September 12, 2024 • 26 mins
Theater icon Norm Lewis is known for a lot of things: breaking barriers as Broadway's first African-American Phantom in The Phantom of the Opera; lending his stunning baritone to the roles of Sweeney Todd, Porgy, and Jarvert; playing Senator Edison Davis on the hit TV show Scandal—the list goes on and on. But what you may not know that the Emmy, Grammy, Tony, and SAG Award nominee works just as hard behind the scenes as an activist and founding member of Black Theatre United.
On September 20th, Norm Lewis will sing at Mayo Performing Arts Center to kick off Mayo PAC’s 30th season, so he joined the Jersey Arts Podcast to chat about his upcoming concert, career highlights, Black Theater United, and one of his first-ever professional gigs at Jersey’s own Harrah’s Atlantic City.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Maddie Orton (00:02):
I'm Maddie Orton and you're listening to the
Jersey Arts Podcast.
Broadway icon Norm Lewis isknown for a lot of things.
Breaking barriers as the firstAfrican-American Phantom in
Phantom of the Opera on Broadway, lending his stunning baritone
to the roles of , T, odd, Porgyand Javert, playing Senator
Edison Davis on the hit TV showScandal.
(00:24):
The list goes on and on.
But you may not know that theEmmy, Grammy, tony and SAG Award
nominee works just as hardbehind the scenes as an activist
and founding member of BlackTheater United.
On September 20th, Norm Lewiswill sing at Mayo Performing
Arts Center to kick off MayoPack's 30th season.
So we grabbed the opportunityto chat with him about his
(00:47):
upcoming concert careerhighlights, black Theatre United
and one of his first-everprofessional gigs, which just so
happened to be at Jersey's ownHarrah's Atlantic City.
Take a listen.
Thank you so much for joiningme, Norm Lewis.
I'm a longtime fan of yours andthis is just such a privilege.
Norm Lewis (01:08):
Oh, thank you, I'm honored.
Thank you for having me.
Maddie Orton (01:10):
So you'll be coming to Mayo PA on September
20th for the theater's 30thannual opening night and I
cannot wait to talk about that.
But first I want to back up alittle bit.
This is not obviously yourfirst show in New Jersey, but
one of the first professionalgigs you ever did, I think, was
playing Protean in Forum atHarrah's in Atlantic City.
Norm Lewis (01:31):
Yeah, we call them the proteins.
It was my second job in NewYork, so what happened was I
moved from Florida, I worked inadvertising for a long time for
a newspaper down in Orlando andfinally got into this world of
theater and my first gig was atthe Candlewood Playhouse in
(01:52):
Connecticut.
But then I ended up auditioningfor get this Nipsey Russell.
I don't know if you know thatyou might be too young for that.
Maddie Orton (01:59):
I do know that name.
Norm Lewis (02:00):
Yeah, so for those people who don't know who by
name, who Nipsey Russell is, hewas the tin man in The Wiz the
movie with Diana Ross andMichael Jackson, so, but he had
a life before that.
He was a comedian who did a lotof game shows.
He was also on a show calledcar 54.
So he had a history and he wasplaying Pseudolus in this New
(02:26):
Jersey casino Harris Casinoversion Of the show.
Now the show is usually aroundTwo and a half to three hours,
but we condensed it down to To90 minutes.
What they do.
And actually, when Vegas endedup Getting shows like that, they
would make them 90 minutes longso that way they can get people
(02:48):
back out on the casino floor,you know what I mean, Right that
makes sense.
There was no like first act,second act.
You just saw the show and youget out.
Maddie Orton (02:55):
That makes sense.
Yeah, same reason.
There's no like clocks oranything.
Norm Lewis (02:59):
Yeah, exactly.
So it was fun.
I did it for about six monthsand, yeah, I had my taste of
Jersey.
I was a Jersey for a while.
Maddie Orton (03:07):
That sounds like a fun place.
I mean, what do you do whenyou're like living in a casino
and like working in a?
Is that?
Is that a fun experience or isthat just like very?
I can't even imagine.
Norm Lewis (03:16):
Well, for me, I mean , I was so excited.
I was young I mean relativelyyoung, I was older than a lot of
people who had just moved toNew York, but I was youngish.
It's still in my 20s, my late20s and I ended up working
something I was excited about.
I was doing a musical theatershow, singing and dancing, and I
was working with someone Iadmired Nip.
(03:37):
Have any bills.
They would feed you so youcould go in and you could eat
any time of day at the casino.
They put us up in this reallybeautiful townhouse community
called Brigantine Island, whichwas not that far.
Maddie Orton (03:57):
Oh yeah, that's great.
Norm Lewis (03:58):
And so it was the good life.
For six months I had a goodtime.
Maddie Orton (04:02):
Oh man, that sounds like a dream.
Norm Lewis (04:04):
Yeah, truly, truly.
Maddie Orton (04:06):
So this was not, theater was not your first job.
You started in marketing.
I think we're all very gratefulthat you transitioned into
theater.
What made you go a differentroute initially and how did you
end up moving over?
Norm Lewis (04:19):
I majored in business in college and so I was
working for the newspaperalready while I was still in
school.
And then I worked, I moved fromthe production department.
Basically, the productiondepartment is where you put the
newspaper into the machine, itopens up and then coupons or
different sections of thenewspaper fall in.
So I did that for a while.
(04:39):
Then I moved, there was aposition in marketing that
opened up so I took that job andthen maybe six or so many
months later, because I wassomeone who worked in the
marketing department, I wasclose to the advertising
department, so they said there'sa position open for classified
sales.
So I went over there and didtelephone sales and then moved
(05:02):
up to like telemarketing andthen ended up doing a little bit
of outside sales before I quitand got into musical theater.
Maddie Orton (05:08):
What made you decide to take the leap, cause
that's, that's kind of it's areally scary leap to make, I'm
sure.
Norm Lewis (05:14):
Well, I was always told that I had a nice voice,
and then I ended up doing littlegigs Like I was, even though I
was majoring in business inschool, I may.
I was still in the choir anddid a little bit of theater in
college, and so I stayed closeto it.
After that, even working frommy nine to five, I would do
contests at night at differentbars and I would sing here, sing
(05:37):
there.
Sometimes you would win,sometimes you'd lose.
Maddie Orton (05:40):
What was your go-to song?
Norm Lewis (05:41):
God I ended up doing .
I took two Stevie Wonder songsfor once in my life and what was
the other one?
Oh Jesus, why can't I think ofthe other one?
Oh my God, it'll come back tome in a minute.
