BWW Interviews: Wade Returns to Columbus as a Queen in LION KING

Tis good to be the queen.

Few people know that more than Tryphena Wade, a 1999 Pickerington High School graduate who plays Sarabi in a touring production of Disney's THE LION KING. The production opens in Columbus on Oct. 14 and will stay in the city until Nov. 9 at Ohio Theatre.

"I just enjoy playing the role of the queen. Who wouldn't like that?" Wade says with a laugh.
"It's really kind of fun to have people call you 'Your Majesty.' It's nice because I get to be a part of both worlds: the ensemble world as well as the main character world."

For the last four years, Wade has been Sarabi, the queen of Pride Rock and the mother of Simba in the visually spectacular LION KING. Patrick R. Brown (Scar), L. Steven Taylor (Mufasa), Tshidi Manye (Rafiki), Drew Hirshfield (Zazu), Ben Lipitz (Pumba), Nick Cordileone (Timon), Jelani Remy (Simba), Nia Holloway (Nala), Keith Bennett (Banzai), Rashada Dawan (Shenzi), and Robbie Swift as (Ed) also star.

Jordan A. Hall and Tré Jones alternate as young Simba and Nya Cymone Carter and Tyrah Skye Odoms share the role of young Nala.

The run marks the first time a touring company has brought the musical to Columbus since 2004. That year, the company enjoyed a sold out, six-week run at the Ohio Theatre. It also will be the longest time Wade has spent in her hometown since she was in high school. Upon graduation from Pickerington, she studied musical theater at Howard University in Washington D.C.

Since graduating from Howard in 2003, Wade has been in demand. She played Cassandra in TROJAN WOMEN off Broadway, Brenda in SMOKEY JOE'S CAFÉ on a cruise ship, Alice in SECRET GARDEN and Sarah in RAG TIME. One of her highlights was playing one of the stepsisters and providing the backstage vocal cover for Laurel in DREAMGIRLS in Atlanta's Fox Theatre. In that production, Jennifer Holliday reprised her role as Effie White for which she won a Tony for best leading actress in 1982.

While she has made several short visits to Columbus, including one a couple of months ago, she hasn't had the kind of stay she will be experiencing this time.

"This will be a great opportunity