 0:09:28.200 Make up only take thirteen thirty minute thirty minutes, Yeah, yeah, 0:09:28.320 --> 0:09:29.720 I expect it more right. 0:09:30.000 --> 0:09:32.720 People usually think it takes like hours. It was gonna 0:09:32.720 --> 0:09:34.839 probably just do your face, neck and hands right right 0:09:34.880 --> 0:09:36.320 and like a little bit down my back, but like 0:09:36.360 --> 0:09:38.520 it's only a little bit down my arm. 0:09:38.559 --> 0:09:41.200 So do you have a life on Broadway? Can you 0:09:41.200 --> 0:09:43.760 have a life on Broadway with the amount of shows. 0:09:43.360 --> 0:09:46.800 That you see? Let me tell you. 0:09:45.720 --> 0:09:48.040 Eight a week. We have one day off yesterday, I 0:09:48.080 --> 0:09:50.840 would say there, you can have a life on Broadway 0:09:50.960 --> 0:09:53.640 When you're Alphaba, though, which is a different. 0:09:53.360 --> 0:09:55.840 Beast life that's very difficult. 0:09:56.120 --> 0:09:58.840 I think. I try. I'm a communal being. I need 0:09:58.920 --> 0:10:02.240 the energy of other so I try to balance it. 0:10:03.160 --> 0:10:07.000 But most states. I do spend chilling on my own because, 0:10:07.040 --> 0:10:09.920 like I said, the mental toll is really I really 0:10:10.000 --> 0:10:12.280 have to like relax in order to bring my whole 0:10:12.320 --> 0:10:16.240 heart and soul emotionally to the characters. So everybody has 0:10:16.240 --> 0:10:18.280 a life, but I have less of a life right now. 0:10:18.320 --> 0:10:19.959 But you know what the sacrifice is worth it? Let 0:10:19.960 --> 0:10:21.439 me tell you it is worth it. 0:10:21.640 --> 0:10:24.679 What's harder hitting that defying gravity? Note eight times a 0:10:24.760 --> 0:10:28.400 week are carrying the weight of representation every time. 0:10:28.240 --> 0:10:32.280 The curry cool? Ain't that the question? Definitely the representation. 0:10:34.160 --> 0:10:37.680 It's just it means so much to so many people. 0:10:37.720 --> 0:10:39.520 And like I think another back to what you were 0:10:39.520 --> 0:10:42.120 saying about the hardest parts of the role, Like I 0:10:42.160 --> 0:10:44.760 put a lot of pressure on myself to make every 0:10:44.760 --> 0:10:47.000 interaction I have through this period of my life has 0:10:47.040 --> 0:10:50.319 something meaningful to audiences black, brown, white, It don't matter. 0:10:50.400 --> 0:10:57.360 Like I just I think that that opportunity can sometimes 0:10:57.400 --> 0:10:59.400 feel like pressure to me, just because I care so 0:10:59.480 --> 0:11:02.000 much and I've really want especially the kids. I want 0:11:02.080 --> 0:11:06.160 kids to go away feeling empowered. So defying gravity is 0:11:06.240 --> 0:11:08.480 like it's like a science is like this is how 0:11:08.480 --> 0:11:14.080 you're sing. It is vocal technique, but with the cultural, racial, 0:11:16.640 --> 0:11:19.800 emotional aspects of it. Like those those things take real 0:11:19.840 --> 0:11:22.480 care and I really put a lot of effort into 0:11:22.840 --> 0:11:25.360 how I present myself and what I share with my community. 0:11:25.520 --> 0:11:27.800 So you feel actual pressure to represent. 0:11:29.679 --> 0:11:32.880 I do feel pressure in that. I feel like it's 0:11:32.920 --> 0:11:36.920 more self induced, just because, like I said, I care 0:11:37.040 --> 0:11:40.160 so much about positively impacting the world around me, and 0:11:40.160 --> 0:11:41.520 that's I feel like that's been one of my dreams 0:11:41.520 --> 0:11:42.800 since I was a kid, Like I never knew what 0:11:42.800 --> 0:11:44.559 I would do growing up, but like that's kind of 0:11:44.559 --> 0:11:46.440 why I went into politics for a little while too 0:11:46.480 --> 0:11:48.000 and still have a