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Speaker 1: What's Up Its way Up with Angela Yee, and this

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Speaker 1: is very exciting for me. We had producer and director

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Speaker 1: Kenny Leon here Hey of Home but also many other

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Speaker 1: projects as well, Tony Award winning and nominated. And then

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Speaker 1: we also have Tory Kittles who is Cephist. He plays

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Speaker 1: a character Cephis, but also an actor many other accolades

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Speaker 1: as well from Home. But thank you guys for joining

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Speaker 1: me today, thank you for having us.

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Speaker 2: Man.

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Speaker 1: When I tell you, I want to go see the

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Speaker 1: play with my friend Kim Osorio, and she and I

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Speaker 1: both like we love going to Broadway plays together, and

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Speaker 1: so when we first sat down at the Roundabout Theater

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Speaker 1: to see this play, we didn't know what to expect

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Speaker 1: because I'd never read the play before, and so I

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Speaker 1: like to go in sometimes and not really you know,

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Speaker 1: read about it or know about it until I sit down.

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Speaker 1: And when I tell you, we were absolutely blown away

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Speaker 1: because in the beginning we were trying to figure out,

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Speaker 1: like where is this going? But as everything started to

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Speaker 1: catch up, I really feel like I need to go

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Speaker 1: see it a second time now that I know what's

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Speaker 1: going to happen at the end of catch maybe some

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Speaker 1: things I might have missed, you know, but this is

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Speaker 1: a revival, so let's talk about that for a second.

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Speaker 2: What drew you to this play for Kenny? For the director, well,

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Speaker 2: number one.

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Speaker 3: Thank you for being there. It means a lot for

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Speaker 3: you to show up in that space. But sam Mark Williams,

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Speaker 3: the writer, you know, I'm getting ready to do two

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Speaker 3: shows for Broadway in the next few months coming up. Yeah,

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Speaker 3: you know Thorn Wilder America, one of America's you know, greatest,

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Speaker 3: wrote Our Town and then you know there's Shakespeare who

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Speaker 3: wrote Othellow. But sam Mart Williams is every bit every

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Speaker 3: bit as talented as Shakespeare and Wilder. His poetry, his

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Speaker 3: development of character, his his his style. You know, he

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Speaker 3: can put multiple styles in one. He engages the imagination.

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Speaker 3: You know that is there's a corn field in a

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Speaker 3: tobacco field, but basically no walls, no furniture, no problem.

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Speaker 3: And you have three wonderful actors who play forty different characters,

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Speaker 3: I mean, anchored by this guy. So it's that's why

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Speaker 3: you do it. You do it because Samuel Williams, And

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Speaker 3: unfortunately he passed away three weeks ago and he didn't

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Speaker 3: see the production, but we talked about it and so

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Speaker 3: we do this play in his honor. So the reason

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Speaker 3: you do play forty years after they've been written is

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Speaker 3: to introduce it to a new generation. So I love

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Speaker 3: sitting in the theater and you have thirty year olds

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Speaker 3: coming in there, twenty year olds and eighty years and

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Speaker 3: all of us sitting in there. And then you know,

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Speaker 3: and the black folks come up in there and they

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Speaker 3: just said, I didn't know we had anything like this.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, we got it all we can do.

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Speaker 3: We're not a monolithic group.

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Speaker 2: Not at all.

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Speaker 5: A lot.

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Speaker 1: And for you, Tori, for you doing theater, because I

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Speaker 1: always feel like this is just such a different way

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Speaker 1: of showing your art because as an actor there there

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Speaker 1: is just a whole nother beast.

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Speaker 5: Well, this particular play is a whole.

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Speaker 2: Nother I mean it was intense. I was like, first

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Speaker 2: of all, how is he doing all of this?

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Speaker 5: Because I have no idea.

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Speaker 2: It's also straight through ninety minutes, straight.

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Speaker 5: Through the backstage.

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Speaker 3: But you know, for me, it's unlike doing the Equalizer, right,

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Speaker 3: you can shoot Equalizing, shoot a page.

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Speaker 5: At a time for a couple.

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Speaker 3: You got to be one ninety minutes.

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Speaker 6: Yeah, straight ninety minutes. But you know, I said, yes

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Speaker 6: to this play. Before I ever read it, Kenny called

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Speaker 6: he said, hey, this is what I'm doing in the spring.

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Speaker 6: And I said, if you're doing it, I'm doing it.

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Speaker 6: You know, because Kenny is responsible really for a lot

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Speaker 6: of things in my life and my career. Kenny is

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Speaker 6: how I met Queen Latifa to be able to do

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Speaker 6: the Equalizer. We did Still Magnolia's the remake first, so

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Speaker 6: that was the first time I met Queen, and then

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Speaker 6: we did Bessie and then you know, went on to

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Speaker 6: do Equalizer. But when Kenny called and said, hey, this

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Speaker 6: is what I'm doing in the spring, it actually worked

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Speaker 6: out timing wise with the Equalizer schedule, and so I

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Speaker 6: went to Queen and I said, I said, hey, I

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Speaker 6: have this opportunity and she said, oh, no.

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Speaker 5: You're doing that. You know what I mean. She was like,

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Speaker 5: you're doing that?

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Speaker 6: Yeah, absolutely, And so just timing wise, it worked out.

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Speaker 6: And then I had to read the play and then

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Speaker 6: I was like, Okay, what did I signed up for?

