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[0:00] Kevin Ferguson: Good evening, everyone. Welcome to the fabulous Feinstein 54 Below. Before we get started this evening, just a polite reminder: please take this moment to silence your cell phones and also there's no flash photography, please.

[0:17] Kevin Ferguson: Hello, everybody, and welcome to the Feinstein’s/54 Below podcast where we take you behind the scenes at Broadway's favorite living room. My name is Kevin Ferguson, and I'm an assistant programming director here at the club. And our guest today is a Broadway veteran and Tony Award-nominated actress. She has graced the stage of over 10 Broadway shows, including Smokey Joe's Cafe, Dreamgirls, Legs Diamond, and Jelly's Last Jam. You can also catch her on TV in The Good Fight. She is a phenomenal performer. Please, everyone help me welcome the one and only Brenda Braxton.

[1:02] Brenda Braxton: What's up? How are you?

[1:05] Brenda Braxton: I'm good. I'm good. This is so exciting.

[1:09] Kevin Ferguson: Oh good. Yes. Listen, I have so many questions for you, but I like to start off the podcast with just connecting about last year and where you are now. You're getting back on stage. You're coming back to 54 Below. We're so excited. Is this your first time performing in front of a crowd since the world reopened, or have you been out doing shows?

[1:34] Brenda Braxton: No, I haven't been doing shows. I've been doing a lot of Seth's Stars in the House, which has been fun hosting those. Have I gone out to perform really? No, I haven't. Yeah. I haven't. Yeah. This is gonna be something. It's gonna be interesting. And even with this show, it's changing from day to day because we're still in this pandemic. And so things are changing, and my original idea for the show has morphed into a little something different. There's just, I think there's probably just gonna be more shenanigans happening.

[2:15] Kevin Ferguson: Yes. Listen, because it says Brenda Braxton after hours. I was very intrigued.

[2:23] Brenda Braxton: That is exciting. Okay, so you're coming back. This is kind of like your first time back on the stage since everything happened last year. With last year, did you find any new skills? You're so multi-talented, but we didn't really get to see a lot of those during the quarantine. Did you find any new skills during the quarantine?

[2:41] Brenda Braxton: Well, I think my hosting skills were kind of like front and center, like one-on-one interviews, things like that. And I find that I really, really enjoy doing that. Yeah. Which was how I came up with the original idea for 54 Below. As I said, it has morphed into something else. But I wanted to do more of like a Johnny Carson kind of, you know. But because now we are in such a lockdown and just social distancing. I think I'm going to probably just have to have it be more traditional, me on the stage, still interacting with the audience because I love doing that. I love messing with people in the audience. I think that's my forte. So I just changed it a little bit just to be a little more like that. But I love the idea of the hosting and the one-on-one and talking to the audience and really breaking that fourth wall. So I'm excited to be able to do that at 54 Below now.

[3:45] Kevin Ferguson: Yeah. Hosting is really fun. I feel like you just get to have fun conversations with your friends or just people you weren't gonna be able to talk to. Was there anyone that you interviewed or talked to over the quarantine that you were just really excited about or didn't get to meet ever or starstruck a little, maybe. Do you get starstruck, Brenda?

[4:03] Brenda Braxton: Oh, absolutely. Oh my God. Absolutely. I get starstruck. But one of the most fun was I brought back some of the mature ladies of the business. So I had Bebe Neuwirth and I had, God bless her, Anne Rankin, my Chicago friends, Valerie Pettiford, Alison Williams Foster, Graciela, Maria. And so that was fun. Just talking to these women who you know know something. So that was fun. Who else did I? I had also I had on Robin Herder, who is in Moulin Rouge right now. She does the tango in Moulin Rouge. And she is just out of her mind. And I just love people who are just happy and out of their mind and just love life. And I like improvising. I really do like improvising and not knowing what people are gonna say or do or what's gonna make them laugh or blush.

Because sometimes I say some stuff that's like, oh I just really say that. Yes. I'm old enough to, you know. So that's what I like, and that's what this year and a half has kind of really brought out in me. The fact that I really like doing that.

[5:20] Kevin Ferguson: Yeah. I mean, the quarantine definitely had to everyone who's an artist still had to get their artistic outlets, even though things were shut down last year. So to hear some people like finally recorded that EP they always wanted to do, or some people finally recorded that podcast they always wanted to do, it's just really exciting to hear that we didn't let that stop us from being artists and being artistic.

[5:43] Brenda Braxton: Yeah. Not at all. It's very inspiring. Especially to hear everyone else who has had careers on Broadway to hear they were still learning new ways to get through the day. It's very inspiring.

[5:57] Brenda Braxton: Absolutely. And this whole Zoom and what is it? StreamYard, whatever. So you can tell how much I know about it, right? But people my age are learning new skills, learning how to stay present and how to be relevant. The biggest fear of most women, especially in this business, is to stay relevant.

