This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:00] Gordon Cox: Welcome to Stagecraft, Variety's theater podcast, your backstage pass to revealing conversations with stars, creators, and industry leaders on Broadway, off-Broadway, and beyond. I'm Gordon Cox. On this episode of Stagecraft, I'm talking to Kandi Burruss. You probably know her as the former mainstay of the Bravo reality series, The Real Housewives of Atlanta. Or maybe you know her as a member of the enduring R&B girl group Xscape. Heck, you might even know her as the entrepreneur behind her own lines of cosmetics and sex toys. But in recent years, she's also become a Broadway producer, starting out just as Broadway returned from lockdown with the 2021 play Thoughts of a Colored Man. Since then, she's been a producer of the starry staging of The Piano Lesson, headlined by John David Washington and Samuel L. Jackson, and the recent revival of The Whivs.

Her latest project is the new Broadway production of Othello, starring Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal. Now, Burruss is in the virtual studio with me to tell us why she's made producing theater such a significant part of her career, and how she hopes her work is helping to make a new Broadway for everyone. Hey, Kandi, thanks for joining me.

[1:14] Kandi Burruss: Well, thanks for having me, Gordon.

[1:16] Gordon Cox: So probably like a lot of folks, I was most familiar with you and your career from, you know, your work in the music industry and Xscape, and of course, all your time on the Housewives franchise. And as I was saying to you, just before we started recording, I first became aware of your work as a Broadway producer in conversations with Brian Moreland, who is your fellow producer and a longtime Broadway guy. And I know that you've worked with Brian on all the shows so far that you've been credited on as a Broadway producer. Was he your entree into this world initially?

[1:47] Kandi Burruss: He definitely is and was and is. I always give Brian credit as being like a mentor to me in this space. He's like, I'm not, stop saying that. But I'm like, he definitely is. He's kind of like, held my hand through the process. And he's kind of basically teaching me everything I know about being a producer in, you know, on the Broadway lane.

[2:16] Gordon Cox: Yeah, right. Because you have produced also in film and TV, but, you know, and music, of course, right. And that producing for stage is an entirely different thing.

[2:26] Kandi Burruss: Totally different. It's night and day different. It's a whole, it's a totally different world. You know, totally different world of people, although a lot of the talent from Broadway is also in film and television. But, you know, it's still a lot different.

[2:44] Gordon Cox: Yeah. And so I know that you had been, you performed on Broadway, you'd been in Chicago back in 2018. Had you been involved, like as an investor or in any other way before starting to get involved as a producer?

[2:58] Kandi Burruss: Not on Broadway. I had, I was in an off-Broadway show as talent.

[3:03] Gordon Cox: Yeah.

[3:04] Kandi Burruss: As well in a musical, The Musical.

[3:07] Gordon Cox: Uh-huh, yeah. Of course. Yeah.

[3:10] Kandi Burruss: But I did that show. And so I was, you know, friends with the producer of that show. And honestly, I really didn't have a clue to how to get started as a producer in this industry. It was something that my manager agent, Nick Roses, he and I had discussed. And I was telling him, this was some years back, I was telling him, I was like, hey, you know, I really want to be more involved in Broadway in many forms. You know, I was like, I want to, you know, my first, obviously for me since, you know, as a kid, I was in musical theater. I was in the Youth Ensemble of Atlanta. You know, I was in a theater group in high school. I did a lot of that growing up and a lot of my friends went on to do Broadway.

But, you know, for me, it was all about being talent first. And then just the same way that I am with, I guess I would say music or television. It's like, I can only be talent for so long. I want to know the ins and outs. I want to know how it works. I want to know the behind the scenes, who gets to make the decisions around here. Those are the things that, you know, for me, you know, those things are important, especially when it comes to giving opportunity to other people. You know, to me, those are the things that are important. You know, you can only do so much as talent. But if you're really trying to make moves, you really need to get behind the scenes and figure it out from there.

[5:02] Gordon Cox: And why was Broadway on your radar as something you wanted to get more involved in in general back then in that initial conversation with your manager? What was the appeal for you?

