Chuck Cooper On AMAZING GRACE & Real-Life Slavery Story

One of the stars of AMAZING GRACE opens up!

Brand new biomusical AMAZING GRACE recently loaded in at the Nederlander Theatre and one of the show's stars, Tony Award winner Chuck Cooper, discusses the production as part of a new interview.

Cooper relates, "It's no accident that this story has so much zeitgeist around it... The legacy of slavery, its tendrils and roots and ramifications, is very much with us today. Much of John's song is about his journey from debauchery to redemption as it involves the slave trade. So the blood and souls of all those people he is responsible for killing, torturing, and casting into bondage are in each and every line. Their spirits are with us when we sing that song."

Furthermore, Cooper says of his own family's history of slavery and how it informs his performance, "My feelings about it are very complex... On one hand, my grief for what they went through is tremendous. And yet I realize that it was their journey and suffering that are the reasons why I am here today, an actor being paid to play 'Let's pretend.' It's a mix of gratitude, sorrow, and responsibility to be the best that I can be to make their sacrifice meaningful."

Additionally, Cooper shares, "I didn't want a caricature but someone who was complex and could function with some grace in a very graceless situation."

Check out the original article on the matter here.

The official description of AMAZING GRACE is as follows: "AMAZING GRACE is a world premiere musical based on the awe-inspiring true story behind the world's most beloved song. A captivating tale of romance, rebellion and redemption, this radiant production follows one man whose incredible journey ignited a historic wave of change. John Newton (Tony Award® nominee Josh Young), a willful and musically talented young Englishman, faces a future as uncertain as the turning tide. Coming of age as Britain sits atop an international empire of slavery, he finds himself torn between following in the footsteps of his father - a slave trader - and embracing the more compassionate views of his childhood sweetheart. But when a perilous voyage on the high seas finds John in his darkest hour, a transformative moment of self-reckoning inspires a blazing anthem of hope that will finally guide him home. Brimming with emotion and adventure, AMAZING GRACE is an unforgettable musical saga that captures the spirit of history's sweetest and most powerful sound: freedom."

More information on AMAZING GRACE is available at the official site here.

Chuck Cooper won a Tony Award for THE LIFE in addition to making appearances on Broadway in CHICAGO, CAROLINE, OR CHANGE, AMEN CORNER, PASSION, GETTING AWAY WITH MURDER and SOMEONE WHO'LL WATCH OVER ME.

View a new promo video for AMAZING GRACE below.

Photo Credit: Cara Joy David/Facebook