November 6, 2025 • 26 mins
If you’re a fan of Hamilton, he needs no introduction. Okieriete Onaodowan – also known as Oak to friends and fans – originated the roles of Hercules Mulligan and James Madison in the mega-hit musical. He also played Dean Miller on the TV show Station 19 and leads the new series Demascus–now streaming on Tubi–which the LA Times called a “must-watch”.
Born and raised in New Jersey, Oak is back in the Garden State at Two River Theater in Red Bank working on a play called The Monsters–a world premiere and co-production with Manhattan Theatre Club.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Maddie Orton (00:02):
Hi, I'm Maddie Orton, and this is the Jersey
Arts Podcast.
If you're a fan of Hamilton, heneeds no introduction.
Okieriete Onaodowan, also knownas Oak to friends and fans,
originated the roles of HerculesMulligan and James Madison in
the mega hit Tony DominatingCulture Shifting Musical.
(00:22):
He also played Dean Miller onthe TV show Station 19 and leads
the new series Damascus, nowstreaming on Tubi, which the LA
Times called a must-watch.
Born and raised in New Jersey,Oak is back in the Garden State
at Two River Theater in RedBank, working on a play called
The Monsters, a world premiereand co-production with Manhattan
(00:42):
Theater Club.
We talked about his new play,the intersection of theater and
sports, how he got his starthere in New Jersey, his TV show
Damascus, and of course,Hamilton.
Take a listen.
Thank you so much for joiningme.
It is lovely to see you always.
Okieriete Onaodowan (01:02):
Yes.
Maddie Orton (01:03):
So you're in Redbank right now.
Like it's not right right now,but you've been in Redbank.
You're working with Two RiverTheater in co-production with
Manhattan Theater Club on theworld premiere of a play called
The Monsters.
What's the show about?
Okieriete Onaodowan (01:15):
It's a sibling love story.
That's the tagline, but it'sreally for siblings, or even if
you have cousins that feel likesiblings.
Two estranged siblings kind offind each other years later.
The older brother, Big, he's anMMA fighter.
The younger sister has gonethrough some things that you'll
find out in the show.
And uh she shows up on hisdoorstep, and the the play just
(01:36):
kind of explores themreconnecting, finding each
other.
You find out why they kind oflost contact over the years.
But it's really about um justthe love you have for your
family and how it just nevergoes away.
And no matter how much time isspent apart, it's it's ever
present and it just takesreconnecting to find it again.
Maddie Orton (01:55):
That's really nice.
Okieriete Onaodowan (01:56):
And like familial love is is the most
healing love of all, I think.
Overall, I think is themessage.
So it's really relatable toeveryone and anyone.
Maddie Orton (02:05):
And do you have siblings?
Okieriete Onaodowan (02:07):
I do, do.
I have many, I many siblings,uh five sisters.
So I I get it.
Maddie Orton (02:12):
Five sisters, and you are the only brother.
That's fantastic.
What was that like?
Okieriete Onaodowan (02:16):
I know nothing else.
Uh yeah.
I I've I've learned to listen,it teaches you how to listen
intently.
Sure.
I think when you have brothers,you can fight out certain
things, but when you're only theonly boy, you can't necessarily
like fight your feelings away,so you have to find a way.
You have you need the gift ofgap, let's say.
Uh so I'm grateful for that.
They've they've taught me that.
Maddie Orton (02:38):
That's great.
And you play a mixed martialarts fighter.
You've done MMA before, right?
Okieriete Onaodowan (02:44):
I've trained.
Uh, you yeah, I've trained andI've always uh been into some
form of martial arts as a way ofuh training.
Actually, during Hamilton, Iwould train in jujitsu a lot,
and then uh I got injured.
A brown belt kind of jammed myshoulder when I was rolling with
him, and that was kind of likethe end of it.
And whatnot, and a passion ofmine.
(03:06):
But yeah, I've always beeninterested in I did Rocky the
Musical, and when I was doingthat, I got really into boxing
and started boxing, and I justkind of kept it going.
So this play kind of marriessome things that I love with my
profession, which I'm gratefulfor.
Maddie Orton (03:19):
Yeah, I was thinking about that.
Like you are in a very weirdintersection of like having done
Rocky, doing the monsters, youare like, I guess, one of the
go-to actors who can do boththeater and actual fighting.
Like you actually can box andactually can do mixed martial
arts and jujitsu, right?
Like that's pretty awesome.
Okieriete Onaodowan (03:41):
Yeah, it's a it's a lovely thing to have
that I'm glad I never have toutilize.
Maddie Orton (03:46):
But it's a good niche though.
I like that.
Okieriete Onaodowan (03:48):
Yeah, it teaches you discipline too.
I think in my sportsbackground, too.
There's a level of discipline,I think, from athletes or
athletics or anyone who trainsthat goes into the arts.
I think that kind of serves youin a way.
There's a level of disciplineyou need in what we do that just
stay on task and stay thecourse and hit it again and hit
it again.
Same thing with rehearsal, runit again, run it again.
No, the not getting bored andtired of the repetition, I
(04:12):
think, is very important intheater.
Maddie Orton (04:13):
Yeah, I would think it's also another place
where when people say one moretime, it never means one more
time.
Is that yeah.
Okieriete Onaodowan (04:19):
Yeah, definitely.
Maddie Orton (04:21):
What sports did you play growing up?
Okieriete Onaodowan (04:23):
I played football in in high school.
Yeah.
Maddie Orton (04:26):
How was that?
Okieriete Onaodowan (04:28):
It was great.
I fractured my femur early on,and that's kind of what led me
into this career.
I had a compound fracture in mymy my my left leg.
And because of that, A, itsaved me from many concussions
later.
But the only other passion Ireally had was performing the
arts.
So I was that typical jock ofthe arts kind of thing, and then
(04:48):
the fates kind of made thedecision.
Maddie Orton (04:50):
I don't know if that's a typical the typical
jock of the arts.
Okieriete Onaodowan (05:01):
I could be wrong, but I felt like No, I
think you're right.
Maddie Orton (05:04):
But I think it's one of those things where it's
like it's so cool because itlike if it happens, it's like
one guy in your high school.
Okieriete Onaodowan (05:10):
Yeah.
Maddie Orton (05:11):
Right?
Like it's not like there are somany.
It's pretty cool.
Okieriete Onaodowan (05:15):
Yeah.
I think so.
I don't know.
I hope so.
Maddie Orton (05:18):
I was also thinking, too, it's kind of like
with the MMA, with the boxing,having never done either,
because I I am way too afraid, Iwould imagine it's a sort of
thing where you also have to besimilar to working with the
scene partner, present and likereading that person's behavior.
Is that true?
Okieriete Onaodowan (05:36):
Especially in jujitsu.
Like, say it's like chess,because when you get to a point
where you're almost not evenlooking at your opponent, you're
literally just breathing andfeeling.
Like I can feel what he's doingwith his legs, I can feel his
arm shifting, I can feel himshifting weight in his hips.
So that informs me more thannecessarily what I see.
You just get familiar with kindof patterns of physical
(05:57):
patterns.
Like if someone's going for anarm bar, they may shift in that
way.