[5:07] Kandi Burruss: Well, because it was a childhood dream. When I was a kid, that was something that I thought that I was going to do. Like I said earlier, you know, some of my friends and I, we were in the same youth ensemble together. We went to the same, we were in the same musical theater group. And some of them had gone on to do, be nominated for Tony's and different things. A lot of us that went to the same high school, you know, did, you know, they went on to do that. And for me, it was like, even though I had success in music and television, I was like, why did I never pursue that dream of going to Broadway? It's like, you know, and you know, sometimes people feel like it's too late when you start getting, you know, when you're late 30s, you know, in 40s, you know, some people think, oh, okay, well, maybe it's too late for me.

But for me, I'm like, it's never too late. And obviously, Broadway, it's never too late, you know, in acting period, it's never too late because you need people of all ages. And so, I was having that conversation with him like, hey, this is something I want to do. Like, how do we explore it? It wasn't anything that he really, he didn't really have a lot of talent that was doing Broadway at the time either. So, somebody had reached out to me previous to meeting Brian about the show Thoughts of a Colored Man. But I did not at that time take the meeting. I don't know why. I just had, I didn't. But then it came back around. And, you know, one of the clients of my manager, he was thinking about the project and then considering being a part of the project.

And Nick at the time, he was like, hey, you know, do you want to be a, would you consider being a producer on this project? And I was like, for sure. Like, timing is everything. So, that's when Brian and I had the conversation and we connected and we've been locked in ever since.

[7:25] Gordon Cox: One of the things that, particularly for people who aren't in the theater industry, like, producer is sort of a vague, nebulous word, and what does it mean? And every producer does it a little differently. And so, for you, Kandi, as a producer, what does being a producer mean to you? What does that involve for you?

[7:35] Kandi Burruss: Okay. Well, for me, it involves with, like, being very involved with the marketing promotion of the show. I mean, obviously, it's kind of like, you know, you have, you're taking it, you're doing an investment in the show. Yes. But I also, I prefer to be more involved because some, like you said, some producers just want to make a financial investment and be a part of a group or whatever. And then some of us, you know, it's like, okay, I'm trying to help push sales of the show. I'm trying to get the word out there about the show. You know, at this particular show, you would think it's like, okay, we got so many names, you don't really have to do that. But I still...

[8:32] Gordon Cox: Yeah, I hear for Othello, you don't need to do a ton of work to sell that show. But any conversation helps.

[8:32] Kandi Burruss: Right. And I think people say that, but I think people don't realize in anything, it doesn't matter who you have. If you're not really out there, like, we have a whole team that's been, you know, putting their heads together, you know, like, okay, at this point, we're going to release this. I mean, from the time we even, you know, the strategy behind it, you know, when you put it up for, you know, put the sales up and all those things, there are shows that have big names in it and don't really do anything, you know. So, some people get that kind of confused. And I think even as an artist myself, I know other artists who think, well, I am who I am, so it's just going to be a success. And then when it doesn't do what they think, they're sitting there wondering like, well, what happened?

What did I do wrong? And it's like, no, you can't just rely on the sake of the name. You have to really put it in a plan. You have to really market. You have to really push. It's a lot that goes into it. And if you're trying to break records, like, you know, my goal and I know Brian's goal, we're always trying to, you know, set a new mark, you know, take things to another level.

[10:04] Gordon Cox: Yeah. And it sounds like from what I understand through Brian and just from what I've seen of, you know, every time you're doing a conversation on TV or on the radio about whatever you've got going on, like maybe a tour or a new acting gig or something, you're always also mentioning whatever Broadway project you're working on and making sure to talk it up and get the word out.

[10:20] Kandi Burruss: Yeah. I think this is a new Broadway.

[10:25] Kandi Burruss: And the reason why I say that is because, you know, in the past, a lot of people who lived in New York or who, you know, knew about, who constantly visited New York, they were very familiar with going to Broadway shows and, you know, supporting theater. But I think there came a point where, obviously when Broadway had closed down during the pandemic, when it reopened, people were very unsure about the state of Broadway. Will people come and support the theater again? And so I definitely feel like I did contribute to helping it become popular to the people who didn't normally think about going to a Broadway show. I mean, I know you've had conversations with Brian, but I'm not sure if he shared with you that a majority of our shows that we've done together have been breaking records with ticket sales.