passion for it, is that I 0:11:48.080 --> 0:11:52.720 care so much about just like positively inspiring people. So yeah, 0:11:52.720 --> 0:11:55.000 I do feel pressure, only because that's what I choose 0:11:55.040 --> 0:11:57.480 to care about. I don't think anybody puts it on 0:11:57.520 --> 0:12:01.000 me besides myself, which is why this role teaches me 0:12:01.160 --> 0:12:03.679 to stay you know, connected and true to who I am, 0:12:03.760 --> 0:12:05.240 regardless of what's happening around me. 0:12:05.360 --> 0:12:07.080 Because I feel like, if you just bring your full 0:12:07.120 --> 0:12:09.320 self to the role, that's enough. 0:12:10.080 --> 0:12:13.400 I completely agree, and that's exactly what the character does. 0:12:13.840 --> 0:12:16.400 She brings herself to all these crazy life situations, and 0:12:17.440 --> 0:12:19.319 that's how she survives and thrives. 0:12:20.280 --> 0:12:22.840 Do you did you reach out to actresses before you 0:12:23.200 --> 0:12:25.560 to just to ask them how the role was and 0:12:26.160 --> 0:12:28.520 the role and are they open to it, especially you 0:12:28.600 --> 0:12:30.120 being black? Well, were they open to it or wasn't 0:12:30.120 --> 0:12:30.760 one of those states? 0:12:30.760 --> 0:12:36.360 Like yeah, No, they were incredibly open. They call it 0:12:36.440 --> 0:12:38.080 kind of like a sisterhood. Like the people who have 0:12:38.080 --> 0:12:42.600 played Alphaba, they all sort of say, like, nobody can 0:12:42.640 --> 0:12:44.400 know what it's like until you've done it, So like 0:12:44.480 --> 0:12:48.560 any vocal teacher, any like voice doctor, therapists, like I 0:12:48.600 --> 0:12:50.920 can't explain to anybody in words what it feels like 0:12:51.000 --> 0:12:54.000 unless you you know, you've experienced it. So hearing their 0:12:54.080 --> 0:12:58.640 experiences was like incredibly inspiring and just like really positive 0:12:58.640 --> 0:13:02.640 guidance for me dealing with the strenuous nature of it. 0:13:02.880 --> 0:13:04.600 Like the one main thing I took away from all 0:13:04.600 --> 0:13:07.439 those conversations was like the girls, a lot of the 0:13:07.480 --> 0:13:11.720 girls were saying, like, anything you experience, every other alphabet 0:13:11.760 --> 0:13:15.160 has experienced, so like you're not alone in those intense 0:13:15.200 --> 0:13:18.080 feelings when it gets difficult. So that just made me 0:13:18.080 --> 0:13:18.880 feel less crazy. 0:13:19.120 --> 0:13:21.000 And what's the craziest thing that's happened on stage? Did 0:13:21.040 --> 0:13:23.160 you see like a favorite celebrity in the stage directive 0:13:23.200 --> 0:13:25.319 one to the bathroom, What was the craziest thing that 0:13:25.360 --> 0:13:26.040 happened to you as. 0:13:25.920 --> 0:13:27.200 You good question. 0:13:28.880 --> 0:13:31.480 I can't really see the audience sometimes sometimes when I 0:13:31.520 --> 0:13:33.880 know something like Serena Williams when the audience recently and 0:13:33.920 --> 0:13:40.560 I was like, oh, Queen. Sometimes I stumble words and 0:13:40.600 --> 0:13:42.840 like say crazy things and I just have to like 0:13:42.920 --> 0:13:45.280 find a way to get around it. 0:13:45.320 --> 0:13:48.000 But during the performance, yes it happens. 0:13:49.840 --> 0:13:53.760 I don't think so unless there's like a long silence. 0:13:55.240 --> 0:13:57.160 I think people are so dropped into the show that 0:13:57.200 --> 0:13:59.240 they're like, they're not worried. 0:14:00.080 --> 0:14:01.440 Have you met Cynthia Arriva. 