If someone's going for, I don'tknow, a kamura, they may shift
a certain way.
If they're trying to sweep you,the better you get at
understanding that language.
And I think it also works in intheater, especially in musical
theater.
When you're doing a show overand over again, you start to
sense certain things.
So uh I think in in especiallymusical theater, everyone has
(06:19):
that moment where something'soff and everyone just stops.
They can't necessarily say whatit is, but we're so used to the
show going a certain way, andthere's a quick course
correction.
You have to quickly assess isit their leg, especially with
dancers?
Are they injured?
What's going on?
It's their arm.
Everyone very quickly is like,all right, how do we get him
off?
How do we shift it to his rightside if it if it's their left
arm?
But there's a a lot of you haveto really understand how the
(06:41):
body moves, and with your scenepartner, it's the same same.
It's just me and Anye, uhMizelle, she's the other
actress.
We're doing a lot ofphysicality.
So if she's injured, there's II've gotta be able to sense it
in course correct in in kind ofreal time, um, which will not
happen.
We will be healthy and noinjuries.
Maddie Orton (06:58):
That's great.
Yes, I'm knocking wood rightnow.
Speaking about musical theater,can we talk about Hamilton for
a second?
Okieriete Onaodowan (07:09):
Oh, yeah.
Maddie Orton (07:10):
Okay.
So, first of all,congratulations on 10 years of
Hamilton.
That is incredible.
Okieriete Onaodowan (07:14):
It is.
It's a it's been incredible tosee how affected people still
are by the show.
At least for me, that was themost shocking and inspiring
thing to see that all theseyears later, people are still
very much so excited about goingto see the thing that we did.
It's not like a revamping.
You know what I'm saying?
It's like, no, it's literallywhat we did 10 years ago, but it
(07:37):
resonates still with uh with somany fans.
That's incredibly humbling.
Maddie Orton (07:41):
Yeah, it's funny you should say that because I I
watched the Tony's performancefrom June where the cast
reunited into that incrediblemashup performance, and I felt
like crying, which feels like areally weird thing to say
because I was not in theoriginal cast of Hamilton.
It is, and I it was funnybecause I I was thinking, why do
(08:05):
I feel so emotionally connectedto this show?
And I did see the show and Iloved the show, but I realized
that I listened to the castrecording, on which you are
excellent, by the way.
I appreciate it, over and overand over.
And I feel like I've taken thatjourney with these characters
and to see the original castcome together just felt so
(08:27):
beautiful.
And I was wondering if thereare so many people like me who
do feel so emotionally connectedto the show.
What was that experience likefor you to realize that you are
on this just very weird rollercoaster of being on a massive
cultural phenomenon, which Imean, for Broadway happens what,
like every 20 years, maybe?
Okieriete Onaodowan (08:50):
Yeah.
Um, it's an it's incrediblebecause of the love we have for
each other.
Like what made it a greatexperience was because we loved
each other so much for all of usto be back in the room again.
That's very rare when you dosomething like this.
Normally someone falls off orsomeone is recast, or if they
try to get the cast backtogether, someone's missing, or
(09:10):
God forbid, you know, someone ispassed on.
You see that with reunions andwhatnot.
But it was just incredible tohave everyone in the room again,
like it was then.
That rehearsal room, that'swhat made it special, and
because we we really genuinelylove each other, you know, it's
not like all right, man, wegotta get back in the room and
do this thing, and likehopefully we get paid.
You know what I mean?
Like that changes theexperience.
(09:32):
It was just kind of like, Howare you doing?
Some people have kids, likeeveryone is grown.
So it's like, yeah, we're allback in it doing the thing
again.
That is what is is is sospecial and amazing, and it's
one of those things that youcan't really um I think it's
just the genuine love that youcan't market that, you can't
falsely create that, you can't,you know, and I think that's
(09:55):
what people are reacting to, notto get too like woo-woo, but
just general true energy, likethe energy of putting a certain
group of people together againand not swapping out a piece.
I think that is just somethingthat I can't I can't even
explain and didn't realize untilwe're on the room.
We're like, oh yeah, this isthis is something special.
(10:15):
It's the same voices you'veheard then, the same tones, the
same everything.
And it's it's rare.
It's very rare and special.
Maddie Orton (10:22):
I think you can feel that for sure.
I think it's like a like alarger manifestation of an
overtone when you're in choiralmost where all these voices
come and you feel that extralayer of yeah, energy, something
like that.
Okieriete Onaodowan (10:37):
Yeah, it's like a band.
It's like you can getreplacement singers, but like
everyone's voice is its ownunique barcode, it's its own
unique signature.
So that blend is literallybased on the voices you get.
You see cover bands, theychange the lead singer, they
sound like them, but it's adifferent, everyone's voice is
different.
So if you get all those piecesback together, then you're like,
oh, that's the sound I knowfrom the record.
(10:58):
Yeah.
Because it is the sound from therecord.
Like it literally is.
It's all of the same voices.
Maddie Orton (11:03):
Was there a moment where you realized, oh, this is
different?
Not so much the show itself,but just the cultural impact of
this show.
I mean, like, did you go frombeing working New York actor to
being somebody where on thestreet you're spotted by a
stranger and they go, Oh my god,Hercules Mulligan?
Does that must be so weird?
(11:24):
When did that happen for you?
Okieriete Onaodowan (11:26):
I mean, it it really happened after more so
after Disney Plus.
Okay.
After it came out on DisneyPlus, at least for me, I noticed
that way more because COVID wasone.
A lot of people would be athome watching it over and over
again because of the kids, sothey're watching it.
So I've been on set fordifferent things.
I shot this show calledDamascus, and I was working with
(11:48):
Martin Lawrence.
Uh huh.
Martin Lawrence was like, heyman, I need to get a picture
with you from my daughterbecause you know she loves it.
She loves, you know, she lovesHamilton, loves Hercules
Mulligan.
So it's moments like that whereI'm like, oh, this is some,
this is something else.
Because people I admire, theirchildren made them watch it like
20 times.
They're just stuck at home withnothing to do.
(12:09):
So they're watching it over andover and over and over again,
you know, like when we werekids, how we watched Aladdin
over and over again, or LittleMermaid, or you know, how you'd
watch that VHS, like that is wewere that for a whole generation
of children.
Um, and now their parents arewalking around singing under the
sea because their kid wanted towatch Little Mermaid like you
know, 300 times.
(12:30):
So that that that was a moment,and then really at the 10 year,
that's when I realized, man, itreally got people through some
stuff.
I got a lot of fan mail fromfolks saying, like, you know,
the show helped them.
But again, 10 years later, justto see people like people love
Hercules Mulligan, you know, getback up again.
Many people said somethingabout that, you know, a credit
(12:51):
to Lynn as well.
Um, and the energy that I feltfrom that character, people were
like moved by it.
And that is the most impressed,that's the most humbling thing
to me.
Not that it was a hit, not thatpeople love it because it made
them want to turn up, but it'slike I put that record on on
dark times.
Like that is as an artist, it'slike that's what you want.
(13:11):
I love that.
