Dulé Hill found his character nuanced and complex in Lights Out Nat King Cole. (Photo: Marc J. Franklin)
Dulé Hill is the quintessential performer, and his current take on Nat King Cole in Off-Broadway’s Lights Out: Nat “King” Cole is further proof that he is transformative.
In the new musical now playing through June 29th at New York Theatre Workshop, it’s 1957 and Cole’s television show “The Nat King Cole Show” is on the brink of taping its last episode.
Cole is preparing for his final appearance as he grapples over the fact that his producer cannot find a sponsor to keep the show on the air. The audience hitches a ride through a journey in Cole’s subconscious.
He is flanked by the likes of Sammy Davis Jr. (Daniel J. Watts), Eartha Kitt (Krystal Joy Brown), and Peggy Lee (Ruby Lewis). Hill delivers an extraordinary tap dance number opposite Watts in “I’m Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter,” an uncanny, heartfelt personification of Cole.
Hill consistently wears his heart on his sleeve in hit television shows such as “Psych” and “The West Wing,” but he got his start on Broadway as a tap dancer in The Tap Dance Kid at the age of 10 in 1985.
He has since demonstrated his enormous talent with musical theatre in shows such as After Midnight and Bring in ‘da Noise, Bring in ‘da Funk.
He spoke with The New York Independent about stepping into Cole’s shoes, how Cole’s story has changed him, and the possibility of more “Psych” on the horizon.
The New York Independent: Your talents are incredibly multi-faceted. How do you look for roles that showcase your many talents?
Dulé Hill: I am very thankful that roles come my way that allow me to find that avenue for expression. A show like Lights Out is a once in a lifetime opportunity. There are not many times when you will find a piece of material where you can sing beautiful songs, say extremely powerful words, and also do tap choreography at the highest level. It was the perfect storm of all of these wonderful brilliant geniuses coming together. [Writers] Patricia McGregor and Colman Domingo, [actor] Daniel J. Watts, [choreographer] Jared Grimes, [Music Supervisor] John McDaniel… I’m just very thankful to be part of it. When I get on the stage I really like to be able to do something impactful that will affect the audience in some way.
Daniel J. Watts and Dulé Hill perform in ‘Lights Out Nat King Cole. (Photo: Marc J.Franklin)
NYI: There are a number of stigmas attached to bio-musicals. How is Lights Out unique to others?
Hill: That’s one of the things that attracted me to it. I think if it was a “cradle to the crave” type of bio play, I wouldn’t have been interested in doing that. It’s great to tell the story of someone in history who has had a dynamic impact. If the show is not talking about where we are today, then my question is always, “Why?” When you do material that looks back on yesterday, you should do it so you can understand something about us today because that’s the only thing we can change.
Colman and Patricia have done that with this piece. They hold up this American icon that a lot of us love and know, but they pull the layers back and take a deeper look at him and the cost of what it was for him to achieve what he achieved. They also pulled the layers back on us as a society today and the cost of where we are. When you hear about Nat King Cole you think of “The Christmas Song” and “Unforgettable,” but often times we don’t acknowledge the cost of what it takes for people to make space for themselves. That’s what I love about the piece. It’s not just about Mr. Cole, it’s about all of us.
NYI: How did Nat King Cole have an impact on your life as you were growing up?
Hill: My dad loves Nat King Cole and Natalie Cole’s music. He used to play it all the time. I was in love with “The Christmas Song.” The fact that I’m even doing what I’m doing is very much related to the path that Mr. Cole and people like him have opened. They blazed a trail. I am very thankful for the genius, the life, and the love that Mr. Cole put into his craft and his existence.
NYI: What is your earliest memory of yourself as a performer?
Hill: My earliest memory is being three or four years old at my dance school in New Jersey and being underneath the table in the back office because we were going to be doing a dance routine for the parents and guests and I didn’t want to do it. I was scared. Either my mom or the dance school [teacher] had to bribe me to come out with a blow pop. Sure enough, I went out there, I did it, and I got my blow pop! My first professional performance was in The Tap Dance Kid. I remember being on stage at [Broadway’s] Minskoff Theatre. Every time I come back to New York I get nostalgic in Times Square. I was coming of age in that theatre. There used to be carpet on the walls, and I slid all the way from the top escalator, so I got rug burn by my elbow. I still have a scar on my arm from sliding down the escalator at the Minskoff. It was a great thrill ride!