Maddie Orton (05:54):
Well, to be fair, you probably haven't had to
audition in a long time, sothat's you know, I get that
Right.
Norm Lewis (05:59):
But you know, in fact, in fact I got really into
church hopping back in the day,so that was back when a lot of
the contemporary Christian musicwas very theatrical and I
started following people likeLorna Harris and a guy named
Steve Green.
But I used to love just likeKristen Chenoweth would say, I
loved this woman by the name ofSandy Patty and Sandy Patty had
(06:27):
this beautiful type Christianmusic but it was really dramatic
.
So I even brought in to some ofthe bars.
I sang some of her songs.
She had a jazz one that wasreally cool and there was
another one that was that wascool and I won a couple of
contests with that song.
Maddie Orton (06:43):
So that is so great.
Yeah, I wonder if that'scontests with that song.
So that is so great.
Yeah, I wonder if that's theaudience for that.
But I love it.
Norm Lewis (06:48):
It wasn't.
It wasn't, but it was the factthat I had some of my friends
that would come from work andthen also people were drunk and
they were like you know they,they were like I guess I was a
showman, so I kind of got them.
Yeah, you know, anyway, that'sa whole.
Nother, that's a whole nother Ilove it.
Maddie Orton (07:03):
Did you grow up doing theater?
Norm Lewis (07:05):
No, no, I didn't get into theater until later in
life.
I didn't know I could singuntil I was 16.
Maddie Orton (07:10):
Oh my gosh, I can't imagine that.
Norm Lewis (07:12):
So it was.
You know the journey of that.
I'm sure people, a lot ofpeople, have heard this already,
but I sang in church, so let mejust try this.
I'll try to be in the choir inschool.
It'll be an easy grade, I'llmeet some girls, it'll be fun.
(07:34):
And it turned out to be my ahamoment, because it was the first
time I'd ever really wassurrounded by these voices that
sounded so beautiful thatsinging classical music.
I never sang classical music.
I heard it but I never sang it.
And you know I grew up singinggospel or R&B, you know, in my
household.
So it was just my catharticmoment of like, oh, this is
(07:58):
really something.
Maddie Orton (08:04):
So what can people expect from your upcoming
concert at Mayo Pack?
Norm Lewis (08:08):
Ah, I guess, my love of theater.
You know I entered into thisindustry by musical theater.
My foray into it was actuallyin high school, when I got like
really into it.
Someone suggested I go andcheck out a couple of albums and
one of them was the Wiz, ohsure, and so that definitely is
(08:30):
the show and the musical thatresonates with me so
passionately, because StephanieMills and Andre De Shields and
you know that entire cast, youknow hit and battle actually.
God rest his soul.
Yeah, but it was one of thosethings where you go, wow, I know
this story just from the moviethat preceded it with Judy
Garland, but this is told in away that I truly get.
(08:54):
So, yeah, it's my journeythrough the musical theater
world but also other music thatinfluenced me over the years.
Maddie Orton (09:01):
That's great.
Do you do a song from the Wiz?
Norm Lewis (09:03):
I do, I do.
Maddie Orton (09:05):
Are we going to say what it is?
We don't have to no.
Norm Lewis (09:08):
No, we can say.
I mean I usually do the songhome because it just you know,
and I've actually put it on.
Now I sound like I'm sound likea salesman.
But I put it on my second album, my Christmas album, even
though it's not a Christmas song.
It just felt right.
Maddie Orton (09:28):
Yeah, you know, I love that, I also that, that
album has my kid listens to meanold lion.
Norm Lewis (09:30):
That was one of his first musical theaters.
Maddie Orton (09:31):
He's only two and a half, but he has a lion towel
that he wears when he gets outof the bathtub Right.
And the only way I can get himout of the bathtub is, if we
like, dance and sing to mean oldlion.
Norm Lewis (09:41):
Yeah, yeah.
Maddie Orton (09:42):
Actually, one of your songs is another one of his
first musical theater songs isI Used to Sing, I'd Rather Be
Sailing to Him from A New Brainwhich is a bit of a deep cut,
but I think just like one of themost beautiful songs.
Norm Lewis (09:56):
Yeah, yeah, bill Finn did a great job on that
song, that's just a gorgeous,gorgeous song and almost
completely kid appropriate.
I changed a couple of lyrics.
Maddie Orton (10:05):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, but otherwise otherwise perfect.
Norm Lewis (10:09):
Yes, yes.
Maddie Orton (10:15):
Just a few months back, at the 2024 NAACP Theater
Awards, you received a LifetimeAchievement Award and you're
also a founding member of BlackTheater United a Lifetime
Achievement Award, and you'realso a founding member of Black
Theater United.
You've, very notably, brokenbarriers as the first person of
color to play Phantom in Phantomof the Opera.
What role does activism play inyour life and your career?
Norm Lewis (10:38):
Well, it's interesting that you bring all
that up, because I thinkactivism has always been a part
of my life, whether I knew it ornot.
You know, just by showing up inthe room that was, I was given
the greatest advice by someonewho was a veteran, who wasn't,
you know, a person of color, buthe was someone that said just
show up unless they specificallyasked for blonde hair and blue
eyes.
Just let them tell you no.
Maddie Orton (10:59):
I love that.
Norm Lewis (11:00):
So that was one thing, but it became apparent
especially when I was either theonly one or one of two or three
that was in the room.
It wasn't so much that I wasactively being an activist, but
I was just trying to be someonewho was of equal stature and
showing that and just gainingthat respectability.
(11:21):
The NAACP award was justtotally out of left field and I
was very honored because I thinkof myself still as that 20
something year old that moved toNew York, you know, back in
1989.
But yeah, I mean, people havecome up to me over the years and
have said things such as oh wow, you are the reason why I'm in
theater, or I've really watchedyou and listened to you and, you
(11:43):
know, emulated you andrespected you, and so that means
a lot.
So I try to keep that sort ofreputation.
That's for me, reputation ismore important than talent.
But then, as far as BlackTheatre United, you know that
came about at a because of somehorrible I can't even say it
horrible circumstances in 2020.
(12:03):
Obviously, we're in thepandemic, all the murders that
were happening and obviously theGeorge Floyd thing, and a lot
of people felt a certain way,especially a lot of young people
of color, or a lot of youngblack people.
They were looking to us to getanswers, the people who are
older.
And then we were looking to theproducers and the theater
owners to say, okay, what do youhave to say?
Because these kids are sayingthey're screaming.
(12:25):
So we didn't want to put pointfingers in anyone's faces, but
what we wanted to do is justthose relationships that we have
create something special Duringthe pandemic.
