From growing up gospel in New Haven, CT to lighting up Broadway in New York City, Douglas Lyons is a multifaceted talent whose theater resume boasts roles in Book of Mormon, Rent and Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. Erica Renee Davis chatted with him about Broadway success, backup plans and diversity.
Your website bio describes you as a composer, lyricist and actor. What should we deduce by how you’ve ordered your talents?
There’s been a rearrangement of my priorities. I’ve been blessed to have been an actor for over a decade now, but I’ve realized the power of a composer of color in the Broadway community. There’s a void. As a composer, I really fell in love with how I was able to tell stories in a small amount of time with music. Also as a composer, you have the ability to create and not have to sing it.
Do you find you have an advantage in auditioning for and in booking roles over Broadway hopefuls who didn’t major in theater?
No. I think in 2017 times have changed. I actually think people who really have the advantage over Broadway actors are TV stars and people who have huge social media followings. Unfortunately, I find theater to be less about the work and the talent; it’s definitely a commercial environment. And I really don’t have a leg up over anybody who walks in the room because I’m trying to get a gig, too. As a final callback for the The Book of Mormon, I was competing against 2 other gentlemen who had a combined 7 Broadway shows, and I had zero. I got the job. It’s not always about resume.
Does it bother you when people with huge social media followings get more consideration than the theatrically trained actor?
I respect the hustle. If the person has the talent to back it up, then they deserve the job. Now, if they get the job, and they can’t deliver the performance that the material requires … that’s just rude!
Most challenging on-stage role so far?
I would say Tom Robinson in To Kill a Mockingbird. I was still in college, but it was the first role in a long time I had to do without singing. I had to trust my acting alone. I learned a lot on that project. I learned to listen to the greats that were around me, and I grew because of it.
What’s been your most enjoyable role?
When I did Rent because that show was so iconic and because it came at a time in my life when I was really figuring out who I was. To perform a show about love was powerful. I’ll never forget that feeling. Some shows breed a love of their own, and only the artist can feel it. That was Rent was that for me.
You spend a lot of time traveling. How do you balance regular life with travel life, and ultimately, would you even characterize any part of your life as regular?
Everybody’s regular looks different. For me, I’ve learned to take time to differentiate work and “me” time. I am busier than I’ve ever been because I’ve been digging more into the writing, but there’s priority: family, friendship and love. I try to send voicemails for no reason to friends to say, “hey, I love you.” I organize an effort to stay human.
By most standards, you’re having a successful career and are on track to become an even more well-known talent. Would you still be acting if you hadn’t had the success you’ve had so far?
I know the type of person I am, and I will give it my best, but I’m also not delusional. I think I would’ve found another route because I want a balanced life. I want to be on all sides of the scope and not have a singular career.
So you believe that artists need a Plan B?
Yes! Have it. Write it down. Memorize it. Hold on to it. And don’t put your ego above it. Definitely have a backup plan because being an artist is such a fickle life, and the success rate is not promised.
In an InstaStory, you said Natalie Weiss sang a song that you wrote in your parents’ house, and you almost died. Who is Natalie Weiss, and why did her singing your song almost kill you?
Natalie is a Broadway performer, pop singer and teacher. I would call her a white Whitney Houston, and that is not an exaggeration. And to hear her sing my song in the rehearsal room and having the beauty that is produced because of a collaboration … that’s rewarding.
Every facet of the arts has its own nuances. What are you learning about writing that’s much different than, let’s say, singing and/or acting?
Writing is very much a collaborative art form. When you’re creating shows in musical theater, everyone’s ideas have to coincide, and the best idea in the room wins. It’s not just you. When you’re the actor, it’s sort of your choices and your decisions. When you’re writing, you have to compromise. I would say compromise is one of the biggest things that I’ve learned as a writer.
You’ve expressed how important diversity is to you. How do you tell diverse stories but without playing too heavily into stereotypes?
You must always deepen and anchor every character that you create in a truth and in a need. And the humanity that we all share is a need. A lot of us black writers end up creating black narratives because we feel we have to correct the insane stereotypes around our culture, so we end up writing something specifically black. I’m a black writer, but I can write whatever I want! I will create stories that are universal.
Final thoughts for our audience and your fans?
We’re so saturated in the product and not the process, so artists feel like they don’t have the right to share their work until it becomes successful, and that’s a load of crap. I’ll never forget when I came home one Sunday and my pastor made the entire congregation stand and applaud me. He said, “if this was Kanye West or Beyonce, y’all would be asking for autographs.” Celebrate one of your own even before anything big happens for them.
Douglas’s recent original works include:
Polkadots: The Cool Kids Musical which was inspired by Arkansas’s Little Rock Nine; #Love(Live), a Lyons & Pakchar collaboration; and Five Points, an American musical that tells the story of tensions between Irish and African-Americans in the1860s in Lower Manhattan.
Douglas is also playing the role of Coalhouse Walker, Jr. in the 5th Avenue production of Ragtime.
Follow Douglas on Instagram @ChocolateHipster, on Twitter @DouglasSings and on his website douglaslyons.net.
Interview Photographer Credit: Main Image- Matt Schmidt
Article by Erica Davis
Erica Davis is a former Nfl cheerleader, writer and actress. Davis is also a Sports & Entertainment host for After Buzz TV, Black Hollywood Live and Dr. Drew. Erica is a fun, fabulous and fearless addition to the Cachet Digital team. Instagram: @EricaRenneeD Twitter: @EricaReneeD
