Interview: Ben Vereen of STEPPIN' OUT at The Grand 1894 Opera House

There's not much you can say when you look at the resume of Ben Vereen. He hit the scene in Martha Graham's PRODIGAL SON in 1965 and he's been working ever since. He starred in nine Broadway shows and 30 plus movies and television shows. He has a huge crossover career. He received the coveted Antoinette Perry Award (the Tony), a Drama Desk Award, a Prism Award and a nomination for the NAACP Image Award. He's one of my idols.

He's also one of the reasons I studied musical theatre in college and left my hometown to go to New York City and work professionally. So, I have to admit, when I received an email about interviewing him, I thought it was a hoax or a vile trick someone that was playing on me. Not so. I had the esteemed pleasure to sit and talk with Mr. Vereen about his illustrious career and the current projects he's working on.

We are familiar with his work with Bob Fosse as the Leading Player in PIPPIN and as Judas in JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR, but he still continues to give us the ol' razzle dazzle on the stage and on the screen. Today he's dazzling audiences with his one-man show STEPPIN' OUT.

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BWW: What sparked your interests to do theatre?

Ben Vereen: I didn't know about theatre. It sorta found me. When I was younger they had talent scouts. They would go out into the community looking for kids to go to performing arts schools. They needed African American kids in the program and I was one of the kids chosen. People such as Martha Graham, George Balanchine, and Jerome Robbins sat at the table adjudicating these auditions. The theatre was something that embraced me and I embraced it.

BWW: I grew up in a dance studio and pursued musical theatre in college, and it is artists such as you who fueled my fire to work professionally in the theatre.

Ben Vereen: You are the blessing! You are the blessing as to why we do it; to inspire, to encourage. Not everyone will go into the performing arts but we hope that we will touch their life and they will realize that life itself is an art form.

BWW: What was it like to work with Martha Graham, George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins?

Ben Vereen: The list goes on, Lester Wilson, Michael Peters, Bob Fosse Katherine Dunham, Bernice Johnson, the list goes on and on. To work with them was magical. When you get older you look back and you say "Wow, did I do that?" "I was in the room with who?" and they taught me something, they said something encouraging. It was wonderful!

BWW: Musical theatre began to shift during the time your career took off. What was the experience like to work on the first rock musical HAIR?

Ben Vereen: It was wild! When you're in the theater, you know there are still milestones to be done to change things. (And HAMILTON has done that.) We didn't think about it as making a statement, but we just had to say something about what was going on in the world.

There were people in the streets marching. The Black Panthers were on the scene as well as Martin Luther King and Malcolm X. HAIR gave a sense of breath to the movement. They were the ones who let the sun shine in. That was the whole idea.

HAIR is the perfect vehicle to express the sense of unrest in the society. What have you done? What are you going to do? Where do I go? HAMILTON has a wonderful line in it which says, "History has its eyes on you." What are we saying about the history for our children? Theatre gives you the opportunity to say that and make those statements. It's a great thing to get up on the stage and make it relevant for people, to watch, enjoy and think.

An artist must get involved with the community now and work with the schools. We cannot be separated anymore. It is time for unity on all fronts especially in supporting black theatre and making it inclusive in the whole, because if we are a part of the whole when the ship goes down, we all go down. We have a tendency to look at sports and the gladiator spectacle. The theatre doesn't have that, it has solutions. The theatre sparks conversation. We have to make theatre as popular as sporting events.

BWW: What was the experience like to work with Sammy Davis Jr. in GOLDEN BOY?

Ben Vereen: Sammy was my mentor. He was a true trailblazer. He doesn't receive enough credit today. His friend Frank Sinatra, of course, gets all of the glory. Sammy isn't talked about that much. His music isn't on the radio. We don't recognize him enough. We don't play his music enough; we don't give him honor. He was the most talented of all in the Rat Pack.

He was one of our pioneers as well: Duke Ellington, Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith, Ella Fitzgerald, Bo Jangles, Jimmy Slyde, who's still with us; all those cats who came before us. Lena Horne and Dinah Washington who took ridicule of having to stay in a trailer and not being allowed to stay in a hotel to do her show. They would have to go back to their trailer. They did that and we are allowed to do what we do today. We just don't give them honor enough.

It's not to exclude but to include. Our contribution is monumental with the whole. I once did an interview with Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire and I asked Gene if they ever went uptown to Harlem or any black clubs to get their steps and they said yes, all the time. But we don't honor those that gave them the steps. We often talk about the great actors such as Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor. Well what about Lena Horne and Dorothy Dandridge?