What we did it was LaChanze andAudra McDonald, who came
together, brought us together ona Zoom, and we were on for
hours, like literally four orfive hours, just trying to
(12:48):
discuss things and see what wecould do.
And then we decided to formBlack Theatre United.
We were trying to come up withthe right name and all that
stuff, and so that's what we did.
And then, over the next fewmonths, we were trying to figure
out a strategic plan.
We hired someone to do that.
We few months we were trying tofigure out a strategic plan.
(13:08):
We hired someone to do that, wegot donations and everything to
do that.
And then, within I would say,another six months, we were
still under the pandemic, butthen we were being let out a
little bit.
I think that was 2021, when wewere being let out with the
onset of, hopefully, the vaccineand all that.
But we stayed on Zoom and wecreated a summit and we brought
together theater owners,producers, creators, heads of
(13:30):
unions and we had a full ondiscussion.
We hired a facilitator whoknows about DEI and who can
bolster this conversation to getit started, and then we broke
off in different rooms and wesaid listen, tell us exactly how
you feel as someone who is nota person of color.
What is it that you are seeing?
(13:52):
What is it that you want toknow?
Ask us questions.
And that's what we did.
And we came back together intoone unit and put together those
notes and we created what wecall the new deal.
And the new deal, you know,it's not the constitution of the
united states, but what it is.
It's it's holding peopleaccountable and making sure that
voices are at the table.
(14:13):
Now there's been a lot ofchanges over the years, as far
as you know.
Like you said, I was the firstafrican american to play phantom
on broadway, but I had seenrepresentation of Robert
Guillaume, who was the firstAfrican-American to play it, but
he was in Los Angeles.
Sure, you know, lachanze,saying, out of all of her years
of being on Broadway or in manytheatrical pieces, she only for
(14:35):
the first time she had a blackdirector.
It was back in 2021.
And Wow, charles RandolphWright.
So you know we not only aremaking strides on stage, you
know, hamilton actually wouldknock down so many doors, and
opportunities On stage is.
I don't want to say it's great,but it's definitely progressing
.
But backstage is where we wantto like introduce more directors
(14:57):
, more choreographers, morestage managers, more people,
more choreographers, more stagemanagers, more people.
You know there's I can count onone hand how many people are on
the crew on a Broadway stagewho are of color or black
specifically.
So we wanted to createsomething that would open those
kinds of avenues, becausethere's a lot of people who are
not necessarily, you know,singer, dancer or actors, but
(15:18):
they love theater.
Sure, we have partnered with alot of the PR firms that are in
town, with the managementcompanies that are in town that
deal with theatrical, and we nowhave interns, mentor, mentee
situations and we've put thosepeople and we've done it now for
the past three years and it'sgone really well.
In fact, I think three of ourmentees have been hired in those
(15:41):
capacities.
Maddie Orton (15:42):
Oh, that's great.
Norm Lewis (15:44):
Yeah, and now Black 39 is getting ready to start an
educational program this fall.
We're partnering up withanother organization and we want
to start at the junior highlevel.
We think that they're matureenough to kind of understand
what this is all about and thenhopefully lead on into high
school and into on into college.
Now again, they don't.
(16:05):
You don't have to sing, danceor act, but if you love theater
there's other ways to beinvolved, and so that's what
that's what BTU is all about.
We really want to be that.
We call ourselves the NAACP oftheater and we want to just be a
vessel for people to be able tocome to.
You know, there are otherorganizations that we really
collaborate with, and that'sBlack Theater Coalition, there's
(16:27):
a Broadway Advocacy Coalition,there's the Black Broadway Men,
I think there's the BlackBroadway Women.
I might be saying that wrong,but there's other organizations.
We're all saying the same thing, but you know, everybody uses
whatever tools or relationshipsthat they have to make sure that
we progress you've playedphantom not once, but twice
(16:53):
actually, because you were alsouh, starring in love never dies,
which is the sequel to phantom.
Maddie Orton (16:58):
You've played so many iconic musical theater
bucket list roles and I justjotted down a couple and I was
like I'm just going to I can'tname all of them because it's
going to take up half thepodcast but Harold Hill in Music
man, cole House in Ragtime,javert in Les Mis, porgy and
Porgy in Fes, sweeney Todd, andI could keep going.
Who else is on your to-do listat this point?
Norm Lewis (17:24):
Well, you know, it's interesting.
I get.
I get this question a few timesand I will say there was.
You know, when I was younger Idid have more of a list.
You know, I wanted to playCurly and in Oklahoma I wanted
to play uh, uh, what's thecharacter's name in Carousel?
I forget his name, but in innine I wanted to be the lead guy
in that.
Maddie Orton (17:41):
Oh yeah, that's a great one, Now that I'm older.
Norm Lewis (17:44):
I mean, I have to be realistic, at least in that
regard.
But yeah, you know, I'mactually a little bit more
excited about the new worksthat's coming out.
There's a lot of people thatare right, like Douglas Lyons,
who is killing it.
You know, he wrote Chicken andB and biscuits and a few other
pieces.
I want to see what's new outthere, you know, uh, I love the
(18:07):
old stuff and I think there's aplace for it.
But you know, right now I'mjust I'm kind of excited about
the new things, the new worksyeah, that's great.
Maddie Orton (18:15):
Do you, looking back on the roles that you have
done so far, are there any thatare like your absolute favorite
that might be surprising topeople or some that people would
say like that makes them.
I mean, you know, I wouldimagine playing Phantom is one
of the greatest experiences ofall time.
Norm Lewis (18:29):
Yes, yes, and actually one of the hardest, one
of the most challenging, Iwould say too.
I mean, I was up for thechallenge, but it was definitely
the most challenging because ofthe fact that I'm not a tenor
Usually they hire tenors I'm abaritone.
Maddie Orton (18:41):
Oh, interesting.
Norm Lewis (18:42):
And so you had to sound.
Very.
There was a sound that peopleexpected let's just say that
Because the music is so lush andyour voice is one of the
instruments that is in that show.
So I couldn't sound likeMichael Crawford, but I could do
the best that I could to soundlike what I thought the Phantom
was.
And so it was.
Yeah, it was a nice challengethat lasted for a while.
(19:04):
I would say I'm known forPhantom, I'm known for Javert,
I'm known for Sweeney, todd,porgy and Bess.
You know obviously for that aswell.
But there was a show that I didback in 1998.
That was called 1998 or 99,doesn't matter, but it was
(19:24):
called Captain's Courageous.
It was off Broadway with MTC.
