Blind Plea - Introducing: Legacy Talk with Lena Waithe

Episode Date: November 12, 2024

We’re thrilled to introduce you to Legacy Talk with Lena Waithe. Hosted by Emmy-winning writer, actor and producer, Lena Waithe, Legacy Talk is a series of conversations celebrating the brilliance and artistry of some of the most iconic Black women in entertainment. Join Lena as she sits down with powerhouses like Jada Pinkett Smith, Debbie Allen, and more, as they explore how these legends shaped the industry and inspired a generation. They’ll dive into their creative process, how they prepared for their roles, and the legacy they continue to build.  Here’s a sneak peek into the first episode, where Lena chats with acclaimed actress and singer Sheryl Lee Ralph about her groundbreaking role on Dreamgirls and the journey that led her to Broadway. Informative, inspiring and unforgettable– lock into your legacy with Legacy Talk. Listen to the full episode wherever you get your podcasts or head to https://lemonada.lnk.to/LegacyTalkWithLenaWaithefdSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

LEMONADA Hey everybody, it's Lena Waithe, and you're about to hear an exclusive clip from the first episode of Legacy Talk with Lena Waithe from Hillman Grad and LEMONADA Media. This is all about celebrating the brilliance and artistry of some of the most iconic Black women in Hollywood. I'm talking about powerhouses like Shirley Ralph, Jennifer Lewis, Debbie Allen, and more. We'll dive deep into how they shifted narratives, changed their own lives, and inspired a generation of women like myself. After you hear this clip, just search for Legacy Talk with Lena Waithe to hear the rest of the episode.

So happy to have you. Thank you. Good to be here with you. Thank you for joining me. I think what I try to do in preparing, it's about wanting to start at the beginning, truly. The beginning. I know, right. I think about the beginning as flagship beginnings.

As I was looking at your work, I was like, I think that for you, in a way, is Dreamgirls. Oh, absolutely. And what's interesting about it is I did not have the blessing of being born at the time where I could go see it in person. I think of that show as a miracle because there's so much joy in it. It's the beginning of something. There's a shift in culture, but it also represents a sadness and a grief as well in terms of who helped to bring it to life, sort of lost their lives in a way that-

Which was very difficult for me. Of course, of course. I can't imagine. To be a young person, first of all, I'm a child of the 60s, so you face things like racism head on, where people want you to know how different you are, how people want to tell you what you can and cannot do, who want to provide limits for you when, of course, you have great ability to go far beyond those limits, but they want to tell you, no, no, no, you stop here just because of the color of your skin. So I know what it is like to be othered. So here I am now, living my life's dream on Broadway.

And my friends start dropping dead. They start dropping dead of this disease that has no name. I was like, wait a minute, is nobody gonna say anything about what's going on and have people look at me and tell me, shut up. Nobody's gonna like you talking about this, talking about AIDS. But of course it didn't have a name then, it was just called GRID,

Gay-related Immune Deficiency Disease, right? And nobody wanted to talk about it, and it was just like such a horrible silence that just fell over Broadway. In the midst of that, you are still having to be an artist. You know, you have to go on stage and you are originating a role. I'm curious about what is your process to bring Dina to life every night on stage, even in the midst of the devastation that you just spoke about.

I know Dina. I am Dina. And Dina would fight too, because Dina became strong enough to fight for herself. Cheryl became strong enough to know that her voice should be heard. What was the audition process like for Dreamgirls? It was great. It was traumatizing.

I'm sure. It was great. I had done a musical called Reggae, which was an absolute flop. Yeah, I think we might have opened when the newspaper strike happened and closed when the garbage strike happened or something beyond. It was something horrible, right? And how I got that role was I had been fired from another musical. They left us on the road.

They literally left us on the road in Delaware at the DuPont Theater. They left us and they left the four black kids a note and said, stylistically, you no longer fit into the show. They left us and went to the Kennedy Center. They were a flop too, they closed. But I was so hurt. And I remember I was crying the ugly cry, you know, the one where your nose hurts, you can't even touch your nose, you've cried so hard. And my friend Jeffrey is on the phone saying, Sheryl, Lord God, I've been trying to reach you. Girl, get on the first thing, smoking out of Delaware.

They're firing the leading lady in this musical. She can't sing, she can't act. You can't sing, you can't act. Come on, girl, you have to be here tomorrow morning. Wow. Just like in a movie. Right. So I show up in the alley of the Biltmore Theater with my little suitcase, having taken

the bus from Delaware to Broadway. I get there and I remember, I think it was Kiki Shepard, I think Vanessa Belle Calloway. Kiki Shepard always reminds us to rub the truck, I'm lucky for luck. Exactly. So there they are hanging out outside and Michael Butler comes out. Michael Butler had a big hit called Hair. And he comes out and he hands me a script and he says, come in. And I go in and he says, okay. Wow. I don't even and he says, okay. Wow.

I don't even know who I read with. So I read. And then I meet Michael Kamen, who was the musical director, and they give me a song, everything that touches you. You say you're all alone with visions all your own, the things you feel, nobody feels the same. And I remember I sang it and Michael Butler looks at me and he says, great, you're hired. That's how I got to Broadway.