0:14:01.679 --> 0:14:03.680 I haven't met her yet. She did send me flowers 0:14:03.679 --> 0:14:06.760 on my debut, my first show, which was sweet. But 0:14:06.800 --> 0:14:09.000 I think we should probably be doing some stuff soon. 0:14:10.640 --> 0:14:13.440 How do you navigate being celebrated but still feeling like 0:14:13.440 --> 0:14:16.880 you're breaking through systems that weren't designed for you. 0:14:21.480 --> 0:14:27.400 I celebrate myself because what I'm doing is a literal revolution, 0:14:29.000 --> 0:14:34.960 and I believe art is a part of social change 0:14:35.920 --> 0:14:40.880 and political growth. I believe art shapes culture and culture 0:14:40.880 --> 0:14:43.040 shapes art. It's sort of symbiotic in that way. So 0:14:44.640 --> 0:14:47.040 I feel like the fact that I have the opportunity 0:14:47.080 --> 0:14:50.520 to break through these barriers also like strengthens my relationship 0:14:50.520 --> 0:14:52.160 with myself. I'm like, yeah, you did that. 0:14:54.000 --> 0:14:55.880 Who was your elphab growing up? Like, who made you 0:14:55.920 --> 0:14:57.040 believe you can defy gravity? 0:14:57.840 --> 0:15:07.000 That's a great question, I would say, seeing Cynthia for sure. 0:15:07.080 --> 0:15:10.080 I mean Cynthia has done so many amazing projects, yeah, 0:15:10.640 --> 0:15:16.680 which like haven't just inspired me endlessly. Audre McDonald also 0:15:16.720 --> 0:15:20.360 how she has crossed over to different industries, to within 0:15:20.440 --> 0:15:23.280 the entertainment industry. So seeing black women be sort of 0:15:23.320 --> 0:15:27.880 like multi hyphenated artists, it's inspired me so much and 0:15:27.920 --> 0:15:29.280 made me feel like like if they can do it, 0:15:29.320 --> 0:15:32.280 you know I can't do. 0:15:31.200 --> 0:15:35.560 Do you remember your first audition for a Wicked Yes? 0:15:36.320 --> 0:15:39.960 Oh yeah, it was terrified, shaking. I remember the first 0:15:40.000 --> 0:15:41.920 time I sang define gravity in front of the creative team. 0:15:41.960 --> 0:15:43.600 I feel like my hands were like literally like I 0:15:43.640 --> 0:15:47.200 was like, yeah, I was so nervous. It was probably 0:15:47.240 --> 0:15:51.320 one of the hardest things I overcame in my career 0:15:51.360 --> 0:15:54.080 so far, like that day, because it meant so much 0:15:54.120 --> 0:15:55.800 to me. I knew what it would mean if I 0:15:55.800 --> 0:15:57.960 would continue on in the process being the first black 0:15:57.960 --> 0:15:59.840 woman in the possible first black woman in the role, 0:16:00.120 --> 0:16:03.960 and just the difficulty of the material. I was stressed. 0:16:04.680 --> 0:16:05.880 But then when I did it, I was like, no, 0:16:05.920 --> 0:16:07.360 I can do anything. Like once I did it the 0:16:07.360 --> 0:16:09.120 first time, I was like, I'm good, I got it. 0:16:10.880 --> 0:16:12.600 Are you a sick thing or do anything together at 0:16:12.600 --> 0:16:13.680 the Tony Awards because you said. 0:16:14.200 --> 0:16:16.760 I pray, honey, that's what I'm I am asking the 0:16:16.840 --> 0:16:19.440 universe and doing all the networking I can try to get. 0:16:19.840 --> 0:16:23.040 She is hosting, I pray. I pray. So if anyone 0:16:23.040 --> 0:16:26.400 can hear me, bring me to the Tonys. I would 0:16:26.440 --> 0:16:28.040 like to be in attendance. I think it would be 0:16:28.040 --> 0:16:29.440 really great for our community. 0:16:29.640 --> 0:16:30.760 You haven't been nominated yet. 0:16:31.280 --> 0:16:33.680 I can't be nominated for Wicked because it's not a 0:16:33.720 --> 0:16:36.960 new show in this season. I know that, Yeah, that's 0:16:37.000 --> 0:16:37.520 a thing. 0:16:38.280 --> 0:16:40.320 That's crazy. But if you're an actress, are actor that 0:16:40.400 --> 0:16:43.360 takes the role to another level, yeah you've done well. 0:16:43.440 --> 0:16:45.520 Thank you one to I agree. I do think that 0:16:45.520 --> 0:16:48.360 long running show should have the opportunity to award you know, 0:16:48.440 --> 0:16:51.920 particular performances in that way. But for my knowledge of 0:16:51.960 --> 0:16:55.160 how it works, it's about the new works of that season. 