You know, you want to helppeople, at least I think as an
artist, you make art because youwant to help people process,
get over things, overcomethings, be inspired by stuff.
So that's the biggest blessingfor me from this project is that
it's inspired people, helpedpeople through things, it keeps
people going.
Um, and it's a fun time, great.
But that aspect is what makesme really proud of it.
Maddie Orton (13:38):
You brought up Damascus, which is a very cool
premise and has gotten someterrific reviews.
Do you do you want to tellpeople a little bit what the TV
show is about?
Okieriete Onaodowan (13:47):
Well, Damascus is a half-hour
television show that I shot.
I mentioned Martin Lawrence isin it with me, and and Janet
Hubbard is in it as well, theoriginal Aunt Viv.
And it's basically about ayoung man who is trying to
process his place in life bygoing through experimental
altered reality therapy, wherehe kind of experiences himself
(14:07):
in alternate reality, alternateversions of himself to try to
sort out kind of what hispurpose is, um, which I think is
really relatable to a lot ofpeople.
I think it's uh reallynecessary for a lot of young
men, just to young black men,but young men in general, to
say, like, go see a therapist ifyou're not processing stuff,
talk to somebody.
(14:27):
It's okay to say, I have noidea, and I'm trying to figure
it out.
That's great.
And uh the response I've beengetting from a lot of people is
they feel that is what resonateswith them.
They're like, Man, just seeingsomeone who just is just trying
to sort it out and reallyuncovering things and exploring
things and uh being vulnerable,I think, is is really important
(14:48):
now more than ever.
I think there's a high rise inuh an archaic toxic masculinity.
I think it's important to kindof promote the idea of no, you
do not have it all figured out.
It's okay to ask for help.
Maddie Orton (15:02):
I love the idea of being able to experience
different timelines to sort ofwork through work through
somebody's life and figure out,you know, what what would have
been the best thing for me?
What is the right path?
Do you think you would do thatif you had the opportunity?
Okieriete Onaodowan (15:19):
Is that a healthy thing or do you think we
I definitely would.
I read all the comments, so I'ma glutton for data.
I read comments and everything.
I'm just kind of like, really?
Not too weird.
What did you say?
And then I look up their pageand I was like, oh, like I like
I would totally explore it all.
I think uh knowledge is power.
The trick is, you know, workingon yourself enough that you can
(15:41):
actively and in a healthy wayhang on to all of that
knowledge.
You know, a battery will shortcircuit if it's not built to
hold all the energy coming in,so it's just like fortify your
battery and then take in all theenergy that you can, and then
you can use it for whatever youwant.
Um, but uh I I think I would.
I think it would be a slipperyslope.
But I think in a version,artists and specifically actors
(16:04):
were kind of built for that.
Maddie Orton (16:06):
That is true.
Okieriete Onaodowan (16:10):
I allow myself to daydream and say,
like, well, uh yeah, what if Iwas in a world where there's an
alternate reality and I was outof shape and I really wanted the
da-da-da-da-da.
Or what if I was an MMA fighterand I had an estranged sister
who came and found me?
You know, like we we do thatalready.
And we hold that space to belike, oh, this is my what I
(16:31):
would feel like in thatsituation, because you have to
believe it for the audience tobelieve it.
So I think I totally wouldembark on alternate realities
and versions of myself to seeand understand like myself
fully.
Maddie Orton (16:44):
Are you saying that you read the comments like
people are saying this is what Iwould do or I wouldn't do this,
or this is a good idea?
Okieriete Onaodowan (16:49):
Oh, I'm just saying I'm a mascist.
I read the comments foreverything.
I know some people are like,I'm never reading comments for
stuff online.
Yeah, like if I'm on Instagramor something, the first thing I
was like, what are what is allthe madness?
What are people saying?
Maddie Orton (17:00):
And so people talk about Damascus and they say,
like, this is a good idea or nota good idea.
Yeah, yeah.
Okieriete Onaodowan (17:04):
For Damascus, the comments are
great.
It's just love.
People are happy about it, theyreally want a season two.
They're they're wondering,well, you know, is it coming?
What's happening with the show?
And the comments are are justsaying like they really
appreciate seeing this charactergo on this journey.
Maddie Orton (17:19):
Yeah, it's cool.
Okieriete Onaodowan (17:20):
And I think a lot of people right now would
love to dip into an alternatereality to see what the world is
like if it were different, tosee what how they would react to
things uh uh differently, anduh are just seeking guidance on
like what am I supposed to do?
Yeah, how am I supposed to be?
Let's find out.
Maddie Orton (17:38):
That's cool.
And you mentioned that you'reworking with some very cool
people in this project, but whatif it was just Martin Lawrence?
Like, did you grow up watchingMartin Lawrence?
Okieriete Onaodowan (17:47):
Yeah, I grew up watching Martin, and I
love Bad Boys, and all of hisstand-ups are classic and a deaf
comedy jam.
I would watch, and he was ahost for the longest time.
And uh he was just great andgracious.
He dove right in, uh, no ego atall.
He's like, let's figure it out.
He would let me play, you know,a couple times.
He'd be like, Hey man, you'refunny.
You're funny, you you're funny,kid.
Maddie Orton (18:09):
And I'm like, I feel like I could die happy if
somebody like Martin Lawrencewas like, You're funny.
Okieriete Onaodowan (18:14):
I think it's great.
I just I just want the show totake off so we can have
interviews and that can bespread out to the world.
Yeah, but he was great, and andJanet was awesome, again,
gracious, she's a legend, andthey both were just kind of
like, let's play, let's let'sfind the scene, let's figure it
out, and very collaborative,which you don't always find
sometimes with with you knowliving legends, you know,
(18:36):
sometimes there's ego, butneither of them had that.
They really just wanted to makethe best version of the show
that they could.
Maddie Orton (18:42):
I would think between Hamilton and Damascus
and all the work you've done atthis point, that you have met a
lot of Living Legends.
Do you ever get starstruck orare you cool with it?
Okieriete Onaodowan (18:55):
I'm pretty cool with it because I'm meeting
them in the context of likewhat I do.
Like I love this.
So the only time was like maybeafter like Hamilton, if
someone's hanging out, you know,Dave Chappelle, love Dave
Chappelle.
Oh my gosh.
But even then, it's still like,oh, I just like this is home
for me.
Like I'm on stage, this iswhere I'm like I belong, this is
(19:17):
where I feel most comfortable.
So um, not not not not so much.
I'm I'm I've tried to justrecognize every person I admire
as just a person, you know, andit starts with your parents,
they're just people.
Maddie Orton (19:33):
That's a hard lesson, too.
Okieriete Onaodowan (19:34):
It's a tough one, you know, and that
you still digest.
But early on, I was just kindof like, you know, are my
parents are people and they didthe best they could, and no one
bats a thousand.
And I really try to carry thatwith any other human being.
There's nothing a human beingin this world, there's nothing
they can do that you can't do.
But like Damascus, you justthere's a reality where you had
(19:55):
the same circumstances thatallowed you to do that.
Maddie Orton (20:03):
You were a young artist in New Jersey.
Tell me about how you gotinvolved in theater growing up
and where you're from.
