THEIR FAVORITE THINGS: Scottsboro Boys Tony Nominee Colman Domingo Shares His Theatregoing Experiences
By Andrew Gans
September 12, 2012
Playbill.com's new feature series, Their Favorite Things, asks members of the theatre community to share the Broadway performances that most affected them as part of the audience.
This week we spotlight the choices of Scottsboro Boys Tony nominee Colman Domingo, the actor-playwright-director who is currently directing Carlo D'Amore's No Parole, which is part of the 2012 All for One Theater Festival and will be seen Sept. 16 and 29 at the Cherry Lane Theatre; visit www.afofest.org. Domingo is also the playwright and star of the upcoming Public Theater production of Wild with Happy, and he can currently be seen in Spike Lee's "Red Hook Summer."
(Clicking on a name bolded in blue will take readers to that actor or show's entry in the Playbill Vault.)
Janet McTeer in A Doll's House.
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"In July of 2000 I sat outside of the Belasco Theater with my eyes welled up with tears. My friend Da'Mon Vann met me and asked what was wrong. I said, 'That everything was more than all right.' I was so moved by Janet McTeer's delicate and brave performance. I said in that moment that I wanted to move to New York and I want to do work on that blessed stage. My Broadway debut was in Passing Strange on that very same stage eight years later." |
Anika Noni Rose in Caroline, or Change.
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"Not only is she my best friend but such a gifted spirit. That rich voice coming out of young, spirited Emmie Thibodeoux raptured everyone who witnessed." |
Tonya Pinkins in Caroline, or Change.
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"Never has my body trembled as it had when Tonya stood at the foot of the stage and ripped a hole in the heart of 'Lot's Wife.' The combination of Tony Kushner, Jeanine Tesori, George C. Wolfe and Tonya's sheer raw vitality let those words...'scour my skin til I stop feeling' shatter the hearts of Broadway." |
Nicole Ari Parker in A Streetcar Named Desire.
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"From her first entrance, I knew her story. Her past and her present. Exquisite performance. In my mind, a legendary performance. She is cut from the cloth of Uta Hagen, Helen Hayes, Lynne Fontanne and Maggie Smith." |
Linda Lavin in The Lyons.
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"How can a mother with such an ascerbic tongue and nasty wit enthrall me more? She is truly a master of language and ferocity while always allowing the characters' vulnerability to shine through." |
The original cast of Chicago.
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"Now, I was too young to have actually have seen this, but I have YouTubed every scene I could of the original production with Gwen Verdon, my friend Chita Rivera, Jerry, under Bob Fosse's direction. I love how raw and gritty it all is. It is the underbelly of society, and they all looked like they were having a deliciously raucous time." |
Sutton Foster in The Drowsy Chaperone.
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"I'm a sucker for Sutton. She really is the consummate Broadway Musical Theatre Queen. 'Nuff said." |
Phylicia Rashad in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.
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"Pretty much anything that Ms. Rashad does is with so much grace and detail. Her Big Mama was an inspiration." |
Al Pacino in The Merchant of Venice.
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"I wanted him to get his 'pound of flesh.' He truly made Shylock seem beyond reasonable and justified to me. Brilliant." |
Daniel Breaker in Passing Strange.
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"Not only did I share the stage with this man, but I got to watch his skill every night from offstage. Daniel has so much heart and passion, not to mention he makes a mean meal. His electrifying performance dazzled me." |