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[0:00] Brian Sedita: Hey everyone.

[0:01] Mary Dina: Welcome to Page to Stage.

[0:03] Brian Sedita: A conversation with theater makers.

[0:04] Mary Dina: We're your hosts.

[0:05] Brian Sedita: That's Brian.

[0:06] Mary Dina: And that's Mary.

[0:07] Brian Sedita: In this episode, you are attending the opening night of Chicken and Biscuits on Broadway.

[0:12] Mary Dina: On October 10th, 2021, we had the pleasure of speaking with members from the show's cast and creative team and many notable guests.

[0:19] Brian Sedita: Let's have everyone introduce themselves.

[0:25] Anye Meisell: Hello, everybody. My name is Anye Meisell, and I play Latrice on Chicken and Biscuits.

[0:31] Bianca Laverne Jones: I'm Broadway. Everybody knows me as Bianca Laverne Jones, and I'm the associate director of Chicken and Biscuits.

[0:37] Natasha Yvette Williams: I'm Natasha Yvette Williams and I play Brianna.

[0:40] DeVere Rogers: My name is DeVere Rogers, and I play Kenny Mabry in the show Chicken and Biscuits.

[0:44] Adam Honore: I'm Adam Honore, and I'm the lighting designer of Chicken and Biscuits.

[0:47] E Clayton Cornelius: My name is E Clayton Cornelius. I'm the lead producer of Chicken and Biscuits.

[0:50] Lawrence E. Moten III: So my name is Lawrence E. Moten III, and I'm the scenic designer for Chicken and Biscuits, making my Broadway design debut.

[0:56] Michael Park: Hi, I'm Michael Park.

[0:58] Antonio Cipriano: I'm Antonio Cipriano. I was in Jagged Little Pill on Broadway.

[1:01] Angela Barth Feldman: I'm Angela Barth Feldman. I'm a performer and creator. I was in Dear Evan Hansen and Ratatouille and high school musical the musical series and some other stuff on the internet that we did if you like internet things.

[1:12] Lily Cooper: I'm Lily Cooper and I'm an actress.

[1:13] Telly Leong: Hi, I'm Telly Leong. I'm a Broadway actor.

[1:15] Jelani Aladdin: I'm Jelani Aladdin, and I am a Broadway actor.

[1:19] Philip Boykin: Hello, I am Philip Boykin, the Tony and Grammy nominee.

[1:24] Tiffany Mann: I am Tiffany Mann. I was on Broadway in Waitress and Be More Chill.

[1:28] Britton Smith: My name is Britton Smith. I'm an artist and a liberator, and I'm the president of the recently named Tony organization called the Broadway Advocacy Coalition.

[1:36] Tamika Lawrence: My name is Tamika Lawrence, and I'm an actor.

[1:40] Alex Boniello: My name is Alex Boniello, and I'm an actor and a producer.

[1:42] Ashanti Jay Aria: I'm Ashanti Jay Aria. I am an actress. I am in the tour of The Prom and I was also in the previous production of Chicken and Biscuits.

[1:50] Nick Henji: My name's Nick Henji, and I'm playing the moon in Caroline, or Change.

[1:54] Juwan M. Jackson: Hey, I'm Juwan M. Jackson. I am a Broadway actor. I'm apparently in Ain't Too Proud on Broadway playing Melvin Franklin.

[2:01] Lynn Nottage: Hi, I'm Lynn Nottage. I'm a playwright.

[2:03] Chris Rodriguez: I'm Chris Rodriguez, and I'm an actress.

[2:05] Sydney Morton: Hi, I'm Sydney Morton, and I am an actor.

[2:07] Keenan Scott II: My name is Keenan Scott II, playwright of Thoughts of a Color Man.

[2:07] Rachel Chavkin: I'm Rachel Chavkin, and I am mostly a director in this industry.

[2:13] Unknown speaker: Really hard question chicken and biscuits or chicken and waffles?

[2:16] Unknown speaker: Honestly, chicken and waffles.