Okieriete Onaodowan (20:10):
Uh yeah, I'm from New Jersey.
Originally from uh I graduatedfrom West Orange High School,
but born and raised in Newark.
Uh, shout out to East Orange uhfor toughening me up.
Yeah, uh, I know you fromRutgers University.
Are you rah-rah?
That's right.
Ra-rah, where I was kicked outof Rutgers.
Did not graduate from New York.
Maddie Orton (20:29):
And no one ever heard from you again.
Okieriete Onaodowan (20:30):
No one ever heard from me again, you know.
Uh it's college or bust kids.
Uh, but yeah, that's that's thebackground.
It's very meteoric rise.
You know, I worked in thefringe festivals, did every
random downtown show you couldthink of, and did the first
national of American idiotdetour.
That's the first Broadwaydebut, didn't have a line,
understudied everybody, Serenade Bergerac with Jamie Lloyd.
(20:52):
That's how I know Jamie Lloyd.
We've known each other for avery long time.
So it was very boop, boop,boop, boop, boop, boop, boop to
rock and the musical, toHamilton, to like all of it has
just been just working hard andand and always chasing what
moves me as an artist.
Maddie Orton (21:07):
How did you find theater originally?
Like, what was your firstmoment where you were like, I
think I want to do this, or thefirst show that you got to do?
Okieriete Onaodowan (21:14):
Oh, the first play I ever did was Bye
bye Birdie in Middle School.
Maddie Orton (21:17):
Oh, stop it.
I did bye bye birdie in middleschool.
Okieriete Onaodowan (21:20):
I was one of the bodyguards.
Maddie Orton (21:22):
You were what?
And one of the bodyguards ofthe sorry, you you did not have
lines in your stop it.
Okieriete Onaodowan (21:32):
No, I never really did.
No.
Maddie Orton (21:34):
That's wild.
Okieriete Onaodowan (21:35):
Yeah, in high school, it's uh I was kind
of like the jag of all trades.
So in high school, the theaterdirector Sandy Van Dyke, she
would be like, I would just plugin.
I work crew, I would workbackstage, do stage crew, and
then on stage she'd be like, Ineed someone here, or I need
someone to do this.
And I would just kind of likeplug in.
So that kind of started mywhole character actor.
(21:59):
I think some would consider meme trying to be many different
characters.
Most of the roles I play arevery different from each other,
which I like, and I try to keepthat going.
They're all just wild, wildlydifferent.
Um, but that's where itstarted.
Maddie Orton (22:12):
How did you go from stage crew to being put in
there to saying, actually, Ilike being on stage?
What was the show that did thatfor you?
Okieriete Onaodowan (22:19):
I was really in football when I got
injured.
Maddie Orton (22:21):
So well you were like, This is my fallback.
I think I'll just go toBroadway.
Okieriete Onaodowan (22:26):
I wanted to play ball.
I was an inside linebacker, andin in my brain, like that's
what I was gonna do.
Right.
The coaches were kind of like,I never played pop horn or
anything, so I really started inhigh school, and the coach was
like, Yeah, you know, we we wantto teach you everything and
learn everything, and you'll bereally great.
And then when I uh I gotinjured, that kind of shifted.
It shifted all of it.
And I was like, I couldn't walkfor six months.
(22:47):
I just had to physically I wasnot able to be as athletic as I
wanted to, so it was like, Well,what am I gonna do now?
And the only other passion Ireally had was well, not only
passion, but the only place thatwould take me really was was
theater.
Like academia I wasn't reallystrong in, and and that's the
only place that I felt home.
And there's a level ofperformance in sports that you
get also in theater, you know.
(23:08):
There's a camaraderie in sportsthat you also have in theater.
Like when that ball is snappedon the field, it's just this the
dudes, the 12 dudes that arewith you.
It's like we gotta figure thisout.
And in theater, same thing.
Lights up, it's like it's justus on this stage.
If something goes wrong, wegotta have each other's back.
Still hundreds of peoplewatching you.
So there are a lot ofsimilarities there that I'm
(23:28):
realizing now.
Unbeknownst to me.
Maddie Orton (23:31):
You mentioned your theater teacher.
Was she a big part of your sortof artistic awakening?
Okieriete Onaodowan (23:37):
Oh, huge, huge.
Yeah, Sandra Van Dyke, she washuge.
She really brought aprofessional element to our high
school that was not therebefore.
Taking us to competitions,making sure we understood um the
discipline needed, you know, interms of like, you know,
rehearsal, rehearsal, rehearsal,always have your lines down.
Like you just have to work onwork on it.
She got a lot of flack, but shedidn't believe in seniority.
(23:59):
She was just kind of like,whoever's great gets it.
If you're a freshman, you'regreat, you get the role.
If you're senior, you're notgreat, you're not getting it.
Because you she really wantedto build the best show and
really taught discipline, likeserious discipline.
And because of her, uh, I Ireally that is what allowed me
to have the work ethic I needed,I think, to be successful in
(24:20):
this industry.
Maddie Orton (24:21):
Yeah, I know that you are now paying it forward
and you're helping with kids wholove theater.
Tell me a little bit aboutthat.
Okieriete Onaodowan (24:28):
So American Young Voices, someone reached
out to me.
It's uh an amazing uhorganization.
What they do is they go toschools all over the world and
all over New Jersey, but they'refocusing specifically in
Newark.
And since I was born in Newark,someone reached out to me and I
and I went, I saw a show thatthey did, and I was so inspired.
And they get, I think it'smiddle school, elementary
(24:48):
school, and middle school kids,maybe like two or three
thousand.
They go to many different highschools, they give them music to
learn, and then they have aconcert.
So the kids have an experienceof performing at the prudential
center, you know, beingbackstage, getting what it what
that experience is like, and allthe parents for free are
invited.
They bust all the kids in, theyprovide all the kids with meals
and so on and so forth.
The parents can can they allsit down and watch their kids
(25:10):
like on stage perform, and theynormally have like guest singers
come in, and it's it's it'sit's really incredible.
And uh after I saw the show, Isaid, Man, I would I would love
to be involved.
So I'm working with them onlike a fundraiser to help raise
money to help support the kids,support the buses and the food
and and all the things they needto facilitate on December 8th.
Maddie Orton (25:31):
And people can look up American Young Voices if
they want to learn more aboutthat.
Yeah, very cool.
Uh Oak, you're the best.
Thanks so much for making thetime.
I appreciate it.
And and great luck with themonsters.
Sounds like an amazing show.
Okieriete Onaodowan (25:42):
Yeah, Monsters at Two River Theater
with a co pro with MCT.
So come check us out, bringyour siblings and have a good
cry.
Maddie Orton (25:50):
Thanks for being here.
Okieriete Onaodowan (25:51):
Thanks for having me.
Maddie Orton (25:53):
Thanks to Oak for joining me.
The Monsters runs from November5th through the 23rd at Two
River Theater.
For more information, visitTwoRiverTheater.org.
That's theater with an ER.
If you liked this episode, besure to give us a review,
subscribe, and tell yourfriends.
A transcript of this podcast,as well as links to related
content and more about the artsin New Jersey, can be found on
(26:15):
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.