It was with Treat Williams Godrest his soul.
He's no longer with us, but hewas the lead and I was one of
this.
It was a group of guys, justguys.
It was a fraternity and we wereportraying.
I don't know if you ever sawthe movie with Mickey Rooney or
read the book, but it was aboutthese guys that were on a
(19:46):
fishing boat and out ofGloucester, massachusetts, and
what we did was we used the bookthe Perfect Storm as our Bible,
even though it was more becausethat was our storytelling was
back before the depression.
The Perfect Storm was a littlebit more modern, I think it was
like in the 80s or 90s orsomething.
But we use that as referenceand I was trying to figure out
(20:08):
my character because I was theonly black guy in the show and I
was the cook on the ship.
So this Gloucester,massachusetts accent.
They were trying to get us intothat sort of vein.
Something felt wrong about itfor me.
Okay, okay.
But I said, okay, I'll stilllearn it.
But going deeper and diggingdeeper into my character, I
(20:28):
found out that these ships wouldgo down to the Caribbean and
fish and then hire people fromthe Caribbean to be on these
boats or be in that community.
And I was like, oh my God,that's it.
That's it, that's my character.
So I said I was from Trinidadand I put on a Trinidadian
accent and I actually only hadfour lines in the show.
(20:49):
But for me, saying those fourlines in that accent was more
authentic and my subtextactually helped my character
more.
You know, I had one lines hereand there, but I would say it in
that accent instead of aglosser Massachusetts accent.
So it's all about, you know,just trying to find the depths
of what is authentic for you asa character.
(21:10):
And you know, even when Iplayed the Phantom, it was funny
because, yes, the show had beenon at that time 24 years and
there was no way I was going togo in there and change anything.
It was just I'm just this guy.
My skin color is different thanmost of the guys that have
played the role.
That's the only difference.
But, when I was learning theshow, I was like, yeah, okay,
(21:32):
I'm going to stand here, I'mgoing to do this, I'm going to
do this.
But then, when Harold Prince,we got to the last scene and he
said, norm, okay, this is what Iwant you to do.
Maddie Orton (21:40):
Wait how Prince came back to put you into the
show.
Uh-huh, uh-huh Does that alwayshappen with replacements.
Norm Lewis (21:47):
Well, not really.
So what he did was he had theassistant, or I don't want to
say the assistant, but he wasthe guy that was a resident
director, let's put it that way.
His name was Seth Sklar Ialways have to say it slowly
because it's such a tonguetwister Seth Sklar.
Anyway, he was wonderful.
He really took us on thejourney because he'd been
(22:10):
working so closely with HaroldPrince.
But the final few days before Iwent in, harold came in and
directed me and so he's likelook, in this final scene, I
want you to be this petulantchild, I just want you to go as
far as you want, like it's myball and I'm taking it and I'm
going home.
That's the thing I said.
He said you.
I'll let you know if you go toofar.
(22:33):
So, that was at least he gave methe freedom for in that that
part of the show.
So I took advantage of it and Idid a lot of crazy things and I
was just in in fear of himsaying, okay, crazy things.
And I was just in in fear ofhim saying, okay, that's too far
, that's too far.
He came to see it several timesand he was like, no, you're
good.
Maddie Orton (23:01):
Oh, wow, that's so cool.
That is very cool.
I think of you primarily as,like, a classical musical
theater person, but I did also.
Norm Lewis (23:08):
you know I didn't realize how much rock opera
you've done.
Yeah.
Maddie Orton (23:12):
Yeah, so you've done which.
I was like, oh, wow, I cause I,you know, I think of such a
classical, beautiful baritone.
And then I'm like, oh, he'sdone, tommy, twice.
Norm Lewis (23:24):
Well, I did tell him we did a concert version of it
like years later.
We did it like the 15thanniversary or something like
that 20th anniversary.
But uh, yeah, I did.
Maddie Orton (23:31):
You know, that was my first broadway show if you
listen to me and jesus christsuperstar on tv.
Yeah, I got to do that how doyou feel about that genre versus
I mean the stuff that you'remore known for?
Norm Lewis (23:43):
oh, I love it.
I love it.
I never funny enough, okay.
So, tommy, I was lucky just toget that show, so I was.
They were on the very last dayof their callbacks.
Maddie Orton (23:52):
And.
Norm Lewis (23:53):
I got in because I was on a tour of Once on this
Island and I got in somehow,luckily, and they hired me.
I was like, oh my God.
So that was great.
But if you listen to the album,my voice, I think, sticks out
more than anyone else's becauseif you, if you listen, to go to
the mirror okay.
I had to sing it in a way thatsounded a little bit more
Broadway, even though it had abeat underneath it.
(24:16):
So I had, like that legit soundthat you know quote unquote
classical sound if you will.
But but there was that rockbeat underneath it.
And then in Jesus ChristSuperstar, which I never thought
that I would be part of, thatwhich was great by the way.
Well, it was so much fun.
But they put me as Caiaphas andCaiaphas has that.
(24:36):
You know that low sound, youknow he's singing there and then
he has to sing a little higher.
So I guess you know the rangethat I could do.
They were like, okay, this guycould do this role right now.
I've always wanted to playJudas but I could never do.
I could never do eight shows aweek.
Maddie Orton (24:52):
I don't know how anybody does eight shows a week
with that song.
Yeah.
Norm Lewis (24:55):
No, no, yeah, there's no way.
I could do it one day, I coulddo one night.
Maddie Orton (25:02):
Well, I want to see you do it.
If there's a one night onlyconcert version, I would love to
see that.
Norm Lewis (25:08):
Yes, yes, I could give myself one night and I
could definitely try to be asauthentic as possible.
So, yeah, Okay.
Maddie Orton (25:16):
Well, if anybody listening wants to do a one
night only production of JCSstarring.
Norm Lewis.
I am so there for it.
Norm Lewis (25:23):
Exactly.
Maddie Orton (25:24):
Well, thank you so much for your time today.
I really appreciate it.
I cannot wait to see you atMayo PAC.
I'm sure people will bethrilled and I cannot wait to
see what you do next, becauseit's always such a pleasure.
Norm Lewis will perform at MayoPAC on Friday, September 20th.
For more information, visitmayoartsorg.
If you liked this episode, besure to give us review,
(25:46):
subscribe and tell your friends.
A transcript of this podcast,as well as links to related
content and more about the artsin New Jersey, can be found on
JerseyArts.
com.
The Jersey Arts Podcast ispresented by Art Pride New
Jersey, advancing a state ofcreativity since 1986.