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Speaker 6: Like it was like who It was so beautiful and

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Speaker 6: so poetic, and you know, but it's just it's like

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Speaker 6: such a it takes you on such a journey.

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Speaker 1: What were your thoughts the first time you read through

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Speaker 1: the play, Oh.

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Speaker 6: That ending shook me up. It snuck up on me,

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Speaker 6: you know, because God for that ending.

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Speaker 1: That's all I'm going to say. Yeah, I don't know

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Speaker 1: if I would be able to rest easy.

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Speaker 6: Yeah, yeah, no, because you're reading all this beautiful poetry

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Speaker 6: and and this. You know, this farmer who's like fish

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Speaker 6: out of water gets thrown in the city and he

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Speaker 6: can't really handle the city and sort of choose him up.

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Speaker 6: But then you don't know how he's going to get

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Speaker 6: out of that. And he's warring with his faith, he's

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Speaker 6: warring with so many different things. But these people just

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Speaker 6: keep coming along in his journey to carry him, you know,

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Speaker 6: just to pick him up.

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Speaker 5: You know.

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Speaker 6: That's saying like, if you just keep crawling, somebody'll come

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Speaker 6: pick you up.

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Speaker 5: And and so.

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Speaker 6: He's this is Cephas's life, you know, but he really

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Speaker 6: is trying to get back to.

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Speaker 5: Where he began.

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Speaker 2: North Carolina, North Carolina.

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Speaker 5: Yeah, yeah, Crossroads, North Carolina.

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Speaker 1: You know what I was thinking too. I also I

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Speaker 1: took a lot of different things from this play. And

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Speaker 1: part of it is as we talk about you know,

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Speaker 1: we talk about people who end up going to prison

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Speaker 1: and then when they come home, they're not given the

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Speaker 1: opportunity to be able to make money, get the housing

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Speaker 1: that they should get even after they've went, you know,

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Speaker 1: did their time, paid their dues, did everything they were

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Speaker 1: supposed to do. Because and this is not really a spoiler,

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Speaker 1: but you end up, you know, dodging the draft and

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Speaker 1: not going to fight in the.

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Speaker 6: War, well not dodging, taking a stack, taking a stand conscious.

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Speaker 6: You know, Muhammad Ali took a stand. This is not

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Speaker 6: you know, for me, because he doesn't believe, he didn't

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Speaker 6: believe in killing killing people, you know, which is a

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Speaker 6: very righteous stand. And yeah, he loses everything, but because.

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Speaker 1: Of that, but that's not a reason why you should

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Speaker 1: come home and not be able to have a job.

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Speaker 1: And that's something that you know, have been going on

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Speaker 1: that we have discussions about today when you think about

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Speaker 1: people who have paid their debt to society and a

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Speaker 1: debt that I don't even feel like should have been paid, right.

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Speaker 6: I mean that there's so many parallels you can get

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Speaker 6: into the whole marijuana discussion exactly. You know, it's corporatized

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Speaker 6: and it's big business now years in person for dimebags

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Speaker 6: here and there.

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Speaker 5: You know what I mean?

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Speaker 6: So so, but that's you know, so he's getting punished

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Speaker 6: for standing up for his principles. But principles are only

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Speaker 6: principles if you stand up for him when it's inconvenient,

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Speaker 6: and he learns that. You know, there's a cost that

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Speaker 6: comes with standing up for things that you believe in.

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Speaker 6: It doesn't always work out the way you want it to.

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Speaker 6: But if you stay the course and you keep doing,

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Speaker 6: you keep the faith, you know, you keep the hope,

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Speaker 6: sometimes it will work out for you.

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Speaker 5: And that's what Sefist learns in the.

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Speaker 2: End, and for Kenny.

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Speaker 1: Do you get emotional like when you watch the play,

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Speaker 1: because I know you end up having to see it

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Speaker 1: a whole.

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Speaker 2: I see the emotional No.

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Speaker 5: I get mad.

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Speaker 3: They want to say this place he's got to be

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Speaker 3: like eighty nine minutes, you know, so every every extra

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Speaker 3: breath they take, or every moment where they're overacting or

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Speaker 3: they're you know, those moments.

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Speaker 4: Are those moments are rare.

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Speaker 3: But I'm sitting there when I go to see the place,

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Speaker 3: I hold my head down and close my eyes and

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Speaker 3: I listen to their rhythm because it's music to me.

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Speaker 3: And so it's like like a grade three piece jazz musicians,

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Speaker 3: and I can hear when it's off. So and three

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Speaker 3: is the number. That's the first time you can harmonize.

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Speaker 5: You know.

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Speaker 3: If one person is a solo and two is it,

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Speaker 3: you know you got a little douet. But three is

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Speaker 3: the first time you can really harmonize. So if you

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Speaker 3: metaphorically put that into acting, it's like somebody's always plan to.

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Speaker 5: Plan the solo.

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Speaker 3: Somebody's on drums, somebody's on pims, somebody's waiting to come in,

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Speaker 3: you know, so they have to literally breathe together, all

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Speaker 3: three of them. I have to ride that together. So

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Speaker 3: I'm always I'm a little nervous because they're like, okay,

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Speaker 3: get it together, because if one person steps out, we don't.

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Speaker 1: Have right And I would never notice any of that.

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Speaker 1: But obviously, because everything felt perfect to me when I

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Speaker 1: was watching it, audience right.