This episode was hosted,produced, and edited by yours
truly, Maddie Orton.
Executive producers are JimAtkinson and Isaac Serna Diez.
(26:38):
Special thanks to Oak and TwoRiver Theater.
I'm Maddie Orton for the JerseyArts Podcast.
Thanks for listening.
Hi, I'm Maddie Orton, and this is the Jersey
Arts Podcast.
If you're a fan of Hamilton, heneeds no introduction.
Okieriete Onaodowan, also knownas Oak to friends and fans,
originated the roles of HerculesMulligan and James Madison in
the mega hit Tony DominatingCulture Shifting Musical.
(00:22):
He also played Dean Miller onthe TV show Station 19 and leads
the new series Damascus, nowstreaming on Tubi, which the LA
Times called a must-watch.
Born and raised in New Jersey,Oak is back in the Garden State
at Two River Theater in RedBank, working on a play called
The Monsters, a world premiereand co-production with Manhattan
(00:42):
Theater Club.
We talked about his new play,the intersection of theater and
sports, how he got his starthere in New Jersey, his TV show
Damascus, and of course,Hamilton.
Take a listen.
Thank you so much for joiningme.
It is lovely to see you always.
Okieriete Onaodowan (01:02):
Yes.
Maddie Orton (01:03):
So you're in Redbank right now.
Like it's not right right now,but you've been in Redbank.
You're working with Two RiverTheater in co-production with
Manhattan Theater Club on theworld premiere of a play called
The Monsters.
What's the show about?
Okieriete Onaodowan (01:15):
It's a sibling love story.
That's the tagline, but it'sreally for siblings, or even if
you have cousins that feel likesiblings.
Two estranged siblings kind offind each other years later.
The older brother, Big, he's anMMA fighter.
The younger sister has gonethrough some things that you'll
find out in the show.
And uh she shows up on hisdoorstep, and the the play just
(01:36):
kind of explores themreconnecting, finding each
other.
You find out why they kind oflost contact over the years.
But it's really about um justthe love you have for your
family and how it just nevergoes away.
And no matter how much time isspent apart, it's it's ever
present and it just takesreconnecting to find it again.
Maddie Orton (01:55):
That's really nice.
Okieriete Onaodowan (01:56):
And like familial love is is the most
healing love of all, I think.
Overall, I think is themessage.
So it's really relatable toeveryone and anyone.
Maddie Orton (02:05):
And do you have siblings?
Okieriete Onaodowan (02:07):
I do, do.
I have many, I many siblings,uh five sisters.
So I I get it.
Maddie Orton (02:12):
Five sisters, and you are the only brother.
That's fantastic.
What was that like?
Okieriete Onaodowan (02:16):
I know nothing else.
Uh yeah.
I I've I've learned to listen,it teaches you how to listen
intently.
Sure.
I think when you have brothers,you can fight out certain
things, but when you're only theonly boy, you can't necessarily
like fight your feelings away,so you have to find a way.
You have you need the gift ofgap, let's say.
Uh so I'm grateful for that.
They've they've taught me that.
Maddie Orton (02:38):
That's great.
And you play a mixed martialarts fighter.
You've done MMA before, right?
Okieriete Onaodowan (02:44):
I've trained.
Uh, you yeah, I've trained andI've always uh been into some
form of martial arts as a way ofuh training.
Actually, during Hamilton, Iwould train in jujitsu a lot,
and then uh I got injured.
A brown belt kind of jammed myshoulder when I was rolling with
him, and that was kind of likethe end of it.
And whatnot, and a passion ofmine.
(03:06):
But yeah, I've always beeninterested in I did Rocky the
Musical, and when I was doingthat, I got really into boxing
and started boxing, and I justkind of kept it going.
So this play kind of marriessome things that I love with my
profession, which I'm gratefulfor.
Maddie Orton (03:19):
Yeah, I was thinking about that.
Like you are in a very weirdintersection of like having done
Rocky, doing the monsters, youare like, I guess, one of the
go-to actors who can do boththeater and actual fighting.
Like you actually can box andactually can do mixed martial
arts and jujitsu, right?
Like that's pretty awesome.
Okieriete Onaodowan (03:41):
Yeah, it's a it's a lovely thing to have
that I'm glad I never have toutilize.
Maddie Orton (03:46):
But it's a good niche though.
I like that.
Okieriete Onaodowan (03:48):
Yeah, it teaches you discipline too.
I think in my sportsbackground, too.
There's a level of discipline,I think, from athletes or
athletics or anyone who trainsthat goes into the arts.
I think that kind of serves youin a way.
There's a level of disciplineyou need in what we do that just
stay on task and stay thecourse and hit it again and hit
it again.
Same thing with rehearsal, runit again, run it again.
No, the not getting bored andtired of the repetition, I
(04:12):
think, is very important intheater.
Maddie Orton (04:13):
Yeah, I would think it's also another place
where when people say one moretime, it never means one more
time.
Is that yeah.
Okieriete Onaodowan (04:19):
Yeah, definitely.
Maddie Orton (04:21):
What sports did you play growing up?
Okieriete Onaodowan (04:23):
I played football in in high school.
Yeah.
Maddie Orton (04:26):
How was that?
Okieriete Onaodowan (04:28):
It was great.
I fractured my femur early on,and that's kind of what led me
into this career.
I had a compound fracture in mymy my my left leg.
And because of that, A, itsaved me from many concussions
later.
But the only other passion Ireally had was performing the
arts.
So I was that typical jock ofthe arts kind of thing, and then
(04:48):
the fates kind of made thedecision.
Maddie Orton (04:50):
I don't know if that's a typical the typical
jock of the arts.
Okieriete Onaodowan (05:01):
I could be wrong, but I felt like No, I
think you're right.
Maddie Orton (05:04):
But I think it's one of those things where it's
like it's so cool because itlike if it happens, it's like
one guy in your high school.
Okieriete Onaodowan (05:10):
Yeah.
Maddie Orton (05:11):
Right?
Like it's not like there are somany.
It's pretty cool.
Okieriete Onaodowan (05:15):
Yeah.
I think so.
I don't know.
I hope so.
Maddie Orton (05:18):
I was also thinking, too, it's kind of like
with the MMA, with the boxing,having never done either,
because I I am way too afraid, Iwould imagine it's a sort of
thing where you also have to besimilar to working with the
scene partner, present and likereading that person's behavior.
Is that true?
Okieriete Onaodowan (05:36):
Especially in jujitsu.
Like, say it's like chess,because when you get to a point
where you're almost not evenlooking at your opponent, you're
literally just breathing andfeeling.
Like I can feel what he's doingwith his legs, I can feel his
arm shifting, I can feel himshifting weight in his hips.
So that informs me more thannecessarily what I see.
You just get familiar with kindof patterns of physical
(05:57):
patterns.
Like if someone's going for anarm bar, they may shift in that
way.
If someone's going for, I don'tknow, a kamura, they may shift
a certain way.
If they're trying to sweep you,the better you get at
understanding that language.
And I think it also works in intheater, especially in musical
theater.
When you're doing a show overand over again, you start to
sense certain things.