[6:24] Kevin Ferguson: Yeah, you know.

[6:25] Brenda Braxton: But I don't know your perspective, but from my perspective, you have always stayed relevant, Brenda.

[6:31] Brenda Braxton: I mean, thank you. I mean I just feel like your performance in Smokey Joe's Cafe is so memorable. There's no way anyone's gonna ever be able to forget you in that moment. And you even got Tony nominated for it.

[6:43] Brenda Braxton: Absolutely. What was that experience like rocking with?

[6:46] Brenda Braxton: Oh my goodness. I don't even know if I even today, I don't know if I can really explain how that felt. Because I always talk about, and I talked about this with Chita Rivera as well too, because she also came up as an ensemble kind of person. Now she's Chita Rivera, you know what I mean? And so I often feel that little dancer is still inside of me. So to be nominated for a show like Smokey Joe's Cafe, still feeling like, oh my God, but I'm just this little dancer from the Bronx who learned how to sing because she had to and learned how to act because she had to. I'm nominated. Oh my God. And when they say, okay, it doesn't mean anything if you're nominated. Oh yes, it does mean something to be nominated. It changed my whole projection of where my career and how people saw me.

[7:38] Kevin Ferguson: Wow. You felt the difference.

[7:41] Brenda Braxton: Oh, absolutely. Wow. Even today, we celebrated, we closed in 2000. Right. So we opened in, I think it was 94, 95. And Smokey Joe's is still so relevant today. I still have people who come up to me and say, oh my God, I saw you when I was in high school. I hate when we said when I was in high school. But that's okay. I was 12.

[8:12] Kevin Ferguson: Yes.

[8:14] Brenda Braxton: My mother had to sign for that's what I said. So yes. But yeah, it's still relevant today. It was the little show who could. The little show that could. We didn't get good reviews, as a matter of fact. As a matter of fact, Richard Frankel, one of our producers, also came from 54 Below. For our anniversary, gave us a poster with all of the bad quotes. Because we were still the little show that no one thought we would survive, and we survived four years on Broadway.

[8:55] Kevin Ferguson: Wow.

[8:56] Brenda Braxton: So you just never know. You really don't know. And especially I love what you said about being a little dancer from the Bronx. I have a lot of family from the Bronx as well. So I really connect with stories from that neighborhood. And it was dancing for you early on. Like when did you start dancing?

[9:11] Brenda Braxton: Oh, I started dancing at four.

[9:15] Kevin Ferguson: Wow.

[9:16] Brenda Braxton: I was four years old when my mom put me in dancing school. I started with the tap and the ballet and all that, but I don't tap. Everyone knows I don't tap. Don't ask Brenda to tap. Please don't. I got a story about that too, with God love him, Gregory Hines. But that's where another. Yeah. I started out as a little dancer, and I went to Catholic school for eight years. And then when it was time to go to high school, a teacher told me about performing arts high school. I had no idea what it was. And I didn't tell my mom that this was the high school I wanted to go to. I auditioned without her knowing. I had to choreograph like this little three-minute piece. And she didn't know anything until my acceptance letter came in. She was like, what is this? And she said, well, as long as you keep your grades up, which I didn't always do. But she said, this is what you want to do. Okay, fine. And the rest is history.

[10:16] Kevin Ferguson: Wow.

[10:17] Brenda Braxton: Yeah. I mean, my mom was a very similar way too. She was like, I didn't even take Kevin to the audition. He found it himself, and this is what he wanted to do. So that's when you know it's in you.

[10:27] Brenda Braxton: Yeah. It's what God gave you.

[10:29] Kevin Ferguson: Yeah, for sure. You definitely have been taking what God gave you and ran with it. It didn't even start with Smokey Joe's. It started with Dreamgirls, right? You were in Dreamgirls first, or no, it actually started with Guys and Dolls back in 1976.

[10:43] Brenda Braxton: Wow. Yeah, that was my first Broadway show with Ken Page.

[10:47] Kevin Ferguson: Oh, I love me some Ken Page.

[10:49] Brenda Braxton: Ernestine Jackson, Robbie Guillaume, Julia Lima, who is still around. She's performing and she's an actress now. She put me in the show. We're still good friends. But yeah, that was my first Broadway show.

[11:03] Kevin Ferguson: Wow.

[11:04] Brenda Braxton: Still performing to this day. From there, you went on to doing so many shows that we know and love you from, like Chicago and Dreamgirls. And you even choreographed the Dreamgirls concert in 2001.

[11:16] Brenda Braxton: Yes, yes. Co-choreographed and directed the concert for the Actors' Fund that was with Seth Rudetsky, who's my good, good, good, good friend. He's out of his mind and so well. Yeah, we did that, and it was one of the highest grossing singing benefits.

[11:32] Kevin Ferguson: Wow.

[11:32] Brenda Braxton: That they've ever done because it was also right after 9/11. And from that cowbell, everyone just they lost their minds.