0:16:55.200 --> 0:16:58.360 There's like a maybe you know, September of the last 0:16:58.440 --> 0:17:00.520 year until March of the current year or something some 0:17:00.600 --> 0:17:03.880 timeline that the show has to open. From what I understand. 0:17:04.240 --> 0:17:06.000 Back to what and he was asking you like, do 0:17:06.040 --> 0:17:07.399 you have a life outside? 0:17:07.320 --> 0:17:07.399 Ye? 0:17:07.720 --> 0:17:11.600 So look right, So you don't you have friends? Of course? 0:17:12.160 --> 0:17:12.800 Okaye? 0:17:13.640 --> 0:17:15.680 Please? I need a community. 0:17:15.240 --> 0:17:16.679 Okay, right, okay? 0:17:16.720 --> 0:17:19.240 So you you're a liber you got a birthday coming up? Yes, 0:17:20.480 --> 0:17:22.000 what are you going to? 0:17:22.040 --> 0:17:22.119 Like? 0:17:22.119 --> 0:17:23.679 What do you do for your birthday? Are you working? 0:17:24.480 --> 0:17:27.560 I don't know. I guess if my birthday falls on 0:17:27.560 --> 0:17:29.960 a Monday, it would be rare and that I would 0:17:29.960 --> 0:17:31.400 be off, but most likely I'm working. 0:17:31.600 --> 0:17:34.439 You're off on Mondays, off on Mondays and that's the 0:17:34.440 --> 0:17:35.840 only d that's the only day. 0:17:36.720 --> 0:17:38.800 And so you work tonight? Correct? 0:17:39.320 --> 0:17:41.200 Yeah, we got shows tonight? 0:17:42.160 --> 0:17:42.639 What days? 0:17:42.680 --> 0:17:43.680 You have two shows today? 0:17:43.760 --> 0:17:46.520 One? No? Today is one Wednesday and Saturday or two 0:17:47.480 --> 0:17:50.280 usually two shows. 0:17:49.840 --> 0:17:50.359 In a day. 0:17:50.880 --> 0:17:53.160 You can't even have a shot if you I can't 0:17:53.200 --> 0:17:55.320 even pop up on you with a bottle, like girl. 0:17:55.840 --> 0:17:57.800 I wish I could even have a shot. This entire 0:17:57.960 --> 0:18:01.080 year gives a glass of wine a month. 0:18:01.200 --> 0:18:05.879 Okay, So how do you celebrate being alphabet? How do 0:18:05.960 --> 0:18:08.639 you celebrate that, like really, because it always doesn't have 0:18:08.680 --> 0:18:09.600 to involve. 0:18:09.880 --> 0:18:10.359 In a party. 0:18:10.800 --> 0:18:12.600 Yeah, how do you celebrate? 0:18:13.000 --> 0:18:15.760 I mean it really is sometimes very simple things like 0:18:15.800 --> 0:18:18.520 taking a walk by the water, like it seems I 0:18:18.600 --> 0:18:21.280 know it's peace and just like I've never lived in 0:18:21.320 --> 0:18:27.280 New York City. I'm from California. 0:18:22.680 --> 0:18:29.000 I will take the. 0:18:28.920 --> 0:18:32.320 Water, I'll take the natural whatever or the trees. But 0:18:32.480 --> 0:18:35.359 like it always, it always hits me hard when I 0:18:35.359 --> 0:18:37.200 think about, like why I'm in New York. It's for 0:18:37.280 --> 0:18:41.320 this job. It's for this special groundbreaking role that I'm in. 0:18:41.359 --> 0:18:43.359 So like when I when I finished the eighth show 0:18:43.400 --> 0:18:45.679 week and I literally just walk out the theater, like 0:18:46.720 --> 0:18:48.399 I just this piece comes over me because I'm like, 0:18:48.440 --> 0:18:50.320 look what I have accomplished, and look where I am 0:18:50.400 --> 0:18:51.960 in this city that I've always wanted to live in. 0:18:52.480 --> 0:18:56.159 So I feel like celebration comes in very simple, I guess, 0:18:56.200 --> 0:19:00.200 non conventional ways, but not really just personal ways. But like, look, 0:19:00.240 --> 0:19:01.800 I take my days off next week, I'm going to 0:19:01.880 --> 0:19:03.640