Kenny Leon certainly was well aware that he was about to accomplish the rare feat of directing two plays on Broadway at the same time. The fact that he’s hardly seen his Atlanta bed in months was plenty proof of that.
Still, it wasn’t until a couple of weeks ago, when he watched Samuel L. Jackson and Angela Bassett in “The Mountaintop” at Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre and then strode (because Leon moves with purpose, rarely just ambling) a few blocks to catch the second act of a preview of “Stick Fly” at the Cort Theatre, that the reality set in.
“It just hit me: Wow, you’re a guy from Atlanta and you’ve got two plays on Broadway at the same time,” Leon said. “That was pretty amazing. I was able to see audiences for both shows ... people from all over the world, and they’re talking about following your work. That was an emotional, humbling moment for me.”
Leon has a personal connection to both plays. Katori Hall’s “Mountaintop” is an imagined telling of the last night of Martin Luther King Jr.’s life — a passage the longtime Atlantan and Clark College graduate who came of age during the civil rights movement recalls well. “Stick Fly” — with an ensemble cast including Mekhi Phifer, Dulé Hill and Tracie Thoms and with a score by Alicia Keys, who’s also a producer — explores relationships among an extended well-to-do African-American clan on Martha’s Vineyard. Leon’s True Colors Theatre Company nurtured Lydia R. Diamond’s play (which officially opened Thursday) with only its second full staging, in 2007.
Leon, who will appear at Southwest Arts Center on Tuesday in a free talk after a True Colors performance of “The Nativity: A Gospel Celebration,” brought us up to date recently — from New York — on several projects he’s currently juggling.
On working with a younger, less superstar-driven cast in “Stick Fly”: “It’s been great because they’re into social networking. All of them have huge followings, and it’s been exciting for me to ... see it pay off in terms of audiences into the theater, including some people who have never been to a play before. And Alicia Keys, who’s delivered a wonderful score ... is a social networker, too, and she’s inviting her fans to come to the play. It may be a game changer in terms of not having a megastar in a lead role, but [the social networking] is going to drive people to the theater. I feel it’s going to be the surprise of the Broadway season.”
On what first appealed to him about “Stick Fly,” which he directed productions of at Washington’s Arena Stage and Boston’s Huntington Theatre Company as a prelude to Broadway: “There’s a door for almost everyone to enter into the discussion of this play. It really is about family, it really is about class, and it really is funny ... and heartbreaking. A lot of plays by African-American writers deal with social injustice, deal with the class struggles that are faced by lower-class Americans. In the African-American community, we ... try to explain the way life is through our plays. And I think with this particular play, you have Lydia talking about a different class of African-Americans, and we don’t hear the voice of that upper-class a lot. For me, it was exciting because it helps you understand another kind of diversity.”
On what the preview audiences have looked like: “A complete crossover: It’s 50-50 black and white; it’s 50-50 old and young.”
On the connection between his two Broadway plays: “I think what Katori has done in ‘Mountaintop’ is humanize Dr. King. So I’ve seen a lot of young people come to that play and now view Dr. King in a different way, like, ‘Wow, he was a person just like me, and I can do something to change the world.’ And you can draw a line from 1968 ‘Mountaintop’ and 2005 ‘Stick Fly’ to see how far we’ve come, and how different we are as a country, and what are the challenges that come with that, what are the challenges that come with economic success. Do we have other success, too? How that’s tied to education, to our various communities, how does that tie to our politics? If you would ask the guys in ‘Mountaintop’ to look in the future, which is part of ‘Mountaintop,’ what would it look like? Would it look like ‘Stick Fly’? And what they both say, you know what ... at the end of the day, it’s all about human beings. We’re all human beings.”
On if he and Jackson and Bassett have shared any Tony talk: “No, we don’t do that. It’s pretty much, you just don’t go there. [Quickly changing the subject ...] A beautiful thing was, all the cast members from ‘Stick Fly’ came to see ‘Mountaintop,’ and then Sam came to see ‘Stick Fly.’ It meant a great deal for the ‘Stick Fly’ actors. He’s somebody they respect who’s been doing it for a long time. They’re all just learning from each other.”