So uh I think in in especiallymusical theater, everyone has
(06:19):
that moment where something'soff and everyone just stops.
They can't necessarily say whatit is, but we're so used to the
show going a certain way, andthere's a quick course
correction.
You have to quickly assess isit their leg, especially with
dancers?
Are they injured?
What's going on?
It's their arm.
Everyone very quickly is like,all right, how do we get him
off?
How do we shift it to his rightside if it if it's their left
arm?
But there's a a lot of you haveto really understand how the
(06:41):
body moves, and with your scenepartner, it's the same same.
It's just me and Anye, uhMizelle, she's the other
actress.
We're doing a lot ofphysicality.
So if she's injured, there's II've gotta be able to sense it
in course correct in in kind ofreal time, um, which will not
happen.
We will be healthy and noinjuries.
Maddie Orton (06:58):
That's great.
Yes, I'm knocking wood rightnow.
Speaking about musical theater,can we talk about Hamilton for
a second?
Okieriete Onaodowan (07:09):
Oh, yeah.
Maddie Orton (07:10):
Okay.
So, first of all,congratulations on 10 years of
Hamilton.
That is incredible.
Okieriete Onaodowan (07:14):
It is.
It's a it's been incredible tosee how affected people still
are by the show.
At least for me, that was themost shocking and inspiring
thing to see that all theseyears later, people are still
very much so excited about goingto see the thing that we did.
It's not like a revamping.
You know what I'm saying?
It's like, no, it's literallywhat we did 10 years ago, but it
(07:37):
resonates still with uh with somany fans.
That's incredibly humbling.
Maddie Orton (07:41):
Yeah, it's funny you should say that because I I
watched the Tony's performancefrom June where the cast
reunited into that incrediblemashup performance, and I felt
like crying, which feels like areally weird thing to say
because I was not in theoriginal cast of Hamilton.
It is, and I it was funnybecause I I was thinking, why do
(08:05):
I feel so emotionally connectedto this show?
And I did see the show and Iloved the show, but I realized
that I listened to the castrecording, on which you are
excellent, by the way.
I appreciate it, over and overand over.
And I feel like I've taken thatjourney with these characters
and to see the original castcome together just felt so
(08:27):
beautiful.
And I was wondering if thereare so many people like me who
do feel so emotionally connectedto the show.
What was that experience likefor you to realize that you are
on this just very weird rollercoaster of being on a massive
cultural phenomenon, which Imean, for Broadway happens what,
like every 20 years, maybe?
Okieriete Onaodowan (08:50):
Yeah.
Um, it's an it's incrediblebecause of the love we have for
each other.
Like what made it a greatexperience was because we loved
each other so much for all of usto be back in the room again.
That's very rare when you dosomething like this.
Normally someone falls off orsomeone is recast, or if they
try to get the cast backtogether, someone's missing, or
(09:10):
God forbid, you know, someone ispassed on.
You see that with reunions andwhatnot.
But it was just incredible tohave everyone in the room again,
like it was then.
That rehearsal room, that'swhat made it special, and
because we we really genuinelylove each other, you know, it's
not like all right, man, wegotta get back in the room and
do this thing, and likehopefully we get paid.
You know what I mean?
Like that changes theexperience.
(09:32):
It was just kind of like, Howare you doing?
Some people have kids, likeeveryone is grown.
So it's like, yeah, we're allback in it doing the thing
again.
That is what is is is sospecial and amazing, and it's
one of those things that youcan't really um I think it's
just the genuine love that youcan't market that, you can't
falsely create that, you can't,you know, and I think that's
(09:55):
what people are reacting to, notto get too like woo-woo, but
just general true energy, likethe energy of putting a certain
group of people together againand not swapping out a piece.
I think that is just somethingthat I can't I can't even
explain and didn't realize untilwe're on the room.
We're like, oh yeah, this isthis is something special.
(10:15):
It's the same voices you'veheard then, the same tones, the
same everything.
And it's it's rare.
It's very rare and special.
Maddie Orton (10:22):
I think you can feel that for sure.
I think it's like a like alarger manifestation of an
overtone when you're in choiralmost where all these voices
come and you feel that extralayer of yeah, energy, something
like that.
Okieriete Onaodowan (10:37):
Yeah, it's like a band.
It's like you can getreplacement singers, but like
everyone's voice is its ownunique barcode, it's its own
unique signature.
So that blend is literallybased on the voices you get.
You see cover bands, theychange the lead singer, they
sound like them, but it's adifferent, everyone's voice is
different.
So if you get all those piecesback together, then you're like,
oh, that's the sound I knowfrom the record.
(10:58):
Yeah.
Because it is the sound from therecord.
Like it literally is.
It's all of the same voices.
Maddie Orton (11:03):
Was there a moment where you realized, oh, this is
different?
Not so much the show itself,but just the cultural impact of
this show.
I mean, like, did you go frombeing working New York actor to
being somebody where on thestreet you're spotted by a
stranger and they go, Oh my god,Hercules Mulligan?
Does that must be so weird?
(11:24):
When did that happen for you?
Okieriete Onaodowan (11:26):
I mean, it it really happened after more so
after Disney Plus.
Okay.
After it came out on DisneyPlus, at least for me, I noticed
that way more because COVID wasone.
A lot of people would be athome watching it over and over
again because of the kids, sothey're watching it.
So I've been on set fordifferent things.
I shot this show calledDamascus, and I was working with
(11:48):
Martin Lawrence.
Uh huh.
Martin Lawrence was like, heyman, I need to get a picture
with you from my daughterbecause you know she loves it.
She loves, you know, she lovesHamilton, loves Hercules
Mulligan.
So it's moments like that whereI'm like, oh, this is some,
this is something else.
Because people I admire, theirchildren made them watch it like
20 times.
They're just stuck at home withnothing to do.
(12:09):
So they're watching it over andover and over and over again,
you know, like when we werekids, how we watched Aladdin
over and over again, or LittleMermaid, or you know, how you'd
watch that VHS, like that is wewere that for a whole generation
of children.
Um, and now their parents arewalking around singing under the
sea because their kid wanted towatch Little Mermaid like you
know, 300 times.
(12:30):
So that that that was a moment,and then really at the 10 year,
that's when I realized, man, itreally got people through some
stuff.
I got a lot of fan mail fromfolks saying, like, you know,
the show helped them.
But again, 10 years later, justto see people like people love
Hercules Mulligan, you know, getback up again.
Many people said somethingabout that, you know, a credit
(12:51):
to Lynn as well.
Um, and the energy that I feltfrom that character, people were
like moved by it.
And that is the most impressed,that's the most humbling thing
to me.
Not that it was a hit, not thatpeople love it because it made
them want to turn up, but it'slike I put that record on on
dark times.
Like that is as an artist, it'slike that's what you want.
(13:11):
I love that.
You know, you want to helppeople, at least I think as an
artist, you make art because youwant to help people process,
get over things, overcomethings, be inspired by stuff.
So that's the biggest blessingfor me from this project is that
it's inspired people, helpedpeople through things, it keeps
people going.
Um, and it's a fun time, great.
But that aspect is what makesme really proud of it.