But not just that, a few of our shows, I think, I haven't learned the status of this one yet to see what the status is. But like on our last show, Piano Lesson, over, what was it? It was like a crazy number, like 60% or something or 70% of our ticket sales were from first-time people who ever bought a ticket to go see Broadway. And that was huge because if you think it's like, how do we keep the ticket sales going? Well, you got to open the minds of people who've never felt like they've been able to be a part of, you know, it's like, you have to allow people to know that Broadway is for everyone. You know, people who are living all the way in, I don't know, let's say, if they're in Texas, you know, because we have a lot of people that come and show up from Texas, you know, they may have never really thought they may only go to the shows that come to their city or, you know, which is good too, you should support the theater that comes to your town.

But, you know, a lot of people weren't thinking out of the box to say, oh, maybe I should fly to New York just to see a Broadway show. And I think we've helped expand the minds of those people who, you know, who didn't realize that that was a thing.

[13:19] Gordon Cox: I'll have more with Kandi right after this break.

[13:28] Gordon Cox: And now back to my conversation with the former Real Housewife and current Broadway producer, Kandi Burruss. That first show you worked on, Thoughts of a Colored Man, was it's difficult to open a brand new play with an unfamiliar title on Broadway at any time, and it was particularly hard in October of 2021. And I imagine, tell us a little bit about what you learned from that experience.

[13:51] Kandi Burruss: I feel like I learned a lot from that experience. Well, for one, obviously during the time of what was happening in America at the time, you know, it was a lot of social unrest happening. You know, I felt like that show was very important. It opened the door. I mean, I think it was the first time ever that seven Black men were able to star on Broadway and to headline a show together. Right. So that was major in itself. We had a lot of support and a lot of great reviews on the show. Unfortunately, because of the rules of Broadway at the time, because everybody wanted to be safe, it was like if we had, I don't know, it was basically like if you have so many of your cast that had to be out or whatever, you had to close down the show.

And closing down the show at that time could bankrupt the show. So that's why a lot of the shows weren't able to stay their full run. But for us, I think we were like the second show to release ticket sales to bring people back because that was the first time Broadway had ever closed down in the history of Broadway. It was something crazy like that. And so it was a great opportunity for me to see, okay, we still had people even at that time who still wanted to come and support. So for me, even though it closed down before I wanted, I cried. Okay. Even though it closed before I wanted it to, it showed me that it could still be successful. We still need to come back. Don't let that deter us from wanting to produce another show.

We have people out there. We have the hearts. We have the minds. People are open to it. It just needs to be in a time where nothing so crazy is happening in the world. So when we tried it again, we had the support. We had a great cast, obviously. We had an amazing cast in Piano Lesson. And then the rules had changed. So people felt safer about coming to the theater. And we broke records.

[16:10] Gordon Cox: Yeah, you sure did. That's right.

[16:13] Kandi Burruss: And I was so happy that we did it again. Now, just to be clear, my motto with my family, with my husband, with all of us is, you never really have done anything unless you do it twice. Okay. So for me, I had to do it again.

[16:28] Gordon Cox: Right. At least one more time, right?

[16:29] Kandi Burruss: I had to do it at least one more time. It was just not going to be right unless I had done it again. So I was extremely happy that we were able to do it again. We even got a nomination, Tony nomination, which was, wow, amazing. And I was thankful for that opportunity to work with such amazing people. First of all, I ain't going to lie to you. I'm not going to lie. I was a little intimidated. The fact that it's like, okay, these actors are huge. I've always looked up to Samuel L. Jackson. I mean, I'm a fan. So it's like, even in this situation that I'm in now with Othello, it's like, I'm a fan, right? But we are on a level of mutual respect and it's so much love there. I guess when you come to work with people and you come together and it's like, everybody is here for the same reason, for the purpose of making this show great, right? And it's like, everybody's showing love to each other. And it's like, wow, I can't believe I'm here with them right now.