A big part of it is teaching. My friend Gregory [Hines] said that we are taught how to make a living not to live. We [should] learn about the great people who have made it possible for us to live. Black history isn't about selling t-shirts and wearing colors. It's about remembering the heritage and paying homage to our ancestors.

BWW: Many theatre lovers know your work and are mostly familiar with the iconic work you've done with Bob Fosse. What did you learn while working with Fosse?

Ben Vereen: Wow! I learned so much! I was taught the art of discipline and to get self out the way.

BWW: Can you take our readers back to March 25th, 1973 and your legendary performance of "Magic To Do" at the Tony Awards?

Ben Vereen: Oh God No! (He laughs.) When you are young like that you are excited. I started when I was young and I didn't even know who Tony was. When I was nominated for one it was mysterious to me. I didn't get into this business for the accolades but I am thankful for them. I got into this industry because I loved what I was doing; to be crowned in the process is a wonderful thing, but don't let it go to your head. Continue to do the work.

BWW: What was your most challenging role on stage and screen?

Ben Vereen: They all are. Even to this day they all are. As an actor, we are never satisfied. We just try to find the sweet spot and when you hit it, it's amazing. The next day you have to look for it again.

BWW: Your theatre career is legendary as well as your television work. From ROOTS to GREY'S ANATOMY, you've tackled some of the most iconic roles in television. How was the transition from the stage to the screen?

Ben Vereen: In theatre, you have to be louder and grandiose. With film, you have to be quiet, and subtle. You have to allow and trust. You don't have the audience there in front of you. I mean they are there. You have the crew, the directors and the people who work on set. I am working on a new show called SNEAKY PETE. I sit and marvel at the brilliance of the crew. Setting the lights up to get a certain texture in the air out of absolutely nothing. In order for it to look great on camera, my job is to simplify the grandeur and make it now. My hat goes off to all crews, designers and the AD's who sit there and look at open spaces and create magic, and they allow us to make our magic.

BWW: You've just wrapped filming ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW, directed by Kenny Ortega, starring Laverne Cox and Tim Curry. What can we expect with this newly revamped production?

Ben Vereen: Yeah, the show comes out on October 20th on Fox. We want you to take it for what it is, a tribute to [Pauses] You just cannot recreate ROCKY. It's just no way. Laverne does a great job in this, as well as the entire cast. Kenny Ortega made it clear that it's not a remake, it's a tribute and I agree with him. After we wrapped I watched the movie for the first time and there's no way that we could touch the performance of Tim Curry and Susan Sarandon. It was absolutely amazing. I want to thank the producers for making this possible for us to do this -- Lou Adler, Michael White, and Gail Berman.

BWW: Your body of work spans decades and it seems like the bill continues to grow, from a new Broadway production (BROOKLYN TO BROADWAY) to a recurring role in an Amazon series produced by David Shore and Brian Cranston. How do you keep the fire burning?

Ben Vereen: I wake up and I get another opportunity. Like I said when we first talked, another day in glory!

BWW: Myself, along with our readers, are excited about your one-man show STEPPIN' OUT. What can we expect?

Ben Vereen: My gratitude for the wonderful journey you all have allowed me to have. I do this show and I am humble and grateful and this show is my love letter to my audience. The journey where we've been, where we are going and the stories we've told. It's about the journey now and the journey beyond!

BWW: What are your thoughts on the evolution of the business and where the business was, has been, and where you think it's going?

Ben Vereen: Dealing with color lines and breaking that line and coming forward. Being in more prominent roles on stage. We've come a long way but I still need the African-American community to support the theatre because we need your help. You have a prominence of white people at the theatre, but the theatre doesn't belong to one type of people -- it belongs to all people. The theatre isn't a black or white thing. It is a people thing, and we are part of the people and we can make this thing happen!

BWW: Your relationship and mentorship with Usher and other stars.

Ben Vereen: Not only Usher but Terrence Howard, the members of Outkast (Andre 3000 and Big Boi) they are young actors I've worked with and I try to instill in them the discipline of the work. Getting out of themselves and allowing the genius within them to come forth. This is only preparation for God, Allah, Buddha or whatever high power to express itself through you.

STEPPIN' OUT with Ben Vereen. 8pm Saturday, September 24. The Grand Opera, 2020 Post Office St, Galveston, TX 77550. For information, please visit thegrand.com.

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