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Speaker 3: You asked it earlier, like when you what do I

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Speaker 3: see when you.

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Speaker 4: Get the script?

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Speaker 3: If you read that script, it doesn't give you any

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Speaker 3: instruction as to how to present it to the public.

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Speaker 5: So I had to say to the actors and get

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Speaker 5: everybody on the.

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Speaker 3: Same page, just say okay, look, we're gonna use as

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Speaker 3: little props as possible. Yeah, So sometimes you might go

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Speaker 3: and say, oh, I think I need a hat, I

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Speaker 3: think I need No, No, all you need is that scarf.

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Speaker 3: Let that scarf be be your hat. Let that scarff

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Speaker 3: be your dress. You know, all you need is this.

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Speaker 3: So I said, the less we use in this play,

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Speaker 3: the more engaging it would be for the audience.

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Speaker 1: And there's only three actors and you guys play over

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Speaker 1: forty different characters. And when you say no props, I

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Speaker 1: mean there were things happening that I could visualize, like

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Speaker 1: cleaning off the bar with no bar there and nothing,

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Speaker 1: but you can see everything. That's a different type of

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Speaker 1: skill to be able to have. How was that for you?

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Speaker 1: Because I know you've done Broadway before once, right.

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Speaker 6: Yeah, I cover back in twenty ten. I think it

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Speaker 6: was twenty ten. It was a play and I covered

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Speaker 6: Anthony and Mackie play called Behanding and Spokane, but I

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Speaker 6: never went on.

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Speaker 5: So this is officially actually my Broadway debut.

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Speaker 6: As well as Brittany Inge and story Aid, all three

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Speaker 6: of you, and I can't say enough about the two

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Speaker 6: of these women. Every night they are so incredible and

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Speaker 6: they kick off the play and they have such energy

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Speaker 6: and joy and they drop me right into where I

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Speaker 6: need to be.

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Speaker 5: But Kenny, you know, in the room, in.

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Speaker 6: The whole rehearsal process, he's about making everything truthful and authentic,

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Speaker 6: you know, and he does not let you get away

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Speaker 6: with anything. So we talked about that bad acting. He

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Speaker 6: got some of the bad acting out of the room,

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Speaker 6: you know, all.

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Speaker 2: Of it, all of it all challenging part for you.

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Speaker 6: Then I think, you know, the idea to get your

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Speaker 6: ego out of the way, Like the play is the

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Speaker 6: thing that you always have to come back to that

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Speaker 6: like the first time you read a play WMS like this,

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Speaker 6: your imagination, your creativity that comes alive. But then you

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Speaker 6: have to you know, mow that into what the vision

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Speaker 6: of the play is. And Kenny was so specific about

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Speaker 6: what the vision of it was. And he you know,

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Speaker 6: like he knows me so anything that I could get

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Speaker 6: away with normally I couldn't get away with with him,

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Speaker 6: you know, like he helped He held my feet to

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Speaker 6: the fight, He held my feet to the fire, and

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Speaker 6: and I so appreciate him for that, you know what

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Speaker 6: I mean. Like he asked me to go into uh

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Speaker 6: into different areas and to be completely exposed, like all

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Speaker 6: three of us up there every night, we are exposed,

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Speaker 6: like you say, we have no props, but you can.

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Speaker 5: See the props, right, you know.

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Speaker 6: And that's the thing that's like when the acting is

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Speaker 6: really real. If we can make you see that and

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Speaker 6: we don't actually have that, that means we believe it.

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Speaker 6: And if we believe it, then you believe it. And Kenny,

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Speaker 6: you know, ushered us into that space. And it wasn't

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Speaker 6: always easy, you know what I mean, because he demands excellence,

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Speaker 6: but but you know, when you're trying to get to

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Speaker 6: not something that's just good.

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Speaker 5: You know.

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Speaker 6: I was was reading something the other day and I

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Speaker 6: think it was why Will Smith was saying, like there's

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Speaker 6: ninety percent and everybody thinks that that's that. To get

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Speaker 6: to ninety percent to one hundred percent, like it's such

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Speaker 6: a big jump, you know, And Kenny was asking us

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Speaker 6: to go to that hundred percent. So, you know, I

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Speaker 6: think the first couple of weeks of rehearsal, like we

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Speaker 6: were in a solid space. We knew what it could be,

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Speaker 6: but Kenny saw something greater for us all and so

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Speaker 6: he continued to push us and and you know what

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Speaker 6: you see up on the stage is is really because

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Speaker 6: of this man right here, Kenny Leon.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, we definitely got into the world. It's kind of

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Speaker 1: like when I do read Shakespeare. It takes an adjustment

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Speaker 1: period to feel like the language, but then when it

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Speaker 1: starts flowing, you're really in there, you know what I'm saying,

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Speaker 1: Like you really feel the rhythm of everything. And you

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Speaker 1: also did A Raisin in the Sun as well twice, right, Yeah, that's.

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Speaker 3: First Broadways showing It is my Then ten years later

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Speaker 3: I did another production.

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Speaker 2: Sheesh, watching that is a It was great.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, that's amazing to have all it like when I

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Speaker 1: tell you the accolades that you have. You also did

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Speaker 1: start your own theater company.

