Interview: Reji Woods, Portrait of an Actor/Cabaret Producer

He's been the Cowardly Lion in the Central Park production of THE WIZ starring Andre DeShields. He's worked with Harlem Shakespeare Theatre. But around Lancaster, his reputation's been built on longstanding work with Sight and Sound and with PRiMA. Reji Woods has been a contributor to the musical theatre scene in Central Pennsylvania for several years, but it was only last year that he added a new title to his list of activities: producer.

After a wildly successful solo cabaret act at The Ware Center (he's been part of Manhattan's Bending Threads cabaret team for several years), Woods was urged to do more cabaret. But a solo act is a lot of work for a minimal number of shows, so he contemplated how to handle the cabaret requests. At the same time, last year, he'd been trying to find a way to honor the women in his life, including his mother and his wife (and now co-producer), Audra Woods.

The answer was to do a cabaret show around female music icons - divas. And he had a location in downtown Lancaster, the Lancaster Trust, willing to have the show. "I was only going to do three artists, three nights, but the Trust was interested and asked if I could develop a program for the whole summer. I added two more artists, made it two nights for each, and I'm doing the same this season."

That "season" is his second year of PORTRAIT OF A LADY, a series of cabaret-style concerts dedicated to fabulous, inspiring divas. This year opens tonight with a cabaret tribute to Diana Ross, repeated on June 5. The other divas featured this summer will be Dolly Parton, Gloria Estefan, Taylor Swift, and Aretha Franklin. (Disclosure: This author has lobbied Woods for Cher and for kd lang next year.) The performers for the series are local singers who have worked with PRiMA, Sight and Sound, American Music Theatre and similar venues in the past.

What's Woods' range of divas? "Last year we had Billie Holiday. I originally planned one classic performer each season. This year we didn't go as far back. We went to the Sixties with Diana. Our newer featured star this year is Taylor Swift. We're already looking at next year and we're looking at going back to some of the early classic artists like Ella Fitzgerald and Dinah Washington."

He attributes part of the range of performers to the assistance of the Lancaster Trust. "Their staff is helping us make decisions about who to choose, to make sure there's real breadth in the selection of artists. We want everyone's lives celebrated - all ages, all musical styles, so all audiences feel there's a female performer they can relate to." But he adds that "Jazz is THE American music, which is why we opened last season with Billie Holiday" and why he plans to return to some of the great female jazz artists again. But it's not just the famous artists who are being celebrated - the local performers who present their works are being celebrated as well. "One of our divas this year is Gloria Estefan, and we'll be having Latina performers being celebrated while on stage as well."

Last year, Woods was present and hands-on at all times, but this year has brought him an abundance of summer work. "I've been cast in two shows this summer, so I'll have different hosts for each show, and our musical director, Mike Truitt, is taking a more active organizing role this year."

It's a busy life, but he's handling both his acting and producing with aplomb. "Fortunately, my wife Audra is co-producing, and we have an intern from Lancaster Bible College helping, who's fantastic. Lancaster Bible College has a very active performing program, and that's a big help to us."

Woods can be seen in Philadelphia's New Freedom Theatre production of the calypso musical JAMAICA this June, and in BIG RIVER at the Oldcastle Theatre Company in Vermont.

Information on his PORTRAIT OF A LADY series is available at LancasterTrust.com.