[11:43] Kevin Ferguson: Yeah, I bet.

[11:44] Brenda Braxton: They just lost their minds.

[11:45] Kevin Ferguson: I bet. And to have that cast, I've seen that concert a couple times. So to now know that those dancers, now where they are, and where those people are, Billy Porter, Norm Lewis, Audra McDonald, Heather Headley, Lillias White, where those people are now. And even people who were in the ensemble, we had like 60 something people in the whole ensemble. You look back at those people and you go, oh my God.

[12:10] Kevin Ferguson: Yeah.

[12:11] Brenda Braxton: Who knew? Yeah. Who knew? Yeah. You just you don't know, but you have the idea and you keep it going, and it turns into a production, especially when you have that many musical theater people in a room. It's always gonna be something.

[12:22] Kevin Ferguson: Oh, yeah.

[12:23] Brenda Braxton: Oh yeah. That's some good stuff out from there. Seth has a couple of videos that he's shown from our rehearsals that watching Lillias, who is also gonna be at 54 Below at some point, I think next year, watching her sing, I'm telling you, I'm not going, just literally sitting down, me, Heather Headley, Audra McDonald, Norm Lewis, Seth on the piano by himself, blowing it out of the hemisphere.

[12:49] Kevin Ferguson: Yeah.

[12:50] Brenda Braxton: And just so easygoing, but also the camaraderie that was there. You know, it still gives me chills.

[12:57] Kevin Ferguson: I bet.

[12:59] Brenda Braxton: It's so easy to have a talent like that and not have a nice personality that matches.

[13:04] Kevin Ferguson: Absolutely.

[13:05] Brenda Braxton: Absolutely. So when it does, it's so exciting.

[13:08] Kevin Ferguson: It is.

[13:09] Brenda Braxton: And it does your heart well. It really does your heart well. Because you do have those folks who think that they are everything, and they want everyone to know that they think they are everything. Which to me is just a waste of energy.

[13:23] Kevin Ferguson: It is.

[13:24] Brenda Braxton: It is. But if you've been in the industry long enough, you know how to see people for who they are and just leave them right there too. You're like, all right, I know who you are. See ya.

[13:38] Kevin Ferguson: Um, Brenda, you are a genius. You are so funny.

[13:41] Brenda Braxton: Oh my God.

[13:42] Kevin Ferguson: And that's what you're chuckling as hard. I feel like though, with that much insight and knowing all the people you've met in your career, is that what inspired you to also be a published author? You've written books. The Little Black Book of Backstage Etiquette.

[14:00] Brenda Braxton: Yes. Yes, yes, yes. I love that. We need more literature just like that for exact reasons we were just talking about. Being nice.

[14:06] Brenda Braxton: Absolutely. Absolutely. How'd you come up with that idea to write that?

[14:11] Brenda Braxton: Funny, you asked. Well, okay, so my career, Jesus, keep me near the cross. I was doing Cats. And you know, in Cats, you wear those units. We all shared a dressing room, and I was in the dressing room and we were getting undressed, and I saw one of the performers just kind of pull their unit off and just kind of leave it on the floor.

[14:39] Brenda Braxton: And I was like, excuse me, are you gonna leave that right there? And she's like, Oh, yeah, they'll get it. And I was like, Oh, too. Okay, so fast forward years, years, years, years later. I'm doing The Wiz out in Florida, and I was sharing the room with the young girl who was playing Dorothy, and I was an M. And there's a tradition in theater where you give your dresser just a little tip, a little thank you at the end of the week or at the end of the month. So I said to her, So, do you want to go in together and give out a tip, or do you want to do it separately? And she didn't really know what I was talking about. And it got me thinking again about all these little things that go on backstage that they don't teach in college and universities in the theater department.

So I was like, oh, there's a couple of things that I think folks would learn from or enjoy or whatever. So I just started putting all of these little things together, and then I started getting quotes from people like Chita and Bebe and some stage managers of things that they've gone through with actors or performers, and then my friend, my good friend Bobby Day, who I did Dreamgirls with, he did the illustrations for me. He's just kind of like these little cartoon illustrations, and it just turned out to be what I think is the cutest little book, you know, with just some things that you just don't think about, like how to treat your dresser, how to treat your stage manager, your production stage manager, how to even treat the prop men.

Yeah. You know, a lot of times people are backstage and they pick up props and they move props, and it's like, no, don't touch, that's not yours. Not your props, don't touch it. It's just is exactly. So it's little things like that that's in the book. Little gems like that that's in the book. I feel like it's helpful, especially where we're moving. I feel like everyone is so pressed to learn how to do a triple pirouette, but they're not pressed to learn how to have the etiquette backstage that is exactly held so high in the theater world specifically.