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Speaker 3: Yeah. I ran the Alliance Stadia in Atlanta, and i

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Speaker 3: started a company called True Color State of Company. And

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Speaker 3: I've done shows like Still mcny is. I've worked with

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Speaker 3: Avid Dune on the Colden Kaepernick thing. I've done Gossip Girls,

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Speaker 3: the whole damage I did. I did all of that,

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Speaker 3: but I've done I'm most proud of the this year

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Speaker 3: of Mark seventeen Broadway shows. That's not to say I'm

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Speaker 3: just patted myself on the back. That means that there

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Speaker 3: should be more room for black women and black men

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Speaker 3: to direct on Broadway, so they still have a ways

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Speaker 3: to go, just so that everybody's stories are on those stages.

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Speaker 2: I do see more diversity when that is, but not.

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Speaker 5: Still not enough.

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Speaker 3: It's definitely not your twelve percent of the population. We

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Speaker 3: should be twelve percent of the work.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, Listen, every time something comes out, I'll try to

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Speaker 1: make sure that's why this was really important and special

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Speaker 1: to me. And even taking my friends, a lot of them,

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Speaker 1: I've taken them to their first ever Broadway play, you know.

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Speaker 1: So I went to go see for Color Girls, and

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Speaker 1: I felt like that didn't have a long enough run

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Speaker 1: because it is hard to market.

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Speaker 2: I don't know what it is.

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Speaker 3: It's hard, especially you opening a player at this time

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Speaker 3: of year, like right right before the Tony Awards coming up,

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Speaker 3: which I'm nominated for Best Director for Perly Victorious.

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Speaker 4: You saw that play, but it's Leslie Oldhams Junior and

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Speaker 4: Carrol Young. They were amazing.

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Speaker 3: So but anyway, and the fact that all of them

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Speaker 3: came to see him, they came home, so.

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Speaker 6: I was as I was inspired by I saw what

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Speaker 6: they were doing and Pearly and I actually I text

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Speaker 6: Leslie and I was like, oh, you're gonna make me

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Speaker 6: do a play, you know what I mean? And then

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Speaker 6: Kenny called with a play. It's like it's sort of

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Speaker 6: like we feed off of each other, you know, Corey

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Speaker 6: Hawkins who came the other night, and top Dog Amazing.

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Speaker 5: The other night and support and top Dog. Yeah, so

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Speaker 5: it's like we got to uplift each other.

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Speaker 6: And that's like, you know, like I get energy from

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Speaker 6: like seeing other great artists perform and do things that

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Speaker 6: are inspiring and educating and entertaining as well. So I

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Speaker 6: think you can do all of those things, and Kenny

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Speaker 6: always does that, you know. I think Kenny is like

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Speaker 6: a you know, I can't go on and no, like

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Speaker 6: I can go on and on like forever about this

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Speaker 6: because he means so much to me. But I do

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Speaker 6: think Kenny is a a as a chondur of spirits,

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Speaker 6: Like he's a great connected between the past and the present,

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Speaker 6: you know, and like sort of pushes us into the

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Speaker 6: future with his art.

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Speaker 5: You know what I mean.

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Speaker 6: Like we talk about like this particular play, why right now,

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Speaker 6: you know what I mean? But there is something like

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Speaker 6: really special about the energy that this play is creating,

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Speaker 6: but also how it connects to Sam Mart's transition. At

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Speaker 6: this particular time, you know, we had el Scott Carwell

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Speaker 6: who and Michelle Say who were in the original Broadway

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Speaker 6: production with Charles Brown, the late Great Charles Brown, who

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Speaker 6: is Yvette Cole Brown's uncle. I was was her uncle,

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Speaker 6: and so she came out to see the show, you know,

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Speaker 6: and she gave us the greatest compliment.

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Speaker 5: She's like, I could see my uncle up there with

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Speaker 5: you guys. You know what I mean.

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Speaker 4: I take this so serious, you know, Like I've been.

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Speaker 3: I was working with Arabella Fonte before he passed away,

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Speaker 3: like three weeks before he died, of sitting in the

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Speaker 3: room with him and listen to him give me knowledge

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Speaker 3: and instruction about to be a better artist. And so

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Speaker 3: I'm still dedicated to telling his story.

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Speaker 4: You know.

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Speaker 3: I've been in the same space with Sidney Poitier, you know,

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Speaker 3: Sydney on one side.

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Speaker 4: And Denzel on the other side.

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Speaker 5: I've been.

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Speaker 3: I did Tony Morrison's opera, you know, I've been, I said,

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Speaker 3: Davis and Ruby d you know, so I was like, Wow,

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Speaker 3: I met all these people.

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Speaker 4: I work with all these people.

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Speaker 3: So it's it's my responsibility to take their teachings to

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Speaker 3: this generation so we can lead this leak forward with

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Speaker 3: this younger generation into the future, you know what I mean.

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Speaker 3: So I feel, you know, I feel the responsibility to

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Speaker 3: to Bellefonte and to Sydney into Ruby, to August Wilson,

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Speaker 3: who you know, had blessing to spend the last five

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Speaker 3: weeks you know, of his life and doing his work.

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Speaker 2: You know, So we need to play about you, you know.

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Speaker 2: That's what it's feeling like.

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Speaker 3: Lee.

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Speaker 1: Well let me you know, as we're talking about all

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Speaker 1: of this, I saw an interview where you said seventy

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Speaker 1: percent of plays do not recoup, and so the reason

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Speaker 1: that you do this is, you know, because this is real,

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Speaker 1: all right, But I want to talk to you about

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Speaker 1: that because when plays don't recoup, then you know what,

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Speaker 1: like what happens?