[2:19] Unknown speaker: Okay. It's the sweet syrup that gets you.

[2:21] Unknown speaker: Okay. Yes. It's the waffle too with the butter.

[2:24] Unknown speaker: And then the butter melts in the little squares.

[2:25] Unknown speaker: It gotta be the butter in the squares.

[2:27] Unknown speaker: I don't want to be shady, but I'm gonna have to go with chicken and waffles.

[2:32] Unknown speaker: Can I say chicken and waffles? Because I can pretend I'm not eating bread when it's a waffle.

[2:36] Unknown speaker: You can't really pretend that with a biscuit.

[2:39] Unknown speaker: Oh, that's that's so tough.

[2:43] Unknown speaker: I would have to say chicken and biscuits.

[2:45] Unknown speaker: So I'm originally from New Orleans, Louisiana, by way of Dallas, Texas.

[2:49] Unknown speaker: What a burger is in my heart.

[2:53] Unknown speaker: So the honey butter chicken biscuit is one of the all-time greatest, and that is a chicken and biscuit combo.

[2:59] Unknown speaker: But in the great great empire state of New York, I would say it's chicken and waffles.

[3:04] Unknown speaker: Because I don't think anyone in the Northeast does chicken and biscuits like we do in the South.

[3:08] Unknown speaker: Hands down.

[3:09] Unknown speaker: I love chicken and waffles.

[3:11] Unknown speaker: That is cruel.

[3:12] Unknown speaker: But what's great about a biscuit is that it works savory or sweet.

[3:15] Unknown speaker: In fact, we have biscuits on stage every night.

[3:17] Unknown speaker: And DeVere Rogers, I can't eat a biscuit eight shows a week.

[3:20] DeVere Rogers: I'm sorry.

[3:20] Unknown speaker: But DeVere Rogers puts, he plays my boyfriend.

[3:24] Unknown speaker: Or I play his boyfriend, I should say.

[3:25] Unknown speaker: He puts hot sauce on his biscuit.

[3:27] Unknown speaker: And I was like, oh, oh yes.

[3:29] Unknown speaker: Biscuits can be sweet or savory.

[3:32] Unknown speaker: So biscuits are superior to waffles, I would say.

[3:35] Unknown speaker: But I prefer chicken and biscuits to their first.

[3:38] Unknown speaker: But I prefer chicken and waffles to chicken and biscuits.

[3:41] Unknown speaker: Myself.

[3:42] Unknown speaker: I'm gonna say chicken and biscuits.

[3:44] Unknown speaker: I love waffles, and yeah, I totally love that.

[3:46] Unknown speaker: But you know, this is my show.

[3:49] Unknown speaker: I gotta be loyal.

[3:51] Unknown speaker: A lot of people say chicken and waffles, but chicken and biscuits.

[3:53] Unknown speaker: Chicken and waffles.

[3:54] Unknown speaker: I'm a chicken and waffles guy.

[3:56] Unknown speaker: But if it's sausage biscuits, then we got a different discussion.

[3:59] Unknown speaker: Chicken and biscuits.

[4:00] Unknown speaker: For sure.

[4:01] Unknown speaker: Waffles.

[4:01] Unknown speaker: I gotta go chicken and waffles, personally.

[4:03] Unknown speaker: But listen, I I'm I'm white.

[4:05] Unknown speaker: I don't know if that has any bearing over my decision.

[4:07] Unknown speaker: I love waffles.

[4:07] Unknown speaker: I'm Jewish.

[4:08] Unknown speaker: I feel like that's maybe part of it, but I don't know.

[4:10] Unknown speaker: I have to unpack that.

[4:10] Unknown speaker: Well, I gotta go chicken and biscuits.

[4:12] Unknown speaker: I'm seeing chicken and biscuits tonight.

[4:13] Unknown speaker: I am a chicken and biscuits fan.

[4:15] Unknown speaker: I love a buttery biscuit.

[4:17] Unknown speaker: I am also a Popeyes fan, so uh just like I mean, when I'm having a bad day, I definitely go to Popeyes for my three-piece and a biscuit for sure.