Maddie Orton (13:38):
You brought up Damascus, which is a very cool
premise and has gotten someterrific reviews.
Do you do you want to tellpeople a little bit what the TV
show is about?
Okieriete Onaodowan (13:47):
Well, Damascus is a half-hour
television show that I shot.
I mentioned Martin Lawrence isin it with me, and and Janet
Hubbard is in it as well, theoriginal Aunt Viv.
And it's basically about ayoung man who is trying to
process his place in life bygoing through experimental
altered reality therapy, wherehe kind of experiences himself
(14:07):
in alternate reality, alternateversions of himself to try to
sort out kind of what hispurpose is, um, which I think is
really relatable to a lot ofpeople.
I think it's uh reallynecessary for a lot of young
men, just to young black men,but young men in general, to
say, like, go see a therapist ifyou're not processing stuff,
talk to somebody.
(14:27):
It's okay to say, I have noidea, and I'm trying to figure
it out.
That's great.
And uh the response I've beengetting from a lot of people is
they feel that is what resonateswith them.
They're like, Man, just seeingsomeone who just is just trying
to sort it out and reallyuncovering things and exploring
things and uh being vulnerable,I think, is is really important
(14:48):
now more than ever.
I think there's a high rise inuh an archaic toxic masculinity.
I think it's important to kindof promote the idea of no, you
do not have it all figured out.
It's okay to ask for help.
Maddie Orton (15:02):
I love the idea of being able to experience
different timelines to sort ofwork through work through
somebody's life and figure out,you know, what what would have
been the best thing for me?
What is the right path?
Do you think you would do thatif you had the opportunity?
Okieriete Onaodowan (15:19):
Is that a healthy thing or do you think we
I definitely would.
I read all the comments, so I'ma glutton for data.
I read comments and everything.
I'm just kind of like, really?
Not too weird.
What did you say?
And then I look up their pageand I was like, oh, like I like
I would totally explore it all.
I think uh knowledge is power.
The trick is, you know, workingon yourself enough that you can
(15:41):
actively and in a healthy wayhang on to all of that
knowledge.
You know, a battery will shortcircuit if it's not built to
hold all the energy coming in,so it's just like fortify your
battery and then take in all theenergy that you can, and then
you can use it for whatever youwant.
Um, but uh I I think I would.
I think it would be a slipperyslope.
But I think in a version,artists and specifically actors
(16:04):
were kind of built for that.
Maddie Orton (16:06):
That is true.
Okieriete Onaodowan (16:10):
I allow myself to daydream and say,
like, well, uh yeah, what if Iwas in a world where there's an
alternate reality and I was outof shape and I really wanted the
da-da-da-da-da.
Or what if I was an MMA fighterand I had an estranged sister
who came and found me?
You know, like we we do thatalready.
And we hold that space to belike, oh, this is my what I
(16:31):
would feel like in thatsituation, because you have to
believe it for the audience tobelieve it.
So I think I totally wouldembark on alternate realities
and versions of myself to seeand understand like myself
fully.
Maddie Orton (16:44):
Are you saying that you read the comments like
people are saying this is what Iwould do or I wouldn't do this,
or this is a good idea?
Okieriete Onaodowan (16:49):
Oh, I'm just saying I'm a mascist.
I read the comments foreverything.
I know some people are like,I'm never reading comments for
stuff online.
Yeah, like if I'm on Instagramor something, the first thing I
was like, what are what is allthe madness?
What are people saying?
Maddie Orton (17:00):
And so people talk about Damascus and they say,
like, this is a good idea or nota good idea.
Yeah, yeah.
Okieriete Onaodowan (17:04):
For Damascus, the comments are
great.
It's just love.
People are happy about it, theyreally want a season two.
They're they're wondering,well, you know, is it coming?
What's happening with the show?
And the comments are are justsaying like they really
appreciate seeing this charactergo on this journey.
Maddie Orton (17:19):
Yeah, it's cool.
Okieriete Onaodowan (17:20):
And I think a lot of people right now would
love to dip into an alternatereality to see what the world is
like if it were different, tosee what how they would react to
things uh uh differently, anduh are just seeking guidance on
like what am I supposed to do?
Yeah, how am I supposed to be?
Let's find out.
Maddie Orton (17:38):
That's cool.
And you mentioned that you'reworking with some very cool
people in this project, but whatif it was just Martin Lawrence?
Like, did you grow up watchingMartin Lawrence?
Okieriete Onaodowan (17:47):
Yeah, I grew up watching Martin, and I
love Bad Boys, and all of hisstand-ups are classic and a deaf
comedy jam.
I would watch, and he was ahost for the longest time.
And uh he was just great andgracious.
He dove right in, uh, no ego atall.
He's like, let's figure it out.
He would let me play, you know,a couple times.
He'd be like, Hey man, you'refunny.
You're funny, you you're funny,kid.
Maddie Orton (18:09):
And I'm like, I feel like I could die happy if
somebody like Martin Lawrencewas like, You're funny.
Okieriete Onaodowan (18:14):
I think it's great.
I just I just want the show totake off so we can have
interviews and that can bespread out to the world.
Yeah, but he was great, and andJanet was awesome, again,
gracious, she's a legend, andthey both were just kind of
like, let's play, let's let'sfind the scene, let's figure it
out, and very collaborative,which you don't always find
sometimes with with you knowliving legends, you know,
(18:36):
sometimes there's ego, butneither of them had that.
They really just wanted to makethe best version of the show
that they could.
Maddie Orton (18:42):
I would think between Hamilton and Damascus
and all the work you've done atthis point, that you have met a
lot of Living Legends.
Do you ever get starstruck orare you cool with it?
Okieriete Onaodowan (18:55):
I'm pretty cool with it because I'm meeting
them in the context of likewhat I do.
Like I love this.
So the only time was like maybeafter like Hamilton, if
someone's hanging out, you know,Dave Chappelle, love Dave
Chappelle.
Oh my gosh.
But even then, it's still like,oh, I just like this is home
for me.
Like I'm on stage, this iswhere I'm like I belong, this is
(19:17):
where I feel most comfortable.
So um, not not not not so much.
I'm I'm I've tried to justrecognize every person I admire
as just a person, you know, andit starts with your parents,
they're just people.
Maddie Orton (19:33):
That's a hard lesson, too.
Okieriete Onaodowan (19:34):
It's a tough one, you know, and that
you still digest.
But early on, I was just kindof like, you know, are my
parents are people and they didthe best they could, and no one
bats a thousand.
And I really try to carry thatwith any other human being.
There's nothing a human beingin this world, there's nothing
they can do that you can't do.
But like Damascus, you justthere's a reality where you had
(19:55):
the same circumstances thatallowed you to do that.
Maddie Orton (20:03):
You were a young artist in New Jersey.
Tell me about how you gotinvolved in theater growing up
and where you're from.
Okieriete Onaodowan (20:10):
Uh yeah, I'm from New Jersey.
Originally from uh I graduatedfrom West Orange High School,
but born and raised in Newark.
Uh, shout out to East Orange uhfor toughening me up.
Yeah, uh, I know you fromRutgers University.
Are you rah-rah?
That's right.
