BWW Interviews: SISTER ACT's Chester Gregory

I have an childhood memory of going to my friend's house after school to before heading to our Girl Scout meetings. My friend was one of five sisters, and their mom was one of the liveliest human beings I have ever met. So many times when I arrived at their house, they had the 1992 movie Sister Act playing on their television and every single one of them was singing all of the songs and dancing around the house.

With it's catchy tunes (including the ever popular rendition of "My Guy"), fun-loving nuns, and a bit of crime on the side, this movie became a household favorite. Much to our pleasure, the movie was turned into SISTER ACT THE MUSICAL, and made its debut on Broadway in 2011. The show is currently touring North America, and makes its way to New Orleans this week.

Artist Chester Gregory, who plays Eddie Souther, recently spoke with me about his career leading up to touring with SISTER ACT and what it's like to be on tour with this energizing show. Read the full interview below:

How did you become interested in musical theatre?

Well I'm from Gary, Indiana and I've been living in New York for the past ten years doing various shows on Broadway. I did theatre... I started doing it in elementary school. Being an artist is kind of all I ever wanted to do my whole life.

Were there any particular influences in your life that made you want to be an artist?

Growing up in Gary, Indiana, I was influenced by Michael Jackson because that's where he's from. He was a huge source of inspiration. So Michael Jackson, Sammy Davis Jr., and Gregory Hines. So people that incorporated multiple fields of the arts... like Gregory Hines, he can dance, he can sing, he can act. I just saw it as one thing altogether.

So not only are you from the same town as Michael Jackson, but you also had the chance to perform in front of him?

It was exactly the same week that I booked HAIRSPRAY. I was flying back to Chicago from New York, and on my way back I got contacted by some people who were putting together a special presentation for Michael Jackson, and they asked me if I would like to be a part of the show. I was like yeah, and so I pretty much got right off of the plane and made it just in time and performed a tribute to him. What I did was I performed a Jackie Wilson song and then I said, "Just how Jackie Wilson inspired you, that's how you inspire me." Then I did one of my songs after that, and then he gave me a standing ovation, and I got to meet him briefly after the performance.

So many things had to have been going through your mind to be in the presence of someone who influenced you so greatly! What was that like for you?

Well when he was actually leaving, the only thing that... well I don't even know how this worked really, but the police officers kind of let me closer and I was still calling his name, "Michael! Michael!" But, I was staying cool because a lot of people were freaking out and fainting and crying and all of that stuff. So, I was just focused on just being cool and chill so that security wouldn't see me as a threat. Then, when he was walking I just said, "Jackie Wilson!" And he stopped, and he turned around and looked at me, and that's how I got his attention. So I walked up to him and just shook his hand and told him, "Thank you for being an inspiration." He told me great job, and that was pretty much it. And then after he walked away, THEN I, you know, screamed and everything.

Well, yeah! You have to be able to celebrate that moment!

Yeah, absolutely! Then I found out I was in HAIRSPRAY and I started packing up to move from Chicago to New York.

So you did HAIRSPRAY on Broadway, but you also were a part of the movie, weren't you?

Yeah my voice is in the film. There's a song called "Breakout" that plays during the detention scene when Seaweed shows Tracy Turnblad how to dance. That song is actually me singing. It's a JAmes Brown-like song. That's me.

Which came first for you, the show or the movie?

The show. That was in 2003 when I did it, and then the film was a few years later.

So what's that like to be in a show and then see it in movie form?

That was interesting. It was kind of surreal because I did HAIRSPRAY very early on, and so I performed with much of the original cast. It opened in 2002, and I joined in 2003. So only a few people from the cast had left and so I got the chance to perform with Harvey Fierstein, Marissa Jaret Winokur, Matthew Morrison. Shortly after I joined, then we saw the tour, and I was like wow I was a part of this historic event with this great show and everything. Seeing it on film was really, really interesting. I love the film, and I had a lot of friends who were in it. My voice is actually not only on "Breakout," but I'm actually singing background for songs all the way through the film. I remember being in the studio recording "Welcome to the 60s" and all that stuff. It was a wonderful experience. It was unlike anything I had experienced before. It was my first time seeing something that I was a part of, almost from the beginning, and then seeing it now on screen. It was great.

What's the difference between singing live in front of an audience and being in a recording studio?

Well, singing every night on stage is different because you have to sing and project. The microphone you have is not a handheld. It's usually somewhere around your head or your ear, so you have to sing so you make sure that mic picks you up. But also, you have to sing with the person in the back row in mind. So when you sing, you have to fill up the space and give it all you have and make sure that the person in the back row as well as the person in the front row are all receiving the message that you're sharing with the song. In the studio, it's a lot more intimate. It's very similar to I guess how you would play a show on stage if a camera was on you for film or TV. In the studio, it's about the intimacy. It's about keeping the intention clear so that they know what you're saying. You don't have to sing to the back row. You don't even have to really annunciate. It's all about the feel and intention and how the phrasing and the tone of your voice is... you know all the things that you do to draw the listener in. They don't have to be in the back row, they're going to have on earphones. You don't have to yell. It's very interesting because I've been recording the entire time that I've been performing, and it's nice. It keeps me grounded when I'm on the stage and I'm sharing other people's stories and projecting to that back row. I think some of my favorite moments are actually in the studio, and sharing intimate moments, and also sharing intimate details of my life that's more kind of my story.

So you write your own music as well?

Yeah. I'm actually working on a new project now. When I record music I record under the name "CHESS." All capital letters. C-H-E-S-S. I'm working on a new project, a new album called "Eclipse." That's coming out in January 2014. But some other songs I've done, I've worked with PJ Morton, who is the latest member of Maroon 5. He played keys [keyboard] for them, but now he's actually an official member.

