These roles are personal for actors of color
Any actor will tell you that sometimes a role is just a role — but sometimes it’s personal.
For actors of color, who traditionally have had limited opportunities on stage, that’s especially true when they tell stories that reflect their culture.
Alina Alcántara, of Dominican heritage, remembers seeing “In the Heights” on Broadway: “I think it was the first show that had come along that was authentically our story.”
A 1999 musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda of “Hamilton” fame, “In the Heights” is set in a New York neighborhood of Spanish-speaking immigrants. Orlando Shakes will open its production of the Tony-winning show on Sept. 7.
Likewise, Felichia Chivaughn had an emotional experience watching “The Color of Purple,” a story about an African-American woman’s perseverance and inner strength. “It was heartbreaking but empowering to know that there was space for me, that my story was valid,” she says.
Now Chivaughn is co-directing and acting in a production of the Tony-winning “The Color Purple” at Sanford’s Theater West End. It also opens Sept. 7.
For some actors, aspects of the storylines literally match aspects of their lives. The parents of “In the Heights” protagonist Usnavi came to the U.S. from the Dominican Republic; he dreams of going back there. For several years, Alcántara lived in that Caribbean nation, her parents’ homeland.
One character in “In the Heights” disappoints her parents when she struggles with college. Actor Bert Rodriguez could relate. His Mexican father started as a migrant worker before earning a civil-engineering degree from Texas A&M; Rodriguez didn’t take to higher education as readily.
“It was devastating and cathartic at the same time,” to watch “In the Heights,” Rodriguez says. “It really feels like my life.”
As a young adult, Rodriguez had to tell his parents that he lost a scholarship.
“It was awful, I was crushed,” he says. “They made sacrifices so I could stay in school.” He eventually graduated from University of Oklahoma with a degree in musical-theater performance.
Rodriguez had been waiting
years to play a role in “In the Heights.” At Theater West End, about 60 African-American actors auditioned for “The Color Purple” — some driving all the way from Miami.
“I’m definitely thankful to be doing it,” says Amitria Fanae, who stars as Celie, a poor woman handed terrible blows by life. “The shows for minority casts are few and far between … this is a dream show.”
A lack of representation can make young people of color turn away from the arts, says Fanae: “When you only see people who don’t look like you, you think it’s not a place for you.”
Yet, Fanae stresses that “The Color Purple” has a message for everyone.
“Celie’s journey to discover ‘I’m beautiful and I deserve my place in this world’ is so pertinent to our times,” she says.
The “In the Heights” actors agree that their show is universal, as well.
“There are characters and situations that all of us can relate to,” Rodriguez says.
Because of its minority representation, Chivaughn thinks “The Color Purple” runs deeper than mere entertainment.
“To me, it’s more than just a good story — it’s a show that comes along and changes things,” she says. “I think we need more of that.”