[4:25] Unknown speaker: And I've always said fried chicken is the answer to world peace because every culture in the world fries chicken.

[4:32] Unknown speaker: Chinese people, we love to fry chicken.

[4:34] Unknown speaker: Americans love to fry chicken, Koreans, every culture loves fried chicken.

[4:38] Unknown speaker: If we just had a bucket of fried chicken at the UN, we'd be good.

[4:40] Unknown speaker: Like we would solve world peace.

[4:43] Unknown speaker: Ooh, actually, I would say chicken and waffles.

[4:45] Unknown speaker: Um I think that the biscuit is sometimes too much to take in, too much to digest.

[4:52] Unknown speaker: Um, but I love a biscuit separately with butter.

[4:54] Unknown speaker: You know, I'm laying off of the bread.

[4:57] Unknown speaker: So I would prefer just the chicken by itself.

[5:00] Unknown speaker: Chicken, I'm I'm gonna say chicken and waffles.

[5:04] Unknown speaker: She almost said biscuits every week.

[5:06] Unknown speaker: I almost said biscuits, but I do love a waffle, but a biscuit will do you right, honey.

[5:10] Unknown speaker: Chicken and biscuits.

[5:12] Unknown speaker: I like vegan chicken and waffles.

[5:14] Unknown speaker: Waffles.

[5:15] Unknown speaker: Oh, come on.

[5:16] Unknown speaker: Chicken and biscuits.

[5:17] Unknown speaker: Oh, okay.

[5:18] Unknown speaker: If it's chicken and biscuits, it has to be honey butter.

[5:21] Unknown speaker: Chicken and waffles.

[5:22] Unknown speaker: I like chicken and biscuits.

[5:23] Unknown speaker: Chicken and waffles.

[5:24] Unknown speaker: Chicken and waffles.

[5:25] Unknown speaker: I would probably go chicken and waffles.

[5:27] Unknown speaker: Oh, I would go with chicken and biscuits, actually.

[5:29] Unknown speaker: A play off the tagline for the show.

[5:31] Unknown speaker: How does live theater feed your soul?

[5:33] Unknown speaker: How does live theater feed my soul?

[5:36] Unknown speaker: Oh, in so many ways, we don't have time to explain it.

[5:41] Unknown speaker: By making you laugh, by making you feel, by making you cry, by letting you know you're there and you're present and you're alive.

[5:49] Unknown speaker: It's just so exciting all the time.

[5:52] Unknown speaker: Like you never know what's gonna happen.

[5:54] Unknown speaker: In Jagged Little Pill, there was like a paper airplane that got stuck in my hair, and it's like it's like the fun things that happen that aren't usually a part of the show.

[6:01] Unknown speaker: I think the soul of New York, the soul of the world was kind of missing for a second.

[6:07] Unknown speaker: We just come together to laugh in this case or cry or whatever it is.

[6:12] Unknown speaker: It's a communal experience.

[6:14] Unknown speaker: That is the opposite of what we've had for the last, you know, the ongoing unpleasantness.

[6:18] Unknown speaker: So to be here now, I feel completely full, truly.

[6:23] Unknown speaker: Live theater is palpable, and you can feel the energy in the room, and that quite literally feeds my soul.

[6:31] Unknown speaker: Live theater feeds my soul because it's people's stories that I can connect to, and it makes me feel not so alone in the world.

[6:39] Unknown speaker: So, in a way that you can like sit around and have a meal with people and share an experience.

[6:43] Unknown speaker: That's theater to me.

[6:44] Unknown speaker: You're sitting down and you're having a meal with them, and the meal and the food that you're having is stories and empathy and compassion and understanding.

[6:51] Unknown speaker: So I'm ready for a meal.

[6:52] Unknown speaker: Live theater is about community coming together, and so it's about my soul actually connecting with everybody else's soul in the same time and place and sharing the story that we happening in front of us one time only.

[7:03] Unknown speaker: Um, and so it lifts my soul, it energizes my soul, and it purifies my soul.