[16:41] Brenda Braxton: I was just trying to explain this to some fashion friends of mine who work in fashion. I was like, you don't get to be mean in the theater world. No, you could be mean in the fashion world, maybe, but if you're mean in the theater world, that is that's it. Yeah, you done. You'll be sitting home going, uh why has no one called me? I ain't got no auditions for nothing. And it doesn't take anything out of you just to be cordial and to be nice. And in the book, I say your dresser is not your mother, your cleaning lady, your therapist. Your dresser is there to assist you in your show. Yeah. So you have to respect that. Most of the time they're there from sun up to sundown. Stage managers are there from sunup to sundown.

They're dealing with everybody's stuff. So just be kind. And I think getting back to what you were just saying, a lot of performers are also just so focused on getting that room to themselves. They are principals, so they want that principal dressing room, and they want that. But you don't even know how to deal with a chorus dressing room. You need to be able to respect people in the chorus dressing room. Yes, yes. You know what I mean? Absolutely. Yeah, it's really crazy. And it does start early with the theater programs and the high school programs. That kind of stuff needs to be implemented there.

[17:59] Kevin Ferguson: Do you ever get a chance to go and talk to the children, the college kids, and do any workshops or anything?

[18:08] Brenda Braxton: Not really. I think maybe I've done four of them. I hate planning that far in advance.

[18:20] Brenda Braxton: I can't do it. Sometimes they're like, okay, Lady Braxton, we want you to come next May to I'm like, well, wait a minute, hold up. It's not even Christmas yet. Okay. Can't do it. Truly. Yeah. No. Yeah.

[18:36] Kevin Ferguson: So I have not done it. Maybe I'll do like a masterclass in New York this summer or something.

[18:43] Kevin Ferguson: Okay. But what would uh Lady Braxton masterclass be?

[18:47] Brenda Braxton: Good question. Okay, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. Right. Just a whole two hours of me being me. Are they ready for that? I don't think so.

[19:01] Kevin Ferguson: Listen, I would definitely buy a ticket just to sit and be a fly on the wall at whatever workshop you give. I asked that because I just feel like you have so much insight in how to jump into these roles. I mean, you played Velma Kelly multiple times. So you must have like a routine on how you prepare for these roles and these tasks. Or no, do you not have a routine to deal?

[19:24] Brenda Braxton: What's interesting is that I don't necessarily have a routine other than trying to keep my voice healthy, things like that, trying to keep my weight down. But I think one thing that is good and bad about my career is that I tend to accept roles and things that I'm comfortable with. And that's good in a sense, but it's also bad in a sense because I don't feel like I stretched as much as I could have as a performer or as an actress. A couple of years ago, someone asked me to do this reading of a show about this African American nun. And she was a Catholic nun, and she was one of the very few African American nuns. And I was like, You want me to be a nun? Oh, that's gonna be a stretch. If it ain't Sister Act, I don't know.

If it ain't Sister Act with hair and all that, but I said yes, and the amount of stretching I had to do for that, it was uncomfortable, yet it was exciting, yet it was like, why did I say yes? Yet it was, I'm so glad I said yes. So that's why I say it's good and bad how I've accepted certain roles, most of them kept me very comfortable, like Velma Kelly or Smokey Joe's Cafe or stuff like that. But I wish I had stretched a little more.

[20:55] Brenda Braxton: Yeah, and you never say never because you never know. Right. And down the line, when I decide to start maybe getting a couple of wrinkles. Decide. I love that. When I decide, then I can still delve into those meaty roles, yeah. Because you're old longer than you're young. So by that time, maybe I will accept more roles to be the mother.

[21:22] Kevin Ferguson: Okay. Okay.

[21:24] Brenda Braxton: Call the grandmother.

[21:25] Kevin Ferguson: Oh, the grandmother, Jesus.

[21:27] Brenda Braxton: The glam mother.

[21:29] Kevin Ferguson: I think I think it'd be a glam mother.

[21:32] Brenda Braxton: Yes, I like it. Listen, you gotta flip the narrative to fit yourself. But going back to Velma Kelly, I just love Chicago so much, and I know how intricate that choreography is. To prep for that role, do you remember the first time you were prepping for that? Or any fun story or how that even came to be?

[21:52] Brenda Braxton: Oh my goodness. Okay, so the first time I auditioned for Chicago, I was still doing Smokey Joe's Cafe. And I was so bad in that audition. I was like, where's my purse? Where's my bag? I got to go. Excusing yourself. I was like, I'm going, I'm leaving. And I am telling I got to go. I got to go. So that was back in like when it had first opened. And then I was doing the show called Little Ham. And a friend of mine, Richard Vita and his husband, Bob Billick, who was one of the conductors on Chicago. His husband was still doing Chicago. And I had gone to, okay, this is a story all around Joe's Barn, but I had gone to like a little Thanksgiving dinner. Roz Ryan was there, and my friend who I said before, Julia Lima and everybody.