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Speaker 2: Because I don't know the business of.

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Speaker 5: This, they have impact.

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Speaker 3: It's like percent of the place don't recoup, but they

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Speaker 3: still make money in different ways. You're branded that that show.

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Speaker 3: So like, even if we don't make all the money

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Speaker 3: for Home at the box office, more people know about

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Speaker 3: sam mar Williams now they know.

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Speaker 4: About the place.

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Speaker 3: So you can go to impact small theaters in Atlanta

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Speaker 3: or in Tennessee or in California.

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Speaker 5: They're going to do this play. Now they know about it.

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Speaker 5: Same thing.

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Speaker 3: Parly, Victoria's hadn't been done in sixty two years, but

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Speaker 3: now they know about it.

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Speaker 5: You know.

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Speaker 3: And I have a quick story when I did the

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Speaker 3: Tupac Musical for Broadway and we ran for maybe three

390
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Speaker 3: months or so. And it's also one of the Chad

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Speaker 3: Boseman did the workshop of that play before he.

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Speaker 4: Was Chad Boseman.

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Speaker 3: But anyway, so I remember the show closed earlyer than

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Speaker 3: I thought because I had been I believe, oh man,

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Speaker 3: we need to have a long run. And I saw

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Speaker 3: mister Bella Fonte getting out of a cab with Cornell

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Speaker 3: West and they.

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Speaker 4: Said, how you doing, brother Leon.

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Speaker 3: I said, yeah, the show is closing, but I really

400
00:17:16,119 --> 00:17:18,480
Speaker 3: appreciate you going back and talk to those young people.

401
00:17:18,520 --> 00:17:20,359
Speaker 3: Some of those young people don't even didn't even know

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Speaker 3: who Arabella Fonte was. And I said, but I'm so

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Speaker 3: disappointed we were closing. He says, what are you talking about?

404
00:17:26,720 --> 00:17:29,480
Speaker 3: All the doors you open? You got to remember you

405
00:17:29,560 --> 00:17:35,040
Speaker 3: were presenting afrocentric work on our eurocentric stage. Wow, So

406
00:17:35,080 --> 00:17:38,640
Speaker 3: you got to forget it's not always box office. It's

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Speaker 3: about passing our stories, forward.

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Speaker 2: And thinking about who's coming behind.

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Speaker 3: We don't do those stories. They're not gonna get done.

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Speaker 3: So that put me in check a few years ago.

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Speaker 3: So everything I do now, everything I do now, I'm

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Speaker 3: just passing.

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Speaker 4: I'm just doing.

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Speaker 3: Like I told my mother, she said, she said, thank

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Speaker 3: you for everything you've introduced to me, to so many people.

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Speaker 3: I said, Mom, if you were born when I was born,

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Speaker 3: and I was born when you were born, you would

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Speaker 3: be the Broadway director.

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Speaker 1: Wow, that is so honestly, And I do like the

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Speaker 1: reason why I do this because I know a lot

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Speaker 1: of times we have had different people up here, you know,

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Speaker 1: talking about plays, and I've gone to see off you know,

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Speaker 1: off Broadway plays as well. But I want to make

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Speaker 1: sure that everybody is realizing like that theare is a

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Speaker 1: great date night, great place to take your family.

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Speaker 3: Oh you know what, and if you're a guy, two

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Speaker 3: thirds of the people in the audience are women are women.

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Speaker 3: So if you are a man interested in women or

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Speaker 3: even it was kind of like woman woman man, woman, woman, woman,

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Speaker 3: that's a place, you know, come on, guys, go to

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Speaker 3: the theater. It's a good you know, good things will

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Speaker 3: happen if you if you bring someone.

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Speaker 4: To home, good things will happen for you.

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Speaker 5: Yeah.

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Speaker 2: It make you feel like I got to take care

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Speaker 2: of my man too. I'm not gonna lie.

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Speaker 1: So guys, bring your woman to go see home because

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Speaker 1: she'll be like, I got to make sure he's good,

439
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Speaker 1: you know, because it was like coming home to everything,

440
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Speaker 1: you know, the way that this play kind.

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Speaker 2: Of circled circled back.

442
00:19:04,119 --> 00:19:07,000
Speaker 1: I mean, honestly, if that play didn't have the ending

443
00:19:07,040 --> 00:19:09,560
Speaker 1: that it had, I think, you know, they always talk about,

444
00:19:09,600 --> 00:19:11,840
Speaker 1: like with movies, they might have to change the ending

445
00:19:11,840 --> 00:19:16,000
Speaker 1: because people were disappointed and whatever. I was like heartbroken

446
00:19:16,560 --> 00:19:19,119
Speaker 1: while I was watching. It really took me on a journey.

447
00:19:19,440 --> 00:19:21,320
Speaker 1: I walked out and I was like, lord, I don't

448
00:19:21,320 --> 00:19:23,000
Speaker 1: know if I could have handled it.

449
00:19:23,280 --> 00:19:24,600
Speaker 4: But a beautiful ending.

450
00:19:24,800 --> 00:19:27,239
Speaker 2: That's why I think it's a play we need that.

451
00:19:27,640 --> 00:19:28,480
Speaker 5: It's for everybody.