On “Holler If Ya Hear Me,” a musical featuring lyrics and music by the late Atlantan Tupac Shakur that Leon recently presented as a workshop production for producers in New York: “It got an incredible response. [True Colors associate artistic director] Todd Kreidler wrote the book, and we did a workshop for about 50 people, including [Tupac’s mother] Afeni Shakur, a lot of famous [including Jim Carrey] and non-famous people. I’ve never seen a workshop like that. We were supposed to do three songs from the score and read the book. I ended up getting these 16 people together — singers, dancers, actors, rappers — and we ended up learning every song in the play. We did all 16 songs, and did the book, and it was emotional, it was fun, and everyone wants to jump on board. So the plan is to do a low-key workshop this summer where I can figure out the kinks, and [hopefully] have it in the next Broadway season.”
On the status of the all-African-American remake of “Steel Magnolias” for Lifetime announced in October: “We’re going to start shooting most likely in February, most likely in Atlanta. We’ve just started casting.”
On how it will change from the 1989 movie that people love: “They’ll just love it in a different way, the same way people loved ‘A Raisin in the Sun’ [which Leon remade in 2008 for ABC], and now they’ll see a fresher version that doesn’t take anything away from the original. It’s going to be placed in today as opposed to 1980, so I think right away the time makes it different, as will the cultural difference. There will be a bond between the women that will be magnified just because the race will be changed. I’m looking forward to finding out what will make it different, but it definitely will be different. I think women all over the country will tune into this. I’m looking forward to it.”
On if he’s tired from the intense pace of the last few months: “No, no. I’ve done really well, I think.”
On how he’s nonetheless looking forward to getting home to Atlanta to support True Colors: “I can’t wait to see my bed! I’m going to be with ‘Nativity’ for three days, then go to Jamaica for 10 days. It’s all good.”
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Pushing ‘Stick Fly’ 140 characters at a time
Who needs a show publicist when you’ve got the ever-tweeting cast of “Stick Fly” and others involved in the show directed by Atlantan Kenny Leon? Here’s a sampling of their promotional messages regularly rocking the Twitterverse:
• @RSANTIAGOHUDSON (Ruben Santiago-Hudson)
Started our big push to the opening night of STICK FLY on Broadway and wow this baby is rockin! A well oiled machine. Thanks Kenny Leon
3 Dec.
• @DuleHill (Dulé Hill)
Time to get ready for the 1st of 2 [previews today]. Check you later Twittersphere!
3 Dec.
• @aliciakeys (Alicia Keys)
Just finished a great interview with @robinroberts about @stickflyplay! This show is on FIYAH!!! Love! say.ly/fOO13T9
29 Nov.
• @traciethoms (Tracie Thoms)
The elastic on my @stickflyplay Act II pants ain’t nothin’ nice after the Thanksgiving food I’ve had the last 2 days. #OOF
26 Nov.
• @traciethoms (Tracie Thoms)
Happy Black Friday everyone... I’ll be celebrating my Blackness with two @stickflyplay shows!
25 Nov.
• @SamuelLJackson (Samuel L. Jackson)
Saw @traciethoms killin’ it in Stickfly last night! Some actin’ [expletive deleted] up in there!
22 Nov.
• @iamKENNYLEON (Kenny Leon)
@stickflyplay cast thank you for the work, now let’s get ready for rehearsal tomorrow and take it to another level. With love!!
21 Nov.
• @MekhiPhifer (Mekhi Phifer)
I’m trying to tell u, we r killing this @stickflyplay !! Standing ovations everytime! Mad love to my cast!! A must see!!
20 Nov.
• @aliciakeys (Alicia Keys)
From this little room 2a big stage whr the magic happens! rehearsals 4 @StickFlyPlay begin soon!
14 Oct.
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ONSTAGE
• “The Nativity: A Gospel Celebration”: Through Dec. 30 at Southwest Arts Center, 915 New Hope Road, Atlanta. Tickets, $20-$45, via 1-877-725-8849, www.ticketalternative.com. Kenny Leon appears in a free talk after the 8 p.m. Tuesday show.
• “Stick Fly”: Open-ended run at Cort Theatre, 138 W. 48th St., New York. 1-800-432-7250, www.telecharge.com. More information: www.stickfly broadway.com.
• “The Mountaintop”: Through Jan. 22 at Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, 242 W. 45th St., New York. 1-800-432-7250, www.telecharge.com. More information: www.the mountaintopplay.com.