[17:56] Gordon Cox: And so what can you tell us about Othello? Have you gotten to see a reading or anything?

[18:01] Kandi Burruss: I did.

[18:02] Gordon Cox: Tell us about kind of like, oh yeah, okay. How'd that go?

[18:06] Kandi Burruss: It went great. I think, well, it's a thing for me and my husband. We always, like our thing is we have to be at the first reading of every show. So we definitely made it a point to be there for our first reading of Othello. And it was magic to see them at work. So basically, normally at the first reading, not only do you, all the actors are there, obviously everybody gets to meet each other for the first time, the cast, the director and all the creative behind the scenes, all the people that are making the magic. So we come in, everybody gets comfortable. Then we get up. Well, we don't get up. We announce, everybody goes around the room and every single person says their name and their position with the show.

So basically, we did a little mix and mingle prior to that part. So everybody gets to, that's what I mean by the hugs and the, hey, and how are you? And get familiar with each other. Nobody was being weird. Everybody was being cool. And then one thing I would say is, I had met Denzel a couple of times before. John David, his son was in Piano Lessons. So he would come and support. I had met him before, but I don't think we ever had a lot of conversation. I think he was just being low key, trying to play the background because it was his son's thing, right? But this time, it was joke after joke and making everybody laugh. I was like, okay, you're a lightweight comedian. I didn't realize. It was super cool.

Jake was so nice and so friendly. Everybody was just cool. You know what I mean? It was just a good space. So like I said, so moving past the mix and mingle part, we went around the room, everybody introduced themselves. So it didn't matter what you did. It didn't matter if you weren't one of the stars of the show, you're actually in the show, or if you were behind the scenes and maybe you were just taking pictures for everybody that day. I don't know. If you were in the room, everybody went around. We introduced ourselves just so that people can kind of be familiar with each other. Then we also got a chance to see the sketch.

[20:50] Kandi Burruss: The designs of the costumes, the set. How are they? Can we ask how are they? Is it sort of contemporary? When is it set? What's the approach? It's more current day. Not current day like today, but definitely not like how we expect Othello to, you know, of the past. It's giving like military vibes. Okay. But, you know, of a current more military look, you know. So, I think it's still, you know, obviously it's Othello, you know, Shakespeare. So, you know, they still are giving you the script of Shakespeare. But I feel like it makes it feel more relatable. And, you know, when with this, with the costuming and the sets and, you know, to where you can feel like how that can happen now. And, of course, Othello, your involvement in Othello is one of many things that you've got going on right now.

Tell us a little bit about everything you've got going on right now and how it all kind of dovetails with your work as a producer. Well, I'm a producer all the way around. I'm also a producer of music. So, right now, I signed a girl group. They're called Siren. And I'm super excited. Their song went number one at radio, R&B radio, just yesterday on Billboard, R&B Airplay. And the song is called Sober. And it hasn't been easy because basically I'm pushing them through my label, which I'm an independent company. So, everything is pushed by me, financed by me at this time. And so, I decided to bring on partners. But there has not been another female group to be number one on the R&B charts in 23 years.

Wow. Isn't that crazy? That is crazy. I'm surprised by that. Yeah, that is insane. The last girl group to do it was Floor Tree with their song Yes. Yeah. That was in the Billboard article. Anyway. So, I'm excited and happy. But now I feel even more stressed because I gotta keep it going. Like, I gotta figure out how to continue to push these girls because they are new and it takes a lot to get new artists out. And I guess, you know, any field, like I said, when you're doing something new, you have to open the hearts and minds of people who may not have known about them. Yeah. My husband and I, we just finished producing a new movie. Yeah. That we haven't decided what streaming service or whatever we're going to put it out through.

But I'm excited about it because it's a good one. Okay, great. What is it? Can you tell us what it's called or where to look out for? It's called Don't Bring Your Man to Atlanta. It sounds funny, but it's like a suspense-type thriller out of crazy. But it's funny. I think the title is catchy. It's going to make a lot of people want to watch it. It's too early for me to give away everything that's going to happen, but yeah, that's what it is. And what else have I been doing? I mean, you're also acting and performing and all that. Oh, yeah. That too. My group, we have concerts and stuff. You've got concerts coming up. I know. Yeah. Which is so funny because I guess because I've been in Xscape, the group, since I was 14 years old, had our first record deal when I was 16.