And Roz said, they're looking for another Velma. You should think about that. And I was like, hmm, Richard Vita's husband is a conductor. Oh Chicago. They can probably help me with some of that, right? So I mentioned it to him, and he was like, Yes, definitely. So then I called a friend of mine, Robert Tatad, who knew Fosse, because I had never done Fosse before, but who knew Fosse and who kind of knew Hot Honey Rag, the last number. And he came over to Smokey Joe's Cafe. I think I was still doing Smokey Joe's Cafe when I decided to audition again. I was someplace. And he taught me Hot Honey Rag, like in this little room, and he taught me all the moves and everything. And sure enough, I auditioned again, and they were like, okay, yeah, come on and join us.

Wow. I know. See, that's about having friends too. Because if I was a hateful person, people could have been like, Oh, you go and talk to the show? That's mine. Good luck. Good luck with that girl. But that's what I'm talking about too. It goes back to the little black book of backstage etiquette. Yes. Keeping your spirit pure and have a spirit that people will go, oh, you're gonna do that? Okay, let me help you with that. I know how to do it.

[24:03] Kevin Ferguson: I just love it. I think you come with so much insight, and it's crazy because some people are just a dancer or an actor, but you are so much more. You're an author and a philanthropist, an entrepreneur. Like, how do you have time? What inspires you? How do you keep going?

[24:20] Brenda Braxton: That's a good question. I think what I've told people before is the fact that most of the time I'm just looking to do the work. People ask, especially now with all of this uh awakening, all of a sudden awakening and what's proper and what's not proper, and you can't say that anymore, and you can't do that anymore. No, I'm not taking that job. And when I was coming up, it wasn't about that, it was about can I have this job? Can I have a chance to audition for this? Can I get it? And it was more about me doing the work, getting the work, trying to work, fitting in. That kind of mind frame has always stayed with me. Even today, I'm like, okay, what's next? Oh, they want me to do 54 Below. Oh, Charlie don't mean people have done 54 Below.

I got to come with a this, a da-da-da-da-da. Oh my goodness, they want me to audition. No, I'm not auditioning for that. But I will go in for this because I need the job, and it, you know, so it's just that. It just keeps going. It and I've never stopped to really think, ooh, no, that's what I'm gonna do. It was never that. Wow. It was I gotta work, I could okay. What's the next thing? Oh, I'm a nervous about doing that, but okay, who can I call to help me with this? And you know, totally that makes sense. Definitely, you're inspired by the people around you, and just oh, absolutely. And just the ideas that come to you because you're an artist, and it just naturally comes to you. It's harder to explain sometimes, but I totally and the thing is you also have to make sure that you keep the people around you, like you're in a circle, keep them at the same vibration that you are, or higher.

Yeah, you know what I mean? If I find that someone is making me feel not Brenda Braxton, not happy, or not at least in a good mood or on a nice level, y'all got to go. Okay, you're messing up my energy. You're messing up my energy, you're messing up my spirit, you're messing up all that. And I can say I have got the most amazing friends. I really do. I have got the best best friends. I've got friends still from high school. Yeah. That we still hang out and talk. But that is so, so important. That's important with your love life too. But that's a different thing. That's a whole nother podcast.

[26:44] Kevin Ferguson: That's all another podcast.

[26:47] Brenda Braxton: Yes. But that is so so important. Because if you start letting people into your spirit and into your world and into your circle who are those people who are, oh no, you ain't got to do that. Oh no. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Can't have that. No. I can be unhappy by myself at home in my bed with my kitty cat. Period. Period. By myself. I don't need that energy. And that helps you. My friends, and I'm babbling now, but my friends are the types of friends that I come up with crazy ideas. Okay. And I go to them and I go, ooh, I got this idea. And they're like, okay. All right. Well, what do you need me to do? Right. Where do you need me to stand? Where you need me to stay. And that's definitely the friends you want to keep around.

[27:37] Kevin Ferguson: Absolutely. This is podcasts about you. But I recently did a little show as well. And I was so scared to ask certain people for help. And I ended up waiting until the last minute to ask people for help. And those people definitely said yes. They were like, Ken, if you would have asked me earlier, we could have been had some amazing stuff happening.

[27:54] Brenda Braxton: Exactly. Yeah. Exactly. And I think that's kind of a human thing, too. I don't want to bother anyone. I don't want to seem like I'm weak, like I need anything. No, we gotta get rid of that. Yeah. You have to get rid of that. People need help. And especially if you have the right people in your circle. Yeah, yeah, for sure. You know.

[28:12] Brenda Braxton: I'm so inspired by you. And I just think it's crazy. You even started your own organization, not for profit called Leading Ladies Just for Teens.

[28:21] Brenda Braxton: Yes. That was back when I was doing Smokey Joe's. I had organizations who were working with at-risk teenagers and especially girls. I would have them come in on Sunday mornings before our matinee, and we would sit in the lobby and we would talk about dreams and what would you be doing in a perfect world. And I would talk to them while I put my show makeup on, and then they would get to see the show, and then they would get to meet the cast. And we had a lot of women working backstage in supposedly non-traditional, which have become more traditional roles, like the electrician and the prop person and stuff like that. So they would get to meet those women for them to see that there's a whole nother world out here.

