BWW Interviews: Roz Ryan Chats CHICAGO National Tour and Years of Show Business Experience

Roz Ryan seems to have done it all from Broadway, to movies, to television to voiceovers. She started at such a young age in Detroit after winning a talent show and she has been entertaining audiences ever since. Currently playing in CHICAGO's National Tour as Big Momma, Roz shares with BWW her roots and how she enjoys every minute of her life.

You have a very interesting story of how you got started performing.

I was 16 years old and I won what they called the WCHB Talent Show in Detroit. It was one of the top radio stations and they had the talent show at the Fox Theater every year and I won. I was still in school and I won a contract with Motown and five hundred dollars. I took the five hundred dollars but we passed on the contract with Motown. It turned out to be a very smart move. David Ruffin of the Temptations was dating a friend of mine and he talked to my parents and he told them he thought I was too young and that I should finish school first and that I would get lost in all the rush of the Motown artists because they didn't pick me, I won a talent show. I didn't go with Motown and I finished school and then the rest is history. I ended up where I am today. I was singing at nightclubs in Detroit for 13 years and one night a friend of mine called and said "Ain't Misbehavin'" was at the Fischer and I should go see it because there was this girl in it that looked like me. I'd never even thought of theater. So, I went to see it and the next day were the auditions. And I went to the audition. They liked me and they came to Detroit and they came to the club that I was singing at and ten days later, they had me on Broadway. It's a kind of Cinderella slipper, I call it.

You have had a very diverse career over the years. What are some of the highlights for you?

I'll always be a singer first. All of these things came without my pursuing them and I feel that those were just a blessing from God. I wasn't planning to go to New York. I did not consider myself an actress. Then I got "Amen" which was a television show with music so I wasn't hired as a singer, I was hired as an actress which flattered me tremendously. Then I got another TV show and then I got "Hercules." I started doing cartoon voices thanks to Alan Menken and they all seemed to (come) from each other. I got "Hercules," I was doing a show in Pasadena and the executive producer of "Hercules" was there and she saw me and then she sent the writers in and they saw me and then they sent me to New York to meet Alan Menken. When I met Alan, I started doing voiceovers.

You've been involved in CHICAGO for a long time. How did you first get involved?

I broke the record as the longest running female lead. I auditioned for it in 1998. I was actually in New York doing "A Christmas Carol" at Madison Square Garden. I'm the only woman that'd ever done that role. I went to an audition and I was auditioning for the first national tour and they didn't give it to me. I finished "A Christmas Carol" and I went back to LA where I was living and then I got a call from my agent and he said the Walter Bobby had called and said that they were saving me as a replacement for Broadway so they sent me to Broadway in 1999. I've been in and out of it and the tours coming up on 15 years in November. I think they like me.

What are some life lessons you've learned over the many years of being in show business?

Know when to relax. Know when to protect your instrument. Know when to go home. Know when enough is enough. Be kind to people because the way that we travel and doing these shows, you run into some of the same people so you should always leave a good feeling when you leave the room. I like happy people. We have a wonderful cast. And I've been with several casts. We're having so much fun even uncomfortable moments like bus rides and airplanes. Sometimes it gets rough. We did a 14 hour flight to the Philippines. We don't have any complaints. We have fun with everything. I'm kinda like the momma of the group anyway 'cause I'm the oldest out here and I've been in the show the longest. It starts at the top. We have the best company managers. Marion Taylor is unbelievable. We call her Momma Marion because she's so hands on. Be on your p's and q's and treat people good. My coming back off and on for 15 years, I think it says a lot about my character and my relationship with my boss.

If you had not gotten into show business, what do you think you would have done?

I would have been an oceanographer. I'm a scuba diver and have a deep passion for the ocean and I have a mad love affair with whales and dolphins. I swim with them every chance I get. I research them. I photograph them. I probably would have been an oceanographer. I love it. People ask me if I'm scared and I say I'm more scared of sharks on land in suits than I am of the ones in the water. The last time I was scuba diving, was in Hawaii and I did a ten day dive tour. I was the only woman and the only black. Everybody wanted to be my buddy.

CHICAGO plays at the Majestic Theatre in San Antonio from January 27 - February 1, 2015. Go to the Majestic Theatre website and order your tickets.

PHOTO CREDIT: Jeremy Daniel

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