452
00:19:28,520 --> 00:19:30,840
Speaker 3: It's like, you know, if you know two men want

453
00:19:30,840 --> 00:19:32,920
Speaker 3: to come together, two women want to come in, it's

454
00:19:32,920 --> 00:19:35,600
Speaker 3: a play for because it's a play about not betraying

455
00:19:35,640 --> 00:19:38,720
Speaker 3: your core value right, you know, and if you get

456
00:19:38,800 --> 00:19:42,320
Speaker 3: knocked down and you're still alive, there's still room to

457
00:19:42,400 --> 00:19:46,439
Speaker 3: get up and love sometimes look different. You want it

458
00:19:46,520 --> 00:19:49,720
Speaker 3: right now, but that love may show up twenty years later,

459
00:19:50,480 --> 00:19:53,800
Speaker 3: you know, stay focused on your core values and what

460
00:19:53,920 --> 00:19:54,359
Speaker 3: you want.

461
00:19:54,680 --> 00:19:58,000
Speaker 1: Well, let's talk about one relationship in here that I

462
00:19:58,040 --> 00:19:58,600
Speaker 1: want to talk about.

463
00:19:58,600 --> 00:19:59,399
Speaker 2: You already feel like.

464
00:19:59,400 --> 00:20:01,600
Speaker 5: You already know you know this is going I think so.

465
00:20:01,640 --> 00:20:02,600
Speaker 5: I mean, but he was.

466
00:20:02,600 --> 00:20:10,040
Speaker 1: Shacking up with a woman, shocking with and she was

467
00:20:10,080 --> 00:20:12,280
Speaker 1: there for the money, you know, because he was making

468
00:20:12,280 --> 00:20:13,919
Speaker 1: good money for a period of time, and as soon

469
00:20:13,960 --> 00:20:15,760
Speaker 1: as the money left, she was.

470
00:20:15,800 --> 00:20:16,440
Speaker 2: Out the door.

471
00:20:16,680 --> 00:20:19,480
Speaker 5: Yeah. Yeah, sometimes sometimes things look good and they can

472
00:20:19,520 --> 00:20:20,560
Speaker 5: be distracting, right.

473
00:20:20,840 --> 00:20:23,560
Speaker 1: But the purpose of her though, because it did like

474
00:20:23,600 --> 00:20:26,320
Speaker 1: what would you say was her purpose in Cephas's life

475
00:20:26,880 --> 00:20:28,719
Speaker 1: at that time? Because I always look at things when

476
00:20:28,760 --> 00:20:30,399
Speaker 1: I'm watching it happen, like there's got to be like

477
00:20:30,440 --> 00:20:32,600
Speaker 1: a deeper meaning to this too.

478
00:20:32,680 --> 00:20:35,280
Speaker 6: Yeah, there's always a deeper meaning, like every experience if

479
00:20:35,320 --> 00:20:37,480
Speaker 6: you really, you know, take the time to look at

480
00:20:37,480 --> 00:20:39,400
Speaker 6: it and dissect it and reflect on it.

481
00:20:39,440 --> 00:20:40,200
Speaker 5: Like he needed that.

482
00:20:40,280 --> 00:20:44,359
Speaker 6: He needed to see what it was like to that,

483
00:20:44,440 --> 00:20:45,879
Speaker 6: you know what I mean, Because he gets sort of

484
00:20:46,280 --> 00:20:48,439
Speaker 6: this dream is like proposed to him, like, hey, go

485
00:20:48,480 --> 00:20:49,320
Speaker 6: to the promised Land.

486
00:20:49,600 --> 00:20:50,920
Speaker 5: You go to promised Land, you.

487
00:20:50,880 --> 00:20:53,320
Speaker 6: Know, New York City, Baby, you got these beautiful women,

488
00:20:53,359 --> 00:20:55,480
Speaker 6: you got, these drugs, you got all of these different things,

489
00:20:55,560 --> 00:20:59,240
Speaker 6: these choices, these options, you know, but then they become

490
00:20:59,320 --> 00:21:02,119
Speaker 6: this old, overwhelming thing that he's not suited for. To

491
00:21:02,119 --> 00:21:04,920
Speaker 6: get back to your core values and his core values,

492
00:21:05,160 --> 00:21:07,760
Speaker 6: you know, they come in the form of his first

493
00:21:07,800 --> 00:21:11,159
Speaker 6: true love, right, you know. But I think sometimes you

494
00:21:11,240 --> 00:21:15,040
Speaker 6: have to experience those heartaches to understand what the truth

495
00:21:15,080 --> 00:21:17,840
Speaker 6: of that real love is and to really be able

496
00:21:17,880 --> 00:21:19,920
Speaker 6: to appreciate it. Sometimes you got to get knocked down

497
00:21:20,240 --> 00:21:22,520
Speaker 6: to really understand, like, oh no, that's not for me.

498
00:21:22,600 --> 00:21:24,879
Speaker 6: This is the thing that's for me. And I know

499
00:21:25,000 --> 00:21:26,959
Speaker 6: that now better than I would have if I wouldn't

500
00:21:26,960 --> 00:21:27,879
Speaker 6: have had that experience.