If you just again ask for help, open your eyes, be with people who are about something. So yeah, so I had that, but then I had to stop it once we closed because it was really hard finding places to do it, and there was a lot of paperwork that went into getting them into the theater.

[29:23] Brenda Braxton: So you ended up shutting it down. I mean, but the fact that you were able to do that for even the time you did it, it was so impactful, I'm sure, to the careers and the dreams of those young people. It's just so awesome. And I think there's a lot of actors who have time in their day to do stuff like that and choose not to. So the fact that you even did it for the short stint you did, it's still a very amazing, even in 2021. You should be very proud about that kind of stuff.

[29:50] Kevin Ferguson: I am, and I'm actually still in touch with one of the young ladies.

[29:54] Brenda Braxton: Uh huh. She was in, yeah. She started doing really well to the point where I asked her to be in my second wedding. Again, that's that other podcast. But I cannot wait till that podcast, y'all. There's obviously a part two that needs to happen.

[30:10] Kevin Ferguson: Oh yeah.

[30:14] Brenda Braxton: So and she's still doing really well. And so I always say, if that's the only one that I touched, my life is good.

[30:16] Kevin Ferguson: Absolutely.

[30:16] Brenda Braxton: My life is good.

[30:25] Kevin Ferguson: Absolutely. Wow. I mean, because you've done 10 Broadway shows.

[30:29] Brenda Braxton: Yeah, about 10.

[30:31] Kevin Ferguson: From that first show to now. Do you feel there's a culture shift in Broadway at all? Do you feel like it's different, the industry in any kind of way?

[30:41] Brenda Braxton: It's becoming different now. But again, like I said, my mind was so fixated on just doing good work. I look back on stuff now and go, wow, that was a bit racist. Wow. That was a bit. Wow. Isn't that what they really meant when they said that to me? Because my mind was, oh, I'm doing good work. And most of the time I was the only black girl in the show or whatever. We used to do what do they call them? Industrials. I was the only black girl in the industrial. But at that time, it was about me working. Okay, is that going to get me to my next job? Is that gonna who am I meeting here? How am I gonna, you know what I mean? So now I'm seeing a big shift, but I'm also seeing, and this might get me in a little trouble. I'm seeing a lot of stuff that I'm going, oh, Miss Thing, that really bothers you. Uh that's gonna bother you.

[31:39] Kevin Ferguson: Yes. I know exactly what you mean.

[31:44] Brenda Braxton: So there are situations like that as well. And there are situations that it's like, yes, okay, yes. Because they said that to me back in 1900, and they need to know that that's a good idea. We can't be saying that, you're right. So we gotta find a happy medium because we also can't just walk around mad all the time.

[32:01] Kevin Ferguson: Yeah.

[32:02] Brenda Braxton: We can't do that. Even as black performances, African American performers, weigh out what you need to be mad at and what you don't.

[32:12] Kevin Ferguson: Yes, right.

[32:13] Brenda Braxton: Save that energy. Save that energy. Put that energy into doing your eight shows a week and not calling out because you broke a nail. Okay.

[32:21] Kevin Ferguson: Oh, all right. I don't know, Brenda. Let her know.

[32:24] Brenda Braxton: Let's get this together. You would so we want longevity. Yeah, you would say that it was just a little bit more tough love back in the day. And the tough love is still being given these days, but people are spending more time getting rid of that tough love and procrastinating and mad at that love.

[32:43] Kevin Ferguson: Yeah.

[32:45] Brenda Braxton: Yeah, I would hope so.

[32:45] Kevin Ferguson: Yeah.

[32:45] Brenda Braxton: I would hope that when someone gives you a note, like back in the day, when you got a note from your director, choreographer, you took the note and you looked at it, and you went, okay, well, let me see what they're talking about. Nowadays, nobody wants to get notes.

[33:02] Kevin Ferguson: I see what you're saying.

[33:03] Brenda Braxton: They think they have arrived. You have not arrived, you ain't even got a ticket yet. So how you gonna arrive? You ain't got no tickets, you ain't got your luggage, you ain't packed nothing. You ain't packed nothing. Nothing. You don't have anything in here. Just a little thing like that. Take the note. If you are truly about your art, then you're gonna want to know what am I doing wrong? What am I doing right? Oh yeah, let me do more of that. Let me do less of this. Come on, children. Come on, children. Come on, children. Come on.

[33:35] Kevin Ferguson: Listen, I totally get that. Though you're saying it's just a little bit much these days. Are there any shows? New shows that you are very excited for or had a chance to see because they're new or anything?