Currently you're part of the touring cast of SISTER ACT, and this is another show that you've been involved with that has a movie attached to it. With this one, the movie was first. Was there any kind of pressure having it the other way around?

I was actually involved in quite a few that were films first. After HAIRSPRAY was TARZAN, which was a cartoon. And then there was CRY BABY, which was a film. And then HAIRSPRAY itself was actually a film first.

That first HAIRSPRAY film wasn't a musical first though, right?

Right. Yeah. And then DREAMGIRLS was a musical first and then became a film. And so then SISTER ACT. But, there wasn't much pressure to do it like the film. My first audition was actually with Jerry Zaks and Whoopi Goldberg in the room. And, the character is so different than in the film. They added this whole story. In the film, Officer Eddie Souther comes up with the idea to take Deloris to the convent, and he protects her and that's pretty much it. But for the stage, they decided to expand the character and make it a love story. So Eddie Souther, he's called "Sweaty Eddie" because they went to high school together and he had a crush on her, and was always pretty much in love with her, and every time she comes around she'd make him nervous and he'd start to sweat. So that's why they call him "Sweaty Eddie." This is years later after high school, and she recognizes him and he sort of has that same problem again. He has the identity of sort of being the nerdy guy who sweats around her because he has a crush on her. And so they added all that stuff. So there's a lot of new things that I could play with and explore, and stretch out the characters. I didn't really feel much pressure from the film, but SISTER ACT was a production before we did it on Broadway. They did it in London. It was also in Atlanta. So it was just a chance to really just explore and find our own thing with it.

Did you originate this role of Eddie Souther on Broadway?

Yes.

Is there anything that you have to do differently now that you're on tour with the show as opposed to performing it in New York?

Well, I did it the entire time in New York with Patina Miller as Deloris first, then Raven-Symone. Then I had a year off. During the year off I did a show called THE EVE OF JACKIE, which is about Jackie Wilson. I actually got a chance to produce my own show, and so that was great. That was fun. After that was when I got a chance to go back and do SISTER ACT after I had already sort of taken a hiatus and was working on myself and other projects. Now that I'm back in the show, I have a chance to explore the character in a new way. Actually, it's richer to me now because I've had time off. I've had time away from it. I'm not just in one theater, in one space. We're in new places all the time. Every week we're in a different city. There's a lot more depth that is played this time around doing the show. I'm grateful to be here, I'm excited. It's a fun show. The cast is wonderful. I'm having the time of my life with these people. I get the chance to explore a role that I've done before, but now I get a chance to add nuances and bring in a lot more things than I did the first time around.

For some of the younger audiences out there who may have not seen the film, can you take us through the plot?

Sure. SISTER ACT THE MUSICAL takes place in 1977. It's right around Christmastime in 1977, getting ready to launch into 1978. She [Deloris] is with her boyfriend, Curtis, who's sort of like a hit man guy. She wants to sing in this club, he doesn't let her. And she stumbles across him committing a murder. Now that she's witness to a murder, she runs off and he sends his guys after her to... you know because now they have to kill her because they can't have a witness. So she runs into the police station, Eddie Souther sees her, he comes up with the idea to take her to the convent, and he hides her. And then from there she's in the convent with Mother Superior, the nuns, and she sees that the nuns' music program needs some work. This is an opportunity for her to use her musical abilities and to also enhance the music program at the convent. However, it's in an unconventional way. She has the nuns wearing sequins outfits, and changes the songs around and that kind of stuff. The story progresses from there. Curtis eventually finds her in the convent, and that's when Eddie comes to the rescue.

What's the music like in this show?

The music is by Alan Menken. It's sort of reminiscent of the feel of songs from the show, the film. In the film they have "My Guy," the Motown song "My Guy," and they change it to "My God." So this has different songs all by one composer, Alan Menken. He knows how to incorporate the style of the soulful 70s. He's written for Disney, he does pretty much the majority of Disney soundtracks. It has a disco feel to it. It's funky. It also has very classic musical theatre moments. So there's a variety.

Is there any particular song or moment in the show that is your favorite?

"I Could Be That Guy" is the song that Eddie sings. He expresses his love for Deloris, and he also invites the audience into the extrovert within the introvert. He's not able to express much because he has so many feelings for her that it's overwhelming and all he can do is sweat, and so in this moment in the song he invites the audience in to see what's actually happening inside of "Sweaty Eddie's" head. What he can do for her, what he would do for her, how much he loves her. I think that's a great song, a great moment. That's one of the reasons I agreed to do the role twice now. This song itself is so rich. Alan Menken knows how to write for musical theatre. The awards speak for themselves... the Academy Award and stuff like that. I'm very grateful to get the chance to do this and explore this song. And then also, there is like a little ad-lib section. The other cast members can verify that, it's really very different every night. It's all just what's happening in the environment, how "Sweaty Eddie's" feeling in that moment. It's a lot of fun, and it's a little different every night.

You had mentioned a while back that when you auditioned, Whoopi Goldberg was at your audition. What part did she have in creating this show?

She is a producer so she oversees a lot of the show. She came in periodically while we were in rehearsal and previews and checked in with us. She sent us the best food ever. Like cupcakes and all my little places that I love going to in New York, I guess Whoopi loves as well because we shared some of those places. I'd walk in and be like, "What's this?!" And it's like cupcakes from Lulu's, it's called Empire now. I'd be like that's my favorite place! Then I'd come in and it'd be like cupcakes from Baked by Melissa. That's my favorite place, too. So it was great knowing that we're both foodies.

Dance on over to the Saenger Theater in New Orleans this week to see cupcake lover and musical talent Chester Gregory as Eddie Souther in SISTER ACT. Visit www.saengernola.com for tickets and more information. I hope to see you there!

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