501
00:21:28,119 --> 00:21:31,280
Speaker 3: The human part of that is that sometimes we look

502
00:21:31,320 --> 00:21:35,040
Speaker 3: at the wrong places to become whole. Yeah, you know,

503
00:21:35,160 --> 00:21:37,560
Speaker 3: we're just trying to we're just trying to behold and

504
00:21:37,640 --> 00:21:39,359
Speaker 3: we think we need this, we need this. I just

505
00:21:39,400 --> 00:21:42,000
Speaker 3: want to want to be whole, And then later on

506
00:21:42,040 --> 00:21:45,760
Speaker 3: you discover that was that was the wrong places to

507
00:21:45,880 --> 00:21:49,280
Speaker 3: look to be whole. So let me return to home,

508
00:21:49,400 --> 00:21:51,439
Speaker 3: let me return to those core vidues, and maybe I

509
00:21:51,440 --> 00:21:52,560
Speaker 3: can find.

510
00:21:52,280 --> 00:21:52,920
Speaker 4: That whole less.

511
00:21:53,119 --> 00:21:56,760
Speaker 5: Yeah, It's like it's like the paradox of choice.

512
00:21:56,800 --> 00:21:59,680
Speaker 6: Right, we have all these different choices now, but sometimes

513
00:21:59,680 --> 00:22:03,000
Speaker 6: theless thing is the thing that's right for you, but

514
00:22:03,080 --> 00:22:04,400
Speaker 6: you don't necessarily know that.

515
00:22:04,760 --> 00:22:06,280
Speaker 5: If you don't make.

516
00:22:07,280 --> 00:22:09,680
Speaker 1: You know, the grass is greener on the other side,

517
00:22:09,720 --> 00:22:12,960
Speaker 1: and you think you want something and then it's not

518
00:22:13,080 --> 00:22:13,640
Speaker 1: the right thing.

519
00:22:14,920 --> 00:22:16,000
Speaker 2: Be careful what you wish for.

520
00:22:16,560 --> 00:22:20,520
Speaker 3: What choices did he have? You know too, kids, they

521
00:22:20,560 --> 00:22:22,920
Speaker 3: made that story. Made a good man.

522
00:22:24,359 --> 00:22:27,679
Speaker 4: Seemed like he was crazy because of what the world

523
00:22:27,680 --> 00:22:29,800
Speaker 4: said about him. No, he was a good man.

524
00:22:30,040 --> 00:22:32,960
Speaker 3: He was he was circumstances paying him as a Now

525
00:22:32,960 --> 00:22:33,880
Speaker 3: he's a homeless guy.

526
00:22:33,960 --> 00:22:36,640
Speaker 5: Now he's a lazy guy. Now he's a guy. Now

527
00:22:36,680 --> 00:22:38,160
Speaker 5: He wasn't any of that.

528
00:22:38,520 --> 00:22:40,080
Speaker 4: He was just a guy that got lost.

529
00:22:40,800 --> 00:22:42,680
Speaker 1: Yeah, And that is something that also makes you think

530
00:22:42,720 --> 00:22:45,399
Speaker 1: like you don't know people's backstory. You might be walking

531
00:22:45,440 --> 00:22:47,800
Speaker 1: past somebody on the street and being like, Oh, this

532
00:22:48,000 --> 00:22:51,119
Speaker 1: lazy person you know, just out here begging for money,

533
00:22:51,160 --> 00:22:54,080
Speaker 1: but you don't know the backstory of how they got

534
00:22:54,119 --> 00:22:57,160
Speaker 1: to where they got to. That sometimes is completely out

535
00:22:57,160 --> 00:22:59,919
Speaker 1: of their control. Taking a stand having your core value

536
00:23:00,359 --> 00:23:03,160
Speaker 1: can put you in a situation where you lose everything

537
00:23:03,640 --> 00:23:05,560
Speaker 1: and then people judge you based off of that not

538
00:23:05,640 --> 00:23:07,360
Speaker 1: knowing how you got to and any of us could

539
00:23:07,400 --> 00:23:09,840
Speaker 1: end up there. Absolutely, you know that's the thing as well.

540
00:23:09,960 --> 00:23:12,399
Speaker 1: Anybody could end up in that situation. And you did

541
00:23:12,480 --> 00:23:14,959
Speaker 1: such a good job. I felt like you stunk.

542
00:23:15,160 --> 00:23:15,920
Speaker 2: You know what I'm saying.

543
00:23:22,720 --> 00:23:26,200
Speaker 5: You like, yeah, yeah, it's speech. He said about smell,

544
00:23:26,280 --> 00:23:27,639
Speaker 5: and we talked about smells.

545
00:23:27,920 --> 00:23:30,960
Speaker 6: We talked about smell, and you know, like literally said

546
00:23:31,119 --> 00:23:33,840
Speaker 6: in the rehearsal room like, if y'all do this right,

547
00:23:33,880 --> 00:23:35,520
Speaker 6: they will be able to smell you.

548
00:23:35,600 --> 00:23:38,480
Speaker 2: I was like, how is anybody going there?

549
00:23:38,600 --> 00:23:43,760
Speaker 1: Him? I know, I know he is funky, Yeah, but you.

550
00:23:43,720 --> 00:23:45,760
Speaker 2: Know, I just want to encourage everybody to go see home.

551
00:23:45,800 --> 00:23:45,879
Speaker 3: Now.

552
00:23:45,920 --> 00:23:47,440
Speaker 2: How long is this going to be in there? Because

553
00:23:47,440 --> 00:23:48,640
Speaker 2: I know it is a limited Yeah.