[33:51] Brenda Braxton: Yes, I've seen a couple of shows. For one, Lacawana Blues. I saw that. Oh my god. Yeah. And I had done Jelly Slash Jam with that crazy man, Ruben Santiago. He is out of his mind. We had so much fun. Him and Keith David and Savion and Gregory. And to see him in that, I saw it three times. Wow. But to see him in that, I cried every time I saw him in that. Then to see Trouble in Mind with LaShant.

[34:23] Kevin Ferguson: Oh, I still haven't seen it.

[34:24] Brenda Braxton: Yes. I gotta go. Because LaShanton and I did Dream Girls together. And I tease her now. I was like, LaShant, let me find out. Your name is above the tatter. Okay. I we laugh about that all the time. And of course, she's brilliant. We go way back and good good girlfriends, cocktails, and all that. Ooh, did I say cocktails? Anyway, so good, good Judy's good friends. Good good adult beverages. Thoughts of a colored man. Oh my gosh. Powerful. Powerful, powerful, powerful. So yeah, so I'm getting to see some good theater coming out of this whole pandemic thing. Because I think that people are accepting the fact that we have good shows too.

[35:11] Kevin Ferguson: Okay.

[35:12] Brenda Braxton: Oh, I'm very excited about it, but I'm a little biased and obvious reasons. But aren't we all at this point? But some good stuff came out of that. Yeah, those are the main ones that I've seen. Oh, but I saw a little show called Dana, I think it's called.

[35:28] Kevin Ferguson: Okay.

[35:28] Brenda Braxton: Have you heard of it?

[35:29] Kevin Ferguson: I don't think I know.

[35:30] Brenda Braxton: Dana. It's literally a transcript of this woman who had been taken hostage by this mentally ill guy, and she ended up spending like years with him. But the actress, and I'm so sorry, I can't remember the actress's name, who they're interviewing the actress as this woman, but the transcript, she's lip-syncing the actual transcript.

[35:51] Kevin Ferguson: Yes.

[35:51] Brenda Braxton: Yes. I've heard of this show.

[35:52] Kevin Ferguson: Oh this this oh I've heard of this. I haven't seen it yet.

[35:56] Brenda Braxton: Yes. If you get to see it, it's everything. Please do. It's everything. Wow. It's everything. What that actress is doing is phenomenal. Yeah. It really, really, really is. Uh I'm so yeah. I'm just so happy the world is back open. Even though the world has opened a little weird, it's still open enough for us to at least see the shows.

[36:16] Kevin Ferguson: Absolutely.

[36:16] Brenda Braxton: That's that's very helpful. That's why I also I love my Broadway because they are not playing at these Broadway shows.

[36:22] Kevin Ferguson: Oh no.

[36:23] Brenda Braxton: They're like, they got their signs, put your damn mask on. But well, not damn, but you know, that's what they say. And they're not they're not playing.

[36:36] Kevin Ferguson: No.

[36:37] Brenda Braxton: You show your cards, you show your ID. And I like that because I do miss going to the theater. I do miss the camaraderie of theater hood or whatever. So the fact that Broadway's not playing. No. They're like, yeah, no. Mm-mm. No. Because Broadway's was impacted so hard last year to Absolutely. Be irresponsible moving forward opening theaters in Broadway would be just irresponsible.

[37:04] Kevin Ferguson: Exactly.

[37:05] Brenda Braxton: Exactly. Exactly. Because we want the longevity of it. You know, we wanted to really, really morph back into really feeling comfortable going back to theater. So I'm excited. I'm more excited to go back to the cabaret and see you at 54 below. I mean, the show description for your show says a funny twist to an evening that weaves the story of your many years on Broadway.

[37:31] Kevin Ferguson: Yes. I can't wait. What is it? I like that. I like that thing. And what does that even mean? Are there are there surprise guest appearances or are there surprise songs?

[37:39] Brenda Braxton: I'm working on my surprise guests because again, I wanted them to be there physically with me, but now um working on maybe a virtual kind of situation. And right before I got on here with you, I had a meltdown because yeah. No, I realized that a lot has been going on, of course, for everybody this last year. And I've been dealing with my mom. You get to a certain age, and then you've got to help your parents. So I've been trying to get her situated. And in doing all of that, I forgot to sign my streaming contract for the show. Yeah. And I just found that out like right before I came on with you.

[38:17] Kevin Ferguson: Uh huh.

[38:18] Brenda Braxton: So I was like, oh my God. What am I gonna do? I know. So we're gonna work that out. We're gonna work that out. But it's basically stories. Yeah. I tell stories of my time on Broadway, off Broadway, between Broadway, above Broadway. What life was about love wise during this pandemic. Because if you didn't have a boo before this pandemic, you in trouble. Yeah. You were in some trouble. We maneuvered our way through that. So it's a story of that with songs in between. And I think it's gonna be fun. It might not be my original concept, but I think it's gonna be a lot of fun. And it's songs that I love. Yeah. It's really songs that I love. Listen, I already, after this conversation, I know you know how to keep an audience entertained with some banter.