[7:09] Unknown speaker: Live theater feeds my soul because we get to see a window into so many different types of lives and get to be right there and feel the moment.

[7:17] Unknown speaker: And you'll never share a moment just like that ever again.

[7:20] Unknown speaker: And it's getting to be new and fresh for each and every person that comes and attends the show.

[7:25] Unknown speaker: I think community and gathering feeds my soul.

[7:28] Unknown speaker: I love to be in a moment where everybody laughs at the same time, where everybody holds their breath at the same time.

[7:34] Unknown speaker: I love to be in a moment of community because it, when it's good, lines us all up.

[7:40] Unknown speaker: Live theater allows me to think.

[7:42] Unknown speaker: I think a lot of times bad theater or bad movies beat you over the head with an idea.

[7:49] Unknown speaker: Like they want to get you to get the point.

[7:50] Unknown speaker: And what I love about theater is that it's like Gil Scott Heron said, the revolution will not be televised.

[7:57] Unknown speaker: It's something that starts in your brain, and then you think about it over time.

[7:57] Unknown speaker: I think it's a truly communal experience that only happens once is genuinely special.

[8:06] Unknown speaker: Uh, and as more time in my life passes, the more I realize it's special.

[8:09] Unknown speaker: So I think that's that's how.

[8:11] Unknown speaker: As an actor, as an artist, as a human, the opportunity to experience having a mirror put in front of us or being a mirror to society about what's good or bad in our collective opinion is priceless.

[8:26] Unknown speaker: And I feel really gift really blessed to be able to be a vessel for humanity.

[8:32] Unknown speaker: It's everything.

[8:33] Unknown speaker: It's every like, okay, so I'm an artist in this theater, and we depend on each other, and we depend on the community, and we depend on supporting each other, and we're so generous with each other, and like to be in this field, you have to eat, drink, live, like everything, live theater.

[8:51] Natasha Yvette Williams: So it's been so ingrained in my body that I couldn't even imagine living without live theater one day. So how does live theater feed my life? It's only a one-time experience that you get to experience, you know. So everything that happens on the stage at that moment is only one time. And so that's what I love about the art. That's what I love about capturing people for however long that we're there in theater and in the audience. And so, you know, it's just special, and I'm so glad that it's back. I love to go to theater because it is one of the few places where you can get the communal energy of people where people are laughing and crying, where you can have catharsis, and where you know you leave at the end and you've had some sort of shift in perspective.

I think it's the only place where you can have a communal experience that will never happen again, and you get fed that way, and then you get to do it the next night with a whole new group of people. It's unique. When a group of people come together to create something, it's magic, and it's live every night. So we get that magic in person every night. It feeds all of it. It's nothing like performing and feeling the energy from a live audience. Oh, people are very strange, and I love being in the room with them.

[10:01] Natasha Yvette Williams: How has this process of developing this play fed your soul? It's real community. I've never done this before, and I had people that supported me through this new moment. It's not the cutthroat movie version of what they think Broadway is. Everybody was patient and kind and created from a place of love. And I didn't know that mainstream art could do that, and that art feeds my soul in general, but when art is crafted in love, I'm full. I'm just full. I feel seen and appreciated in this community where we're getting an opportunity as black performers and creatives and artists to come together and do a thing that I always do, but it's different because there's a very specific story that is being embraced by the entire community of the world, more specifically the theater people who go see theater, more specifically black people, and even more specifically black creatives, which includes me. And I'm just very, very proud of this moment.

[11:30] Natasha Yvette Williams: But as I sat in the dark space of it, imagining what was gonna happen and us coming out of it, I could have never imagined the joy that I'm getting now. Coming to work every day is a joy. Working with people who've never been on Broadway and are so excited about it is a joy. Coming into a space with people and being seen and heard in a production that is written by African American people and directed, and the team is BIPOC, and it's just an opportunity as Broadway moves forward for them to say, I see you, I value you, and I love you. So it's just a perfect, it has fed my soul affirmation. It has said I'm valued, and not just because I'm a black woman. This show encompasses a whole lot of people that are underrepresented, underserved, and not seen.