Ra-rah, where I was kicked outof Rutgers.
Did not graduate from New York.
Maddie Orton (20:29):
And no one ever heard from you again.
Okieriete Onaodowan (20:30):
No one ever heard from me again, you know.
Uh it's college or bust kids.
Uh, but yeah, that's that's thebackground.
It's very meteoric rise.
You know, I worked in thefringe festivals, did every
random downtown show you couldthink of, and did the first
national of American idiotdetour.
That's the first Broadwaydebut, didn't have a line,
understudied everybody, Serenade Bergerac with Jamie Lloyd.
(20:52):
That's how I know Jamie Lloyd.
We've known each other for avery long time.
So it was very boop, boop,boop, boop, boop, boop, boop to
rock and the musical, toHamilton, to like all of it has
just been just working hard andand and always chasing what
moves me as an artist.
Maddie Orton (21:07):
How did you find theater originally?
Like, what was your firstmoment where you were like, I
think I want to do this, or thefirst show that you got to do?
Okieriete Onaodowan (21:14):
Oh, the first play I ever did was Bye
bye Birdie in Middle School.
Maddie Orton (21:17):
Oh, stop it.
I did bye bye birdie in middleschool.
Okieriete Onaodowan (21:20):
I was one of the bodyguards.
Maddie Orton (21:22):
You were what?
And one of the bodyguards ofthe sorry, you you did not have
lines in your stop it.
Okieriete Onaodowan (21:32):
No, I never really did.
No.
Maddie Orton (21:34):
That's wild.
Okieriete Onaodowan (21:35):
Yeah, in high school, it's uh I was kind
of like the jag of all trades.
So in high school, the theaterdirector Sandy Van Dyke, she
would be like, I would just plugin.
I work crew, I would workbackstage, do stage crew, and
then on stage she'd be like, Ineed someone here, or I need
someone to do this.
And I would just kind of likeplug in.
So that kind of started mywhole character actor.
(21:59):
I think some would consider meme trying to be many different
characters.
Most of the roles I play arevery different from each other,
which I like, and I try to keepthat going.
They're all just wild, wildlydifferent.
Um, but that's where itstarted.
Maddie Orton (22:12):
How did you go from stage crew to being put in
there to saying, actually, Ilike being on stage?
What was the show that did thatfor you?
Okieriete Onaodowan (22:19):
I was really in football when I got
injured.
Maddie Orton (22:21):
So well you were like, This is my fallback.
I think I'll just go toBroadway.
Okieriete Onaodowan (22:26):
I wanted to play ball.
I was an inside linebacker, andin in my brain, like that's
what I was gonna do.
Right.
The coaches were kind of like,I never played pop horn or
anything, so I really started inhigh school, and the coach was
like, Yeah, you know, we we wantto teach you everything and
learn everything, and you'll bereally great.
And then when I uh I gotinjured, that kind of shifted.
It shifted all of it.
And I was like, I couldn't walkfor six months.
(22:47):
I just had to physically I wasnot able to be as athletic as I
wanted to, so it was like, Well,what am I gonna do now?
And the only other passion Ireally had was well, not only
passion, but the only place thatwould take me really was was
theater.
Like academia I wasn't reallystrong in, and and that's the
only place that I felt home.
And there's a level ofperformance in sports that you
get also in theater, you know.
(23:08):
There's a camaraderie in sportsthat you also have in theater.
Like when that ball is snappedon the field, it's just this the
dudes, the 12 dudes that arewith you.
It's like we gotta figure thisout.
And in theater, same thing.
Lights up, it's like it's justus on this stage.
If something goes wrong, wegotta have each other's back.
Still hundreds of peoplewatching you.
So there are a lot ofsimilarities there that I'm
(23:28):
realizing now.
Unbeknownst to me.
Maddie Orton (23:31):
You mentioned your theater teacher.
Was she a big part of your sortof artistic awakening?
Okieriete Onaodowan (23:37):
Oh, huge, huge.
Yeah, Sandra Van Dyke, she washuge.
She really brought aprofessional element to our high
school that was not therebefore.
Taking us to competitions,making sure we understood um the
discipline needed, you know, interms of like, you know,
rehearsal, rehearsal, rehearsal,always have your lines down.
Like you just have to work onwork on it.
She got a lot of flack, but shedidn't believe in seniority.
(23:59):
She was just kind of like,whoever's great gets it.
If you're a freshman, you'regreat, you get the role.
If you're senior, you're notgreat, you're not getting it.
Because you she really wantedto build the best show and
really taught discipline, likeserious discipline.
And because of her, uh, I Ireally that is what allowed me
to have the work ethic I needed,I think, to be successful in
(24:20):
this industry.
Maddie Orton (24:21):
Yeah, I know that you are now paying it forward
and you're helping with kids wholove theater.
Tell me a little bit aboutthat.
Okieriete Onaodowan (24:28):
So American Young Voices, someone reached
out to me.
It's uh an amazing uhorganization.
What they do is they go toschools all over the world and
all over New Jersey, but they'refocusing specifically in
Newark.
And since I was born in Newark,someone reached out to me and I
and I went, I saw a show thatthey did, and I was so inspired.
And they get, I think it'smiddle school, elementary
(24:48):
school, and middle school kids,maybe like two or three
thousand.
They go to many different highschools, they give them music to
learn, and then they have aconcert.
So the kids have an experienceof performing at the prudential
center, you know, beingbackstage, getting what it what
that experience is like, and allthe parents for free are
invited.
They bust all the kids in, theyprovide all the kids with meals
and so on and so forth.
The parents can can they allsit down and watch their kids
(25:10):
like on stage perform, and theynormally have like guest singers
come in, and it's it's it'sit's really incredible.
And uh after I saw the show, Isaid, Man, I would I would love
to be involved.
So I'm working with them onlike a fundraiser to help raise
money to help support the kids,support the buses and the food
and and all the things they needto facilitate on December 8th.
Maddie Orton (25:31):
And people can look up American Young Voices if
they want to learn more aboutthat.
Yeah, very cool.
Uh Oak, you're the best.
Thanks so much for making thetime.
I appreciate it.
And and great luck with themonsters.
Sounds like an amazing show.
Okieriete Onaodowan (25:42):
Yeah, Monsters at Two River Theater
with a co pro with MCT.
So come check us out, bringyour siblings and have a good
cry.
Maddie Orton (25:50):
Thanks for being here.
Okieriete Onaodowan (25:51):
Thanks for having me.
Maddie Orton (25:53):
Thanks to Oak for joining me.
The Monsters runs from November5th through the 23rd at Two
River Theater.
For more information, visitTwoRiverTheater.org.
That's theater with an ER.
If you liked this episode, besure to give us a review,
subscribe, and tell yourfriends.
A transcript of this podcast,as well as links to related
content and more about the artsin New Jersey, can be found on
(26:15):
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.
This episode was hosted,produced, and edited by yours
truly, Maddie Orton.
Executive producers are JimAtkinson and Isaac Serna Diez.
(26:38):
Special thanks to Oak and TwoRiver Theater.
I'm Maddie Orton for the JerseyArts Podcast.
Thanks for listening.
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