The show is co-founded by, andcurrently supported by, funds
from the New Jersey StateCouncil on the Arts, with
(26:09):
additional support from theNational Endowment for the Arts.
This episode was hosted,produced and edited by yours
truly, Maddie Orton.
Executive producers are JimAtkinson and Isaac Serna-Diez.
Special thanks to Norm Lewisand Nick Kaminsky.
I'm Maddie Orton for the JerseyArts Podcast.
Thanks for listening.
I'm Maddie Orton and you're listening to the
Jersey Arts Podcast.
Broadway icon Norm Lewis isknown for a lot of things.
Breaking barriers as the firstAfrican-American Phantom in
Phantom of the Opera on Broadway, lending his stunning baritone
to the roles of , T, odd, Porgyand Javert, playing Senator
Edison Davis on the hit TV showScandal.
(00:24):
The list goes on and on.
But you may not know that theEmmy, Grammy, tony and SAG Award
nominee works just as hardbehind the scenes as an activist
and founding member of BlackTheater United.
On September 20th, Norm Lewiswill sing at Mayo Performing
Arts Center to kick off MayoPack's 30th season.
So we grabbed the opportunityto chat with him about his
(00:47):
upcoming concert careerhighlights, black Theatre United
and one of his first-everprofessional gigs, which just so
happened to be at Jersey's ownHarrah's Atlantic City.
Take a listen.
Thank you so much for joiningme, Norm Lewis.
I'm a longtime fan of yours andthis is just such a privilege.
Norm Lewis (01:08):
Oh, thank you, I'm honored.
Thank you for having me.
Maddie Orton (01:10):
So you'll be coming to Mayo PA on September
20th for the theater's 30thannual opening night and I
cannot wait to talk about that.
But first I want to back up alittle bit.
This is not obviously yourfirst show in New Jersey, but
one of the first professionalgigs you ever did, I think, was
playing Protean in Forum atHarrah's in Atlantic City.
Norm Lewis (01:31):
Yeah, we call them the proteins.
It was my second job in NewYork, so what happened was I
moved from Florida, I worked inadvertising for a long time for
a newspaper down in Orlando andfinally got into this world of
theater and my first gig was atthe Candlewood Playhouse in
(01:52):
Connecticut.
But then I ended up auditioningfor get this Nipsey Russell.
I don't know if you know thatyou might be too young for that.
Maddie Orton (01:59):
I do know that name.
Norm Lewis (02:00):
Yeah, so for those people who don't know who by
name, who Nipsey Russell is, hewas the tin man in The Wiz the
movie with Diana Ross andMichael Jackson, so, but he had
a life before that.
He was a comedian who did a lotof game shows.
He was also on a show calledcar 54.
So he had a history and he wasplaying Pseudolus in this New
(02:26):
Jersey casino Harris Casinoversion Of the show.
Now the show is usually aroundTwo and a half to three hours,
but we condensed it down to To90 minutes.
What they do.
And actually, when Vegas endedup Getting shows like that, they
would make them 90 minutes longso that way they can get people
(02:48):
back out on the casino floor,you know what I mean, Right that
makes sense.
There was no like first act,second act.
You just saw the show and youget out.
Maddie Orton (02:55):
That makes sense.
Yeah, same reason.
There's no like clocks oranything.
Norm Lewis (02:59):
Yeah, exactly.
So it was fun.
I did it for about six monthsand, yeah, I had my taste of
Jersey.
I was a Jersey for a while.
Maddie Orton (03:07):
That sounds like a fun place.
I mean, what do you do whenyou're like living in a casino
and like working in a?
Is that?
Is that a fun experience or isthat just like very?
I can't even imagine.
Norm Lewis (03:16):
Well, for me, I mean , I was so excited.
I was young I mean relativelyyoung, I was older than a lot of
people who had just moved toNew York, but I was youngish.
It's still in my 20s, my late20s and I ended up working
something I was excited about.
I was doing a musical theatershow, singing and dancing, and I
was working with someone Iadmired Nip.
(03:37):
Have any bills.
They would feed you so youcould go in and you could eat
any time of day at the casino.
They put us up in this reallybeautiful townhouse community
called Brigantine Island, whichwas not that far.
Maddie Orton (03:57):
Oh yeah, that's great.
Norm Lewis (03:58):
And so it was the good life.
For six months I had a goodtime.
Maddie Orton (04:02):
Oh man, that sounds like a dream.
Norm Lewis (04:04):
Yeah, truly, truly.
Maddie Orton (04:06):
So this was not, theater was not your first job.
You started in marketing.
I think we're all very gratefulthat you transitioned into
theater.
What made you go a differentroute initially and how did you
end up moving over?
Norm Lewis (04:19):
I majored in business in college and so I was
working for the newspaperalready while I was still in
school.
And then I worked, I moved fromthe production department.
Basically, the productiondepartment is where you put the
newspaper into the machine, itopens up and then coupons or
different sections of thenewspaper fall in.
So I did that for a while.
(04:39):
Then I moved, there was aposition in marketing that
opened up so I took that job andthen maybe six or so many
months later, because I wassomeone who worked in the
marketing department, I wasclose to the advertising
department, so they said there'sa position open for classified
sales.
So I went over there and didtelephone sales and then moved
(05:02):
up to like telemarketing andthen ended up doing a little bit
of outside sales before I quitand got into musical theater.
Maddie Orton (05:08):
What made you decide to take the leap, cause
that's, that's kind of it's areally scary leap to make, I'm
sure.
Norm Lewis (05:14):
Well, I was always told that I had a nice voice,
and then I ended up doing littlegigs Like I was, even though I
was majoring in business inschool, I may.
I was still in the choir anddid a little bit of theater in
college, and so I stayed closeto it.
After that, even working frommy nine to five, I would do
contests at night at differentbars and I would sing here, sing
(05:37):
there.
Sometimes you would win,sometimes you'd lose.
Maddie Orton (05:40):
What was your go-to song?
Norm Lewis (05:41):
God I ended up doing .
I took two Stevie Wonder songsfor once in my life and what was
the other one?
Oh Jesus, why can't I think ofthe other one?
Oh my God, it'll come back tome in a minute.
Maddie Orton (05:54):
Well, to be fair, you probably haven't had to
audition in a long time, sothat's you know, I get that
Right.
Norm Lewis (05:59):
But you know, in fact, in fact I got really into
church hopping back in the day,so that was back when a lot of
the contemporary Christian musicwas very theatrical and I
started following people likeLorna Harris and a guy named
Steve Green.
But I used to love just likeKristen Chenoweth would say, I
loved this woman by the name ofSandy Patty and Sandy Patty had
(06:27):
this beautiful type Christianmusic but it was really dramatic
.
So I even brought in to some ofthe bars.
I sang some of her songs.
She had a jazz one that wasreally cool and there was
another one that was that wascool and I won a couple of
contests with that song.
Maddie Orton (06:43):
So that is so great.
Yeah, I wonder if that'scontests with that song.
So that is so great.
Yeah, I wonder if that's theaudience for that.
But I love it.
Norm Lewis (06:48):
It wasn't.
It wasn't, but it was the factthat I had some of my friends
that would come from work andthen also people were drunk and
they were like you know they,they were like I guess I was a
showman, so I kind of got them.
Yeah, you know, anyway, that'sa whole.
Nother, that's a whole nother Ilove it.
Maddie Orton (07:03):
Did you grow up doing theater?
Norm Lewis (07:05):
No, no, I didn't get into theater until later in
life.
I didn't know I could singuntil I was 16.
Maddie Orton (07:10):
Oh my gosh, I can't imagine that.
Norm Lewis (07:12):
So it was.
You know the journey of that.
I'm sure people, a lot ofpeople, have heard this already,
but I sang in church, so let mejust try this.
I'll try to be in the choir inschool.
It'll be an easy grade, I'llmeet some girls, it'll be fun.
(07:34):
And it turned out to be my ahamoment, because it was the first
time I'd ever really wassurrounded by these voices that
sounded so beautiful thatsinging classical music.
I never sang classical music.
I heard it but I never sang it.
And you know I grew up singinggospel or R&B, you know, in my
household.
So it was just my catharticmoment of like, oh, this is
(07:58):
really something.
Maddie Orton (08:04):
So what can people expect from your upcoming
concert at Mayo Pack?
Norm Lewis (08:08):
Ah, I guess, my love of theater.
You know I entered into thisindustry by musical theater.
My foray into it was actuallyin high school, when I got like
really into it.
Someone suggested I go andcheck out a couple of albums and
one of them was the Wiz, ohsure, and so that definitely is
(08:30):
the show and the musical thatresonates with me so
passionately, because StephanieMills and Andre De Shields and
you know that entire cast, youknow hit and battle actually.
God rest his soul.
Yeah, but it was one of thosethings where you go, wow, I know
this story just from the moviethat preceded it with Judy
Garland, but this is told in away that I truly get.
(08:54):
So, yeah, it's my journeythrough the musical theater
world but also other music thatinfluenced me over the years.
Maddie Orton (09:01):
That's great.
Do you do a song from the Wiz?
Norm Lewis (09:03):
I do, I do.
Maddie Orton (09:05):
Are we going to say what it is?
We don't have to no.
Norm Lewis (09:08):
No, we can say.
I mean I usually do the songhome because it just you know,
and I've actually put it on.
Now I sound like I'm sound likea salesman.
But I put it on my second album, my Christmas album, even
though it's not a Christmas song.
It just felt right.
Maddie Orton (09:28):
Yeah, you know, I love that, I also that, that
album has my kid listens to meanold lion.
Norm Lewis (09:30):
That was one of his first musical theaters.
Maddie Orton (09:31):
He's only two and a half, but he has a lion towel
that he wears when he gets outof the bathtub Right.
And the only way I can get himout of the bathtub is, if we
like, dance and sing to mean oldlion.
Norm Lewis (09:41):
Yeah, yeah.
Maddie Orton (09:42):
Actually, one of your songs is another one of his
first musical theater songs isI Used to Sing, I'd Rather Be
Sailing to Him from A New Brainwhich is a bit of a deep cut,
but I think just like one of themost beautiful songs.
Norm Lewis (09:56):
Yeah, yeah, bill Finn did a great job on that
song, that's just a gorgeous,gorgeous song and almost
completely kid appropriate.
I changed a couple of lyrics.
Maddie Orton (10:05):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, but otherwise otherwise perfect.
Norm Lewis (10:09):
Yes, yes.
Maddie Orton (10:15):
Just a few months back, at the 2024 NAACP Theater
Awards, you received a LifetimeAchievement Award and you're
also a founding member of BlackTheater United a Lifetime
Achievement Award, and you'realso a founding member of Black
Theater United.
You've, very notably, brokenbarriers as the first person of
color to play Phantom in Phantomof the Opera.
What role does activism play inyour life and your career?
Norm Lewis (10:38):
Well, it's interesting that you bring all
that up, because I thinkactivism has always been a part
of my life, whether I knew it ornot.
You know, just by showing up inthe room that was, I was given
the greatest advice by someonewho was a veteran, who wasn't,
you know, a person of color, buthe was someone that said just
show up unless they specificallyasked for blonde hair and blue
eyes.
Just let them tell you no.
Maddie Orton (10:59):
I love that.
Norm Lewis (11:00):
So that was one thing, but it became apparent
especially when I was either theonly one or one of two or three
that was in the room.
It wasn't so much that I wasactively being an activist, but
I was just trying to be someonewho was of equal stature and
showing that and just gainingthat respectability.
(11:21):
The NAACP award was justtotally out of left field and I
was very honored because I thinkof myself still as that 20
something year old that moved toNew York, you know, back in
1989.
But yeah, I mean, people havecome up to me over the years and
have said things such as oh wow, you are the reason why I'm in
theater, or I've really watchedyou and listened to you and, you
(11:43):
know, emulated you andrespected you, and so that means
a lot.
So I try to keep that sort ofreputation.
That's for me, reputation ismore important than talent.
But then, as far as BlackTheatre United, you know that
came about at a because of somehorrible I can't even say it
horrible circumstances in 2020.
(12:03):
Obviously, we're in thepandemic, all the murders that
were happening and obviously theGeorge Floyd thing, and a lot
of people felt a certain way,especially a lot of young people
of color, or a lot of youngblack people.
They were looking to us to getanswers, the people who are
older.
And then we were looking to theproducers and the theater
owners to say, okay, what do youhave to say?
Because these kids are sayingthey're screaming.
(12:25):
So we didn't want to put pointfingers in anyone's faces, but
what we wanted to do is justthose relationships that we have
create something special Duringthe pandemic.
What we did it was LaChanze andAudra McDonald, who came
together, brought us together ona Zoom, and we were on for
hours, like literally four orfive hours, just trying to
(12:48):
discuss things and see what wecould do.
And then we decided to formBlack Theatre United.
We were trying to come up withthe right name and all that
stuff, and so that's what we did.
And then, over the next fewmonths, we were trying to figure
out a strategic plan.
