Kenny Leon was back in the news this week with Oprah Winfrey's revelation that the Atlanta director had approached her for a role in his acclaimed Broadway revival of "Fences" last year -- the one for which Viola Davis ultimately snared a Tony.
That's the same Kenny Leon, who this fall is directing Samuel L. Jackson on Broadway in "The Mountaintop," an imagined portrait of Martin Luther King Jr.'s last night, and who's also been talking to Katie Holmes about starring in a possible revival of the rape drama "Extremities."
So what is this guru to the stars doing onstage himself, acting opposite Jasmine Guy in Sam Shepherd's obsessive love-hate drama "Fool for Love," a Kenny Leon's True Colors Theatre Company production opening Friday for a four-week Atlanta run?
"I don't know what the hell I was thinking," Leon said with a laugh. "It's really been a great experience, but it takes a lot of energy and a lot of time."
The always-multitasking director also had this to say ...
On if directing and acting tap the same muscles: "It's a completely different set of muscles. When you're acting, it's about how you relate to the world from the inside. And when you're directing, I'm thinking about the sets, the lights, the other actors, the costumes, the big picture."
On if he has any rust in his pipes (he last acted in "Blood Knot" in 2009): "No, I'm always an actor in my heart and I think that's why actors respect me because they know I have gone through the process.
"It’s probably no coincidence that God put this show here before I go into rehearsals in New York and [start] working with Sam – that I will have just experienced a very similar play. ‘Fool for Love' is very intimate, it’s people talking to each other, it’s on the power of the performers onstage.
"I think it will be very beneficial, because I can say [to Jackson], ‘Hey, I just went through that. I know what you’re feeling, I know why you’re stuck right there. Let me help you get through this moment.’”
On acting opposite long-time compadre Guy for the first time: "I always knew she was brilliant, but to be onstage with her you see her in a different light because you're sharing every moment together. ... It seems like she invests her whole being, from her fingernails to her toes, into that character, and I just love that as a fellow actor."
On replacing Halle Berry, who dropped out of "Mountaintop" for family reasons: "The exciting thing about it is the producers came to me and said, we don't want to put any pressure on you to cast that role as a star.
"We're auditioning a bunch of folks in New York this week on my off days, and on Memorial Day I’m going to L.A. and we’re going to take the finalists from New York out there and [also tryout] some celebrity actors who are interested in the role, and have 15 or 20 women who will read with Sam. And whoever comes and claims it that day, that’s who’s going to have it."
On what he likes about "Mountaintop": "Everything about it is uplifting. It's not a retelling of what happened, it's just finding a way to introduce Dr. King to a new generation of people, and I think people seeing this story will understand the man Dr. King and not so much the iconic historical figure.
"I love Marty and Bernice King, who I know always have concerns about what’s being done with their father’s work. We met and I assured them that we have the right things invested. I want them to be there for the opening" (Oct. 13 at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, where previews start Sept. 22).
On possibly working with Katie Holmes: "There's some hesitancy [among producers] if this is the time to present 'Extremities' because of its intense nature. Katie and I have really made a commitment to work on something together. We just hit it off as artists, so we'll see what happens."
On another apparently New York-bound play he's attached to: "We're supposed to do a Broadway production of 'Stick Fly' [first staged by True Colors in Atlanta in 2007, Lydia R. Diamond's script explores race, class and familial relationships among the African-American elite]. ... As soon as I finish 'Mountaintop,' it looks like I'm going to go into rehearsals for it. We don't have a building yet, but we've got a producer, a marketing team, a casting director and offers out trying to cast this."
On if he can keep handling the extreme Kenny Leon juggle: "Absolutely, I'd rather be busy than not."
Theater preview
"Fool for Love"
Opens Friday. 8 p.m. Tuesdays–Saturdays, 2:30 p.m. Saturdays-Sundays. Through June 11. $25-$50. Balzer Theatre at Herren's, 84 Luckie St., Atlanta. 1-877-725-8849, www.ticketalternative.com.
Benefit performance for True Colors: 8 p.m. Saturday, includes post-show reception with Leon and Guy, signed poster. $100. 1-877-725-8849, www.truecolorstheatre.org.