554
00:23:48,640 --> 00:23:50,960
Speaker 3: We run into July twenty first, trying to get it

555
00:23:50,960 --> 00:23:53,800
Speaker 3: in before this fellow has to go back to Equalizer.

556
00:23:53,920 --> 00:23:57,600
Speaker 3: Oh man, so yeah, July twenty first. Every day except Monday,

557
00:23:57,640 --> 00:24:02,040
Speaker 3: some Tuesdays maybe, but mostly every Win through Sunday, sometimes

558
00:24:02,040 --> 00:24:03,280
Speaker 3: two shows every day.

559
00:24:03,440 --> 00:24:05,520
Speaker 2: I don't know who could play this role now, me either,

560
00:24:05,640 --> 00:24:06,320
Speaker 2: after seeing you.

561
00:24:06,440 --> 00:24:09,160
Speaker 1: It's a great compliment, No, honestly, Like I can't even

562
00:24:09,200 --> 00:24:12,400
Speaker 1: imagine what that would be like, but congratulations on that.

563
00:24:12,560 --> 00:24:13,560
Speaker 2: You know, just what a record.

564
00:24:13,560 --> 00:24:16,119
Speaker 1: He does not smell in person, but the acts is

565
00:24:16,160 --> 00:24:18,600
Speaker 1: self phenomenal that you can actually see that.

566
00:24:18,680 --> 00:24:19,840
Speaker 2: And congratulations to you.

567
00:24:19,880 --> 00:24:22,200
Speaker 1: It isn't honor, you know, to have both of you here,

568
00:24:22,280 --> 00:24:23,280
Speaker 1: but congratulations.

569
00:24:23,280 --> 00:24:23,840
Speaker 2: I hope you win.

570
00:24:24,000 --> 00:24:24,920
Speaker 4: Thank you for the support.

571
00:24:24,960 --> 00:24:28,719
Speaker 3: Oh, thank you for all Yes, yeah, Sunday should be interesting,

572
00:24:28,760 --> 00:24:31,159
Speaker 3: but thank you for all the community work that you

573
00:24:31,280 --> 00:24:34,560
Speaker 3: do and just you know, just letting people know or

574
00:24:34,640 --> 00:24:37,240
Speaker 3: open our eyes, giving them better options in terms of

575
00:24:37,280 --> 00:24:38,359
Speaker 3: what to do when they get.

576
00:24:38,200 --> 00:24:40,760
Speaker 4: Out in the world. So I appreciate, appreciate what you do.

577
00:24:41,200 --> 00:24:42,480
Speaker 2: Oh well, thank you so much.

578
00:24:42,960 --> 00:24:44,600
Speaker 1: And oh you know what, I also wanted to ask

579
00:24:44,640 --> 00:24:48,240
Speaker 1: you about these live action plays that have been happening

580
00:24:48,359 --> 00:24:51,359
Speaker 1: on TV right because I feel like that's also like

581
00:24:51,400 --> 00:24:53,840
Speaker 1: been a new opening for people like Pearly.

582
00:24:53,680 --> 00:24:57,200
Speaker 5: On PBS, which is great because so many we did.

583
00:24:57,040 --> 00:25:00,400
Speaker 3: That, and you know, I love that because I did

584
00:25:00,600 --> 00:25:03,639
Speaker 3: The Whiz live and I directed Hairspray Live, so I

585
00:25:03,720 --> 00:25:05,840
Speaker 3: did like and people don't know who the same guy

586
00:25:05,880 --> 00:25:08,520
Speaker 3: did The Whiz Life did Hairspray Live. They don't figure

587
00:25:08,560 --> 00:25:10,480
Speaker 3: out that that was a black guy that did Hairspray Live.

588
00:25:10,600 --> 00:25:14,280
Speaker 3: But I learned a lot when those things first came out.

589
00:25:14,320 --> 00:25:18,800
Speaker 3: And now we did great performances of Pery Victorious and Hamlet,

590
00:25:19,040 --> 00:25:21,359
Speaker 3: which I directed in Central Park. So you can see

591
00:25:21,359 --> 00:25:23,280
Speaker 3: both of those on PBS this summer.

592
00:25:23,400 --> 00:25:26,000
Speaker 2: All right, Well, thank y'all so much. I really appreciate it.

593
00:25:26,080 --> 00:25:27,440
Speaker 5: Yeah, thank you, Thanks tull y'all.

594
00:25:27,520 --> 00:25:28,160
Speaker 2: Check out home.

595
00:25:28,200 --> 00:25:30,119
Speaker 1: You know, you have a limited amount of time because

596
00:25:30,200 --> 00:25:31,240
Speaker 1: unfortunately to I.

597
00:25:31,240 --> 00:25:33,320
Speaker 5: Got to go back to you know, that's actually an

598
00:25:33,359 --> 00:25:34,200
Speaker 5: announcement right there.

599
00:25:34,240 --> 00:25:36,760
Speaker 6: Everybody has been speculating on whether I was coming back

600
00:25:37,040 --> 00:25:39,320
Speaker 6: or not to season five of the Equalizer.

601
00:25:39,400 --> 00:25:40,919
Speaker 5: So I'll let you know right now that I'll be

602
00:25:41,000 --> 00:25:42,080
Speaker 5: back next season.

603
00:25:42,280 --> 00:25:46,600
Speaker 2: I'll be back good, all right, but thank you. It's

604
00:25:46,680 --> 00:25:50,160
Speaker 2: way up