And so this show feeds my soul in that it gives me hope and affirmation. And it would give it to everyone who walks through those doors. They find something, some piece of bread, some chicken piece, some piece of biscuit to feed your soul. So you're fed in the affirmation of self. So whoever you are, whatever walk you come from, you can find a kernel at Chicken and Biscuits to grab hold to and to be nourished by because that's what it's doing. It is nourishing all of us every night.

[12:56] Natasha Yvette Williams: After the time that we all have had, it's just been such an amazing experience to be back in the room with people and work on something and work on a piece that's so transcended in joy and laughter and family and heart and healing. And it really healed all of us during this process because we were yearning for this. We've been yearning for this. And the fact that it happened this way during this season with seven new black plays coming, it's just like something you can't even make up. It's just only a blessing that comes from God. So I'm just so excited. By far the family. I think Jalen Lovenston has found the right people. He's found, I mean, not only did he find the right people, but you know, Lauren T. Moton III and I go back to, we were, you know, interns at a theater festival in the weeds 10 years ago, and now here we are celebrating our Broadway design debuts.

So he found the right groupings of people and pairs of people like Ebony Marshall Oliver and I have been working on shows for years, and this is our Broadway, you know, debuts together. So he really reached into his toolkit and found the people with the right toolkits to get this show on stage. And he's created a family with it.

[14:03] Natasha Yvette Williams: Like, never have I been through such a lovely tech process in such a difficult space because Circle in the Square is not an easy space, but he set up a room with the right people that were ready to have a good time. The audience, the response, social media, hearing the call and respond during the sermon. It just makes you feel like the work you're doing is being received, and that's all you want as artists is to know that someone is sitting there viewing it, taking it in and enjoying themselves. Being back in the theater, being back in a rehearsal room, and being in front of an audience, not just in front of an audience, but like in front of a raucous audience. And in the middle of the audience.

It has fed my soul in all the right ways because this is the kind of play, I'll say this, this is the kind of play that doesn't usually get on Broadway for a lot of reasons. And it's the kind of play that I feel like should be on Broadway. No, it isn't like existential, no, it isn't like, you know, it isn't about, it isn't like an, well, you know, it isn't like the death of a salesman about, you know, about all of America and all of, you know, working class. It is, but it is about all of us. That's the thing that like this play, people sit down and they think, okay, how is it this is gonna be about how we're different, but it's not about how we're different, it's actually about how we're the same. And so it does belong on Broadway.

[15:29] Natasha Yvette Williams: Yeah, it's funny. Yeah, it's, it's, yes, yes, we, we, there are bits and we chew the scenery and we let the audience like go crazy. But it is also about how we're all the same and how we're all connected, and that is Broadway. That is perfect for Broadway, and that's why it belongs on Broadway. Oh my god. Well, what's been great about this whole thing is that it's a relatable story. Like I've lived through this. I know this story very well. Also the fact that we have so many people who are so grateful to be working that it's a joy to come to work. You know, not that I haven't had that in the past, but this particular family has been a joy. And I think because of the fact that we came out of something so traumatic with the pandemic and everything, you know, we're still kind of going through it, but it's been a wonderful process.

It's so full of love and joy and hearts, and even though it's a largely black African-American cast, it is connecting to so many cultures, so many people, and that's the love that we're bringing to Broadway. We're trying to bring a change, and this is the change. And I hope that it's not just for this season, but it can happen again and again, year after year.

[16:44] Brian Sedita: Thanks everyone for listening to this episode of Page to Stage. To keep up with us, you can find us on Instagram and Facebook at Page2Stage Podcast. And if you're enjoying these conversations, we would really appreciate it if you could take a couple minutes to rate and review us wherever you're listening to this podcast. Until next time. That's Brian.

[17:01] Mary Dina: That's Mary. We will see you later. Bye.

[17:10] Natasha Yvette Williams: I gave you horrible answers. Don't lie to me.