[39:10] Brenda Braxton: Oh, yeah. So I don't mind acting the fool. Yeah. So I'm so excited for the stories. I know the numbers and the songs are gonna be everything, but it does add an extra layer when the performer just is comfortable talking to an audience and just being silly and being themselves.

[39:27] Kevin Ferguson: Absolutely.

[39:27] Brenda Braxton: And we need that right now, too. Because we're not out of the woods with this whole thing. We really aren't. And I've made a conscious decision. We all get on Facebook and Instagram, and we go down that rabbit hole of all the negative stuff that's going on. But I try to make a conscious effort in posting positive stuff and funny stuff and things that just kept your heart just lifted a bit.

[39:52] Kevin Ferguson: Yeah, yeah, for sure.

[39:53] Brenda Braxton: You know, so that's what this evening is gonna be about as well. And I'm hoping that we can do some kind of streaming. Yeah, even if it's we gotta figure something out. We'll figure it out. It's a virtual world, we'll figure something out.

[40:01] Kevin Ferguson: We'll figure it out.

[40:05] Brenda Braxton: Yeah, and everything happens for a reason. I mean, I had a little meltdown. No. I must admit. It makes me sad to hear, but you know what? It's all we're gonna make sure that show is everything you need, okay? And there will be no other meltdowns.

[40:16] Kevin Ferguson: No, okay.

[40:19] Brenda Braxton: This show is gonna be stuck. Because it caused wrinkles. And because they cause wrinkles. They cause wrinkles. We can't no, no, no, no, no, no. Not until you want to have wrinkles.

[40:30] Kevin Ferguson: Exactly.

[40:31] Brenda Braxton: You are precious, Kevin. You can talk about everything. Listen. Call me anytime. Call me anytime. We are besties now. But everybody else listening to the podcast, I just want to remind y'all again. Y'all have to get tickets to see Brenda. She's gonna be at Fine Science 54 Below on Monday, December 13th at 9:45. Get your tickets. They're on sale right now. You're not gonna want to miss this moment. I know you were listening to this podcast getting your whole life. So come on down and see her live and live in color. Brenda, do you have anything you want to say to the people? Any mantras you live by or anything?

[41:07] Brenda Braxton: Oh, what do I? I have something on my, I'm in my bedroom and on my dresser. Every morning I wake up, and this is for everyone. This is for theater, for life, or whatever. What's for you will never pass you by. So just remember that when you're out there auditioning and this and that and going through all of these changes. If it's yours, it's yours. Yes. If nobody else's, it's yours. And if you didn't get it, it wasn't yours at that time. Something else better is for you. And that goes in everything. Yes. Life. Right?

[41:45] Kevin Ferguson: Yes.

[41:46] Brenda Braxton: Y'all, Brenda Braxton, everybody, please make sure you catch her show or support her on social media or just support her in any way. Go buy her book. The etiquette book. Yes. And go to Paramount Plus, the good fight.

[42:02] Kevin Ferguson: Oh, yes.

[42:03] Brenda Braxton: Oh my god, my boyfriend said that. My boyfriend was like, oh my gosh, she's on the good fight. I love her on that. Yes. Yes, yes, yes. Yes. It's fun. That's fun. I can't even believe we didn't even talk about that. But yes, you've been on screen and everything. Our next season. Yes, our next season is going to be coming up. We're going to go into taping in March. So I can't wait to see where they're going with this. And Christine Baranski, Audra, all those folks are just wonderful.

[42:29] Kevin Ferguson: Isn't that fun that that cast is also so musical theater heavy as well?

[42:33] Brenda Braxton: Yes. I love that. I think it's so yes, yes, yes. It is great. Great acting. It's a lot of fun. It's everything. Please check out Brenda anywhere you can, y'all. She is amazing. I'm so happy. I got to talk to you and meet you today. And Christmas is coming up, so the little black book of backstage etiquette is a wonderful stocking stuff if people still do that.

[42:57] Brenda Braxton: Okay.

[42:57] Kevin Ferguson: Okay. If you're still into those kind of things, she has given you a great gift idea.

[43:03] Brenda Braxton: Yes, yes.

[43:04] Kevin Ferguson: On Amazon.

[43:05] Brenda Braxton: On Amazon. Thank you. Yes, Brenda. Anything else? Anything else for the people?

[43:09] Brenda Braxton: You mean you're literally multifaceted, so we have to talk about all of it. I just want us to get back to or get to kindness, compassion, fun, love, happiness, joy. That's all.

[43:23] Kevin Ferguson: Is that asking too much?

[43:25] Brenda Braxton: I don't think so.

[43:26] Kevin Ferguson: I think not.

[43:28] Brenda Braxton: All right. Well, Brenda, it's been great. Thank you so much again. Everyone, thank you for listening. You've been listening to the Queen Science 54 Below podcast, part of the Broadway Podcast Network. Subscribe and rate us on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast album.