We all know Tony Award-winning Broadway star LaChanze for her acting prowess, but now you will get to see her wear another hat, as she makes her directorial debut with Alice Childress’ work “Wine in the Wilderness” playing at CSC’s Lynn F. Angelson Theater, located at 136 E 13th Street. LaChanze recently took the time to talk with the AmNews about this stunning production.
AmNews: LaChanze why did you choose Alice Childress’ play “Wine In The Wilderness” to make your directorial debut?
LaChanze: They chose me — I was given the opportunity and couldn’t say no. I’m a strong supporter of Ms. Childress’ works and part of my mission as an actor and director is to see all her works produced in New York, to highlight her exceptional plays that reflect American history.
AmNews: Why is the message behind this play so relevant, especially today?
LaChanze: Don’t judge a book by its cover. But what makes her a brilliant playwright is that she doesn’t beat you over the head with the message. She sets up circumstances that are familiar to everyone so that you’re leaving the theater with a new perspective.
AmNews: Childress truly captures the Black experience in America, and “Wine In The Wilderness” puts a spotlight on the way that some African Americans belittle each other. What do you want audiences to get from experiencing this play?
LaChanze: I want audiences to appreciate the differences in all of us and reexamine how we each play a part in the biases that continue to divide us.
AmNews: The way that Bill speaks to Tomorrow Marie is quite raw and demeaning. As a director, what is the challenge you face in guiding the actors’ performances so that the audience isn’t completely turned off by Bill?
LaChanze: Ms. Childress wrote Bill to be a character who isn’t a typical bad guy, but a product of his circumstances. He is a Black man in the early ‘60s, when riots were happening and the Black revolution was just beginning. So I focus on the internal riot that each character is trying to manage, not labeling them with one broad stroke, but exposing their own internal struggles and reminding each actor that these characters are multidimensional.
AmNews: This play shows not only that some Black men can speak with blatant disregard for the feelings of Black women, but that some Black women also tear each other down. What lesson is to be learned from this element of the play?
LaChanze: This isn’t about Black women tearing each other down, it is about Black women starting to see and value each other.
Tony-winning actress LaChanze speaks on working with the incredible cast of her directorial debut, Alice Childress’ play “Wine in the Wilderness,” playing at CSC’s Lynn F. Angelson Theater, located at 136 E 13th Street. (Linda Armstrong video)
AmNews: You were last seen on Broadway in the Alice Childress’ play “Trouble In Mind.” What is the challenge when going from being on stage performing her characters, to now directing other actors to perform her work and give it the rich, proud, and funny delivery it so richly deserves?
LaChanze: As an actor having been in a Ms. Childress play, my only challenge is restraining myself from wanting to jump up and do the role. That said, each actor brings their own dynamic perspective, which is why I cast them. [The company of actors includes Grantham Coleman, Olivia Washington, Brooks Brantly, Lakisha May, and Milton Craig Nealy.]
AmNews: What is it like working with this cast of five actors?
LaChanze: I got lucky. I got lightning in a bottle. I have some of the most incredibly talented actors that I get to work with on this show. They say oftentimes directing is 80 percent casting, and I have to say that’s true, because if you have the right actors that can embody the characters, then half your job is done. The rest is making sure they recreate the reality of the world, the circumstances and the time and this cast is definitely doing just that.
AmNews: As this is your directorial debut, are you taking the actors’ suggestions for delivery, and what is it that like?
LaChanze: My approach is to create a rehearsal environment that is collaborative, where everyone’s opinion is heard and valued.
AmNews: A lot of Black history is included in this production, why is this important?
LaChanze: In a time when our history is trying to be hidden, buried under lakes, and destroyed, we need Ms. Childress’ work more than ever.
AmNews: Why should people come to see this production [now playing through April 13]?
LaChanze: Because it’s a good show! It’s an important piece of our American history that people need to know about.
For more info, visit www.classicstage.org.