NYI: How did you prepare to play Mr. Cole?
Hill: I took in as much information as I could about him. We had a great dramaturge for the show. I read a lot of about Mr. Cole, especially an article he wrote for Ebony magazine called “Madison Avenue is Afraid of the Dark.” That was the first time that he started to show how he felt about the world and industry around him. It gave me a lot of insight into the emotional journey for him. I listened to him incessantly. I had a whole playlist of interviews so I could hear how he talked and how he sings live.
How he sounded on the albums was different from how he sounded in person. I would fall asleep listening to live performances and play the playlist throughout the night. I still do it just to get it into my subconscious. I did voice work and breath work. It’s one thing to sing the songs, but it’s another to say the dynamic words that Patricia and Colman have written. It’s yet another thing to do the magnificent tap choreography of Jared Grimes. To do all three together takes a lot of breath control! I am thankful for the help I had in approaching that task.
Daniel J. Watts and Dulé Hill in ‘Light’s Out Nat King Cole at New York Theatre Workshop. (Photo: Marc J. Franklin)
NYI: What have you learned about Nat King Cole through playing him?
Hill: It was the same revelation that the audience has. As I was preparing to do the role, I didn’t realize how much it cost him and the pressure that he must have been under. What did it mean to face this level of resistance and animosity, but also to be able to walk through the world with grace and still make the same beautiful songs? How do you reconcile that stuff within yourself? I had never taken the time to look deeper. I didn’t know that in [affluent] Hancock Park in Los Angeles, they had burned a cross on his lawn. I didn’t know that they had poisoned his dog in Hancock Park. I didn’t know that they shot a bullet through his window with his children at home in Hancock Park.
I didn’t know that when he moved into Hancock Park, they had a community meeting, and someone got up-with him at the meeting-and said, ‘I’m really concerned about undesirables moving into the neighborhood.’ He got up and said, ‘I, too, am very concerned about undesirables moving into the neighborhood.’ What was the cost of all of that? He could achieve fame, monetary status, and sell all of these records, but still when he bought a house in that neighborhood he was considered undesirable. What does that do to you?
But the audience would still applaud him when he would sing. It was tough to be a loving father while trying to navigate all of that. When I think about all of that it touches me deeply. My hope with the show is that people are going to take the time to look a little deeper. I am going to speak my truth while I still have breath in my lungs. My hope is that it is affecting people and will have impact beyond the world of the theater.
NYI: What do you think Mr. Cole would say if he could see Lights Out?
Hill: His children said that this is a show about their father that needs to be shared. They know him better than anyone else. I hope that he would say, ‘Thank you for telling this story. This is a part of the journey that people don’t know about me.’ Casey and Timolin were very touched and moved by the piece.
NYI: Many fans come to see your performances because they are fans from your work on “Psych.” Is there any chance that there will be another “Psych” film?
Hill: There’s a possibility of there being more “Psych.” It’s a matter of Peacock figuring out what they want to do. The cast would do it in a heartbeat. Keep hope alive! My gut feeling is we’ll be doing something again. I’m always amazed at the life of the show. We finished it in 2013. I think we don’t have a lot of comedies that families can watch where people are quirky, unique, and themselves, in which everyone appreciates one another for being who they are. Sean and Gus are unique in their own way but they celebrate that overall. No matter your ages, the jokes hit on different levels. Somehow, they figured out a way to be entertaining across generations. The show lives on because it’s something that can bring people together.
NYI: You put your whole heart on the stage, but we are curious to know if there is something that people would be surprised to learn about you.
Hill: Getting on stage and singing songs is not something that I have historically been confident in! That’s an aspect of my craft that I have been intentional in working out with myself. You would think that when I agreed to do a piece about Nat King Cole that I have a whole bunch of confidence in that area. No, I did not! I am still working through it. I’m right behind my icons, Harold Nicholas, Sammy Davis, Hinton Battle…
These are people that were acting, singing, and dancing, and I admire them so much. I’m not really a fan of public speaking. I do it because I think it matters sometimes, but if you give me a choice, I’m very okay with not saying a thing. I want to work on my singing craft and my cooking craft. I’m also not very good in the kitchen but I need to be better at that! Next will be Dulé Hill as Rachael Ray. (Laughs) I see the headline now!
Lights Out: Nat “King” Cole runs through June 29th at New York Theatre Workshop, 79 E. 4th Street, New York, NY. Visit nytw.org for more information or to purchase tickets.