We hired someone to do that.
We few months we were trying tofigure out a strategic plan.
(13:08):
We hired someone to do that, wegot donations and everything to
do that.
And then, within I would say,another six months, we were
still under the pandemic, butthen we were being let out a
little bit.
I think that was 2021, when wewere being let out with the
onset of, hopefully, the vaccineand all that.
But we stayed on Zoom and wecreated a summit and we brought
together theater owners,producers, creators, heads of
(13:30):
unions and we had a full ondiscussion.
We hired a facilitator whoknows about DEI and who can
bolster this conversation to getit started, and then we broke
off in different rooms and wesaid listen, tell us exactly how
you feel as someone who is nota person of color.
What is it that you are seeing?
(13:52):
What is it that you want toknow?
Ask us questions.
And that's what we did.
And we came back together intoone unit and put together those
notes and we created what wecall the new deal.
And the new deal, you know,it's not the constitution of the
united states, but what it is.
It's it's holding peopleaccountable and making sure that
voices are at the table.
(14:13):
Now there's been a lot ofchanges over the years, as far
as you know.
Like you said, I was the firstafrican american to play phantom
on broadway, but I had seenrepresentation of Robert
Guillaume, who was the firstAfrican-American to play it, but
he was in Los Angeles.
Sure, you know, lachanze,saying, out of all of her years
of being on Broadway or in manytheatrical pieces, she only for
(14:35):
the first time she had a blackdirector.
It was back in 2021.
And Wow, charles RandolphWright.
So you know we not only aremaking strides on stage, you
know, hamilton actually wouldknock down so many doors, and
opportunities On stage is.
I don't want to say it's great,but it's definitely progressing
.
But backstage is where we wantto like introduce more directors
(14:57):
, more choreographers, morestage managers, more people,
more choreographers, more stagemanagers, more people.
You know there's I can count onone hand how many people are on
the crew on a Broadway stagewho are of color or black
specifically.
So we wanted to createsomething that would open those
kinds of avenues, becausethere's a lot of people who are
not necessarily, you know,singer, dancer or actors, but
(15:18):
they love theater.
Sure, we have partnered with alot of the PR firms that are in
town, with the managementcompanies that are in town that
deal with theatrical, and we nowhave interns, mentor, mentee
situations and we've put thosepeople and we've done it now for
the past three years and it'sgone really well.
In fact, I think three of ourmentees have been hired in those
(15:41):
capacities.
Maddie Orton (15:42):
Oh, that's great.
Norm Lewis (15:44):
Yeah, and now Black 39 is getting ready to start an
educational program this fall.
We're partnering up withanother organization and we want
to start at the junior highlevel.
We think that they're matureenough to kind of understand
what this is all about and thenhopefully lead on into high
school and into on into college.
Now again, they don't.
(16:05):
You don't have to sing, danceor act, but if you love theater
there's other ways to beinvolved, and so that's what
that's what BTU is all about.
We really want to be that.
We call ourselves the NAACP oftheater and we want to just be a
vessel for people to be able tocome to.
You know, there are otherorganizations that we really
collaborate with, and that'sBlack Theater Coalition, there's
(16:27):
a Broadway Advocacy Coalition,there's the Black Broadway Men,
I think there's the BlackBroadway Women.
I might be saying that wrong,but there's other organizations.
We're all saying the same thing, but you know, everybody uses
whatever tools or relationshipsthat they have to make sure that
we progress you've playedphantom not once, but twice
(16:53):
actually, because you were alsouh, starring in love never dies,
which is the sequel to phantom.
Maddie Orton (16:58):
You've played so many iconic musical theater
bucket list roles and I justjotted down a couple and I was
like I'm just going to I can'tname all of them because it's
going to take up half thepodcast but Harold Hill in Music
man, cole House in Ragtime,javert in Les Mis, porgy and
Porgy in Fes, sweeney Todd, andI could keep going.
Who else is on your to-do listat this point?
Norm Lewis (17:24):
Well, you know, it's interesting.
I get.
I get this question a few timesand I will say there was.
You know, when I was younger Idid have more of a list.
You know, I wanted to playCurly and in Oklahoma I wanted
to play uh, uh, what's thecharacter's name in Carousel?
I forget his name, but in innine I wanted to be the lead guy
in that.
Maddie Orton (17:41):
Oh yeah, that's a great one, Now that I'm older.
Norm Lewis (17:44):
I mean, I have to be realistic, at least in that
regard.
But yeah, you know, I'mactually a little bit more
excited about the new worksthat's coming out.
There's a lot of people thatare right, like Douglas Lyons,
who is killing it.
You know, he wrote Chicken andB and biscuits and a few other
pieces.
I want to see what's new outthere, you know, uh, I love the
(18:07):
old stuff and I think there's aplace for it.
But you know, right now I'mjust I'm kind of excited about
the new things, the new worksyeah, that's great.
Maddie Orton (18:15):
Do you, looking back on the roles that you have
done so far, are there any thatare like your absolute favorite
that might be surprising topeople or some that people would
say like that makes them.
I mean, you know, I wouldimagine playing Phantom is one
of the greatest experiences ofall time.
Norm Lewis (18:29):
Yes, yes, and actually one of the hardest, one
of the most challenging, Iwould say too.
I mean, I was up for thechallenge, but it was definitely
the most challenging because ofthe fact that I'm not a tenor
Usually they hire tenors I'm abaritone.
Maddie Orton (18:41):
Oh, interesting.
Norm Lewis (18:42):
And so you had to sound.
Very.
There was a sound that peopleexpected let's just say that
Because the music is so lush andyour voice is one of the
instruments that is in that show.
So I couldn't sound likeMichael Crawford, but I could do
the best that I could to soundlike what I thought the Phantom
was.
And so it was.
Yeah, it was a nice challengethat lasted for a while.
(19:04):
I would say I'm known forPhantom, I'm known for Javert,
I'm known for Sweeney, todd,porgy and Bess.
You know obviously for that aswell.
But there was a show that I didback in 1998.
That was called 1998 or 99,doesn't matter, but it was
(19:24):
called Captain's Courageous.
It was off Broadway with MTC.
It was with Treat Williams Godrest his soul.
He's no longer with us, but hewas the lead and I was one of
this.
It was a group of guys, justguys.
It was a fraternity and we wereportraying.
I don't know if you ever sawthe movie with Mickey Rooney or
read the book, but it was aboutthese guys that were on a
(19:46):
fishing boat and out ofGloucester, massachusetts, and
what we did was we used the bookthe Perfect Storm as our Bible,
even though it was more becausethat was our storytelling was
back before the depression.
The Perfect Storm was a littlebit more modern, I think it was
like in the 80s or 90s orsomething.
But we use that as referenceand I was trying to figure out
(20:08):
my character because I was theonly black guy in the show and I
was the cook on the ship.
So this Gloucester,massachusetts accent.
They were trying to get us intothat sort of vein.
Something felt wrong about itfor me.
Okay, okay.
But I said, okay, I'll stilllearn it.
But going deeper and diggingdeeper into my character, I
(20:28):
found out that these ships wouldgo down to the Caribbean and
fish and then hire people fromthe Caribbean to be on these
boats or be in that community.
And I was like, oh my God,that's it.
That's it, that's my character.
So I said I was from Trinidadand I put on a Trinidadian
accent and I actually only hadfour lines in the show.
(20:49):
But for me, saying those fourlines in that accent was more
authentic and my subtextactually helped my character
more.
You know, I had one lines hereand there, but I would say it in
that accent instead of aglosser Massachusetts accent.
So it's all about, you know,just trying to find the depths
of what is authentic for you asa character.
(21:10):
And you know, even when Iplayed the Phantom, it was funny
because, yes, the show had beenon at that time 24 years and
there was no way I was going togo in there and change anything.
It was just I'm just this guy.
My skin color is different thanmost of the guys that have
played the role.
That's the only difference.
But, when I was learning theshow, I was like, yeah, okay,
(21:32):
I'm going to stand here, I'mgoing to do this, I'm going to
do this.
But then, when Harold Prince,we got to the last scene and he
said, norm, okay, this is what Iwant you to do.
Maddie Orton (21:40):
Wait how Prince came back to put you into the
show.
Uh-huh, uh-huh Does that alwayshappen with replacements.
Norm Lewis (21:47):
Well, not really.
So what he did was he had theassistant, or I don't want to
say the assistant, but he wasthe guy that was a resident
director, let's put it that way.
His name was Seth Sklar Ialways have to say it slowly
because it's such a tonguetwister Seth Sklar.
Anyway, he was wonderful.
He really took us on thejourney because he'd been
(22:10):
working so closely with HaroldPrince.
But the final few days before Iwent in, harold came in and
directed me and so he's likelook, in this final scene, I
want you to be this petulantchild, I just want you to go as
far as you want, like it's myball and I'm taking it and I'm
going home.
That's the thing I said.
He said you.
I'll let you know if you go toofar.
(22:33):
So, that was at least he gave methe freedom for in that that
part of the show.
So I took advantage of it and Idid a lot of crazy things and I
was just in in fear of himsaying, okay, crazy things.
And I was just in in fear ofhim saying, okay, that's too far
, that's too far.
He came to see it several timesand he was like, no, you're
good.
Maddie Orton (23:01):
Oh, wow, that's so cool.
That is very cool.
I think of you primarily as,like, a classical musical
theater person, but I did also.
Norm Lewis (23:08):
you know I didn't realize how much rock opera
you've done.
Yeah.
Maddie Orton (23:12):
Yeah, so you've done which.
I was like, oh, wow, I cause I,you know, I think of such a
classical, beautiful baritone.
And then I'm like, oh, he'sdone, tommy, twice.
Norm Lewis (23:24):
Well, I did tell him we did a concert version of it
like years later.
We did it like the 15thanniversary or something like
that 20th anniversary.
But uh, yeah, I did.
Maddie Orton (23:31):
You know, that was my first broadway show if you
listen to me and jesus christsuperstar on tv.
Yeah, I got to do that how doyou feel about that genre versus
I mean the stuff that you'remore known for?
Norm Lewis (23:43):
oh, I love it.
I love it.
I never funny enough, okay.
So, tommy, I was lucky just toget that show, so I was.
They were on the very last dayof their callbacks.
Maddie Orton (23:52):
And.
Norm Lewis (23:53):
I got in because I was on a tour of Once on this
Island and I got in somehow,luckily, and they hired me.
I was like, oh my God.
So that was great.
But if you listen to the album,my voice, I think, sticks out
more than anyone else's becauseif you, if you listen, to go to
the mirror okay.
I had to sing it in a way thatsounded a little bit more
Broadway, even though it had abeat underneath it.
(24:16):
So I had, like that legit soundthat you know quote unquote
classical sound if you will.
But but there was that rockbeat underneath it.
And then in Jesus ChristSuperstar, which I never thought
that I would be part of, thatwhich was great by the way.
Well, it was so much fun.
But they put me as Caiaphas andCaiaphas has that.
(24:36):
You know that low sound, youknow he's singing there and then
he has to sing a little higher.
So I guess you know the rangethat I could do.
They were like, okay, this guycould do this role right now.
I've always wanted to playJudas but I could never do.
I could never do eight shows aweek.
Maddie Orton (24:52):
I don't know how anybody does eight shows a week
with that song.
Yeah.
Norm Lewis (24:55):
No, no, yeah, there's no way.
I could do it one day, I coulddo one night.
Maddie Orton (25:02):
Well, I want to see you do it.
If there's a one night onlyconcert version, I would love to
see that.
Norm Lewis (25:08):
Yes, yes, I could give myself one night and I
could definitely try to be asauthentic as possible.
So, yeah, Okay.
Maddie Orton (25:16):
Well, if anybody listening wants to do a one
night only production of JCSstarring.
Norm Lewis.
I am so there for it.
Norm Lewis (25:23):
Exactly.
Maddie Orton (25:24):
Well, thank you so much for your time today.
I really appreciate it.
I cannot wait to see you atMayo PAC.
I'm sure people will bethrilled and I cannot wait to
see what you do next, becauseit's always such a pleasure.
Norm Lewis will perform at MayoPAC on Friday, September 20th.
For more information, visitmayoartsorg.
If you liked this episode, besure to give us review,
(25:46):
subscribe and tell your friends.
A transcript of this podcast,as well as links to related
content and more about the artsin New Jersey, can be found on
JerseyArts.
com.
The Jersey Arts Podcast ispresented by Art Pride New
Jersey, advancing a state ofcreativity since 1986.
The show is co-founded by, andcurrently supported by, funds
from the New Jersey StateCouncil on the Arts, with
(26:09):
additional support from theNational Endowment for the Arts.
This episode was hosted,produced and edited by yours
truly, Maddie Orton.
Executive producers are JimAtkinson and Isaac Serna-Diez.
Special thanks to Norm Lewisand Nick Kaminsky.
I'm Maddie Orton for the JerseyArts Podcast.
Thanks for listening.
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