So for me, it's just like, oh, yeah, that's what we're doing. It's a constant. Oh, yeah. By the way, we had shows. It's not new, so I guess it's not always at the top of my brain, I guess. But I am appreciative that people still want to see us perform after all these years. How about that? That in itself is major for me. But yeah, I'm still just trying new things. I have my products, candy-coated cosmetics, bedroom candy. You're always doing something new with that. And you've taken a step back from the Housewives. Is that right? Yes. So last year, I decided to not sign on for the new season. And that was a huge decision to make at the time. I was kind of stressed, kind of not, because I did it for 14 seasons straight.

And then I also had other shows. Shows that were like spinoffs, kind of, right? Related. Right. So it was scary to just say, okay, I'm walking away. But I'm still a part of the Bravo family, meaning, actually, me and my husband have a development deal where we're developing a show with them now. Do you feel like your involvement in the Housewives franchise ended up bringing you a lot of opportunities? Was it a thing that has been good for you overall? For sure. I'll forever be grateful for the opportunity that I had being on the show for so long. To be honest with you, when I first joined on to do the show 100 years ago, when I first did it, I didn't think it was going to be that big of a deal.

Because in my mind, I'm like, I've already been on TV before. I've already had records. This is whatever. But it opened me up, like what I said, to people who may not have known about me, right? And I didn't realize how much it would change my life in that way. Because yes, I had a lot of success being an artist or music artist and writing songs for other people. So it wasn't about the money. It's something about when the world watched reality TV, they feel more connected to the people. It's because they get to see your mom, they see your kids, they see your friends, the people you work with. They feel connected because they really get to know you in a way that they don't get to know a music artist or just regular actors.

You know what I mean? Yeah. So that definitely changed my life. I would definitely say that. And it definitely put me to where people feel connected to me. And I appreciate that I feel connected to them too. Yeah. Because people walk up to me, they're like, hey Candy. And I'm like, hey. But we may not know each other. There's so many times people walk up to me like, Candy, what's up girl? And I'd be thinking like, where do I know them from? And they're like, girl, you don't know me. It's so funny though, because in my brain, I'm thinking like, well, we must know each other because of the way they said it. But yeah. And so looking ahead to your next Broadway project, what are the kinds of shows that you look for to get involved in?

What do you feel like really guides you as a producer? What should we look out for from you next? I would say Brian really guides me. The reason why I say that is, well, I do have a couple of people that reached out to me about other opportunities that Brian didn't talk to me about. But it was something else that has really been on my mind. And I'm thinking about, I watched a show and I love the show. And I think other people like it too. So I haven't decided whether or not I was going to get involved yet. But Brian, my husband, Todd, and myself, we go out to eat sometimes. And we just sit around and we talk about ideas. And we just throw things at the table to say like, what do you think about this? Or what do you think about that? Or should we try to make this happen? Or what should be our next show? So he has an idea that we've been discussing. And we'll see.

[30:09] Gordon Cox: Well, we will look forward to seeing whatever comes next from you and also to seeing Othello when it gets up and running and opened. Thanks so much, Candy. It's great to talk to you.

[30:20] Kandi Burruss: It was great talking to you as well.

[30:22] Gordon Cox: That was Candy Burruss, one of the producers of Othello, now playing on Broadway with Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal.

[30:34] Gordon Cox: If you enjoyed this conversation here on Stagecraft, please help us out. We'd so appreciate it if you would take the time to rate and review us on your favorite podcasting app. It really helps. Or tell a friend about Stagecraft. Find past episodes and subscribe at all the places you get your pods, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and on the Broadway Podcast Network, a great place to find more theater for your ears.

[30:56] Gordon Cox: Until next episode, find me on Instagram and X at Gordon B. Cox. You can also check out my newsletter about international theater. It's called Jaquies, and it's at GordonCox.Substack.com. Thanks for listening, and see you at the theater.