Interview: Theatre Life with Jade Wheeler

Today's subject Jade Wheeler is currently living her theater life onstage at Arena Stage in the return engagement of The Originalist as Justice Antonin Scalia's clerk Cat. The show has been extended and now runs through August 6th.

Jade previously played this role at Pasadena Playhouse and Asolo Repertory. She shares the stage with her former professor at George Mason University (GMU). If you guessed this professor was Edward Gero in the role of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, you would be right. Read on to see what it's like for Jade to play opposite one of her teachers.

Jade has performed on many of our local stages in a variety of roles. Select credits include Debbie Allen's Alex in Wonderland and Washington National Opera's (WNO) Lost in the Stars at the Kennedy Center, An Octoroon ay Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, The Two Gentlemen of Verona at Shakespeare Theatre Company, and Ruined at Everyman Theatre. Her other regional credits include productions at GableStage (most recently inThe Legend of Georgia McBride), Central Square Theatre, and Stoneham Theatre.

She is also the creator of the acclaimed one-woman show about the legendary performer Eartha Kitt entitled Who is Eartha Mae? The show played Off-Broadway at the 2016 United Solo Fest and won the award for Best Cabaret.

She received her B.A. in Theater and French from GMU and received additional training from La Ferme de Trielle and The Actors Space.

The Originalist is one of those shows that requires more than one viewing to get everything out of it. If you've already seen the show during the last engagement, it is definitely worth a second look. This time around you get to see a local girl in her Arena Stage debut playing opposite one of the people that helped her career flourish. It's a winning situation for all and no SCOTUS vote is required. You're sure to think unanimously that Jade Wheeler in The Originalist is a fine theatrical experience and the show, like all good theater, will leave you talking long after you see it.

What was the first professional performance you ever saw and was that the show that got you interested in performing?

The first professional show I saw was Frank Wildhorn's The Scarlet Pimpernel at The Kennedy Center, directed by Robert Longbottom. I spoke with a few actors afterwards at the stage door and was inspired. The next year I auditioned for The Governor's School for the Arts.

For audience members who might have missed The Originalist here in DC the first time around, can you please tell us a little something about the show and the character you play?

The play is set during the 2012-13 SCOTUS term. Cat, Antonin Scalia's über liberal counter clerk, embarks on a clerkship that becomes about so much more than just politics. The script has gone through some changes, so I encourage anyone who saw the 2015 version to come back!

You are onstage in The Originalist with Edward Gero, one of your former professors at GMU. What is it like performing onstage with him?

I pinch myself. A lot. For years I witnessed theory put into practice in the careful craftwork of Edward and other professors. I never thought I'd share the stage with him. I am over the moon.

What were you most surprised to learn about Antonin Scalia while preparing for this show?

To be honest, reading what his clerks (including some counter clerks) wrote about him as a person surprised me the most. His sense of humor, in particular, was often mentioned.

You were part of WNO's production of Lost in the Stars. Even though it was written by Kurt Weil, that piece isn't performed very often. Was this your first time performing in an opera and were you familiar with the material prior to starting rehearsals?

Yes and yes. It was an eye-opening experience. Tazewell Thompson, our wonderful director, cast quite a few of us who had a theater or musical theater background, rather than opera. Lost in the Stars is based on Alan Paton's novel Cry the Beloved Country, which I read in high school. There are also film versions from 1974 and 1995, both which I have watched. It's an incredibly powerful piece.

Can you please tell us about your solo show entitled Who is Eartha Mae?

Lights rise on a young Eartha Mae Kitt auditioning for the Katherine Dunham dance troupe in New York City. She lands a scholarship and embarks on a lifelong career of performing, primarily in cabaret and concert venues, singing in a dozen languages. I wanted to share the story of the person behind the persona. Her story is a fascinating one. The show won Best Cabaret at the 2016 United Solo Fest in New York. Currently, I am in the rewriting stage and have considered translating it into French. The goal is to bring it to more festivals, both domestic and foreign.

Besides the forthcoming Chicago engagement of The Originalist, what else do you have lined up?

The life of the actor can be an uncertain one, and summers can be quiet. I am shooting a short film in New York at the end of August and have been auditioning quite a bit, so we will just have to wait and see.

Special thanks to Arena Stage publicist Lauren Alexander for her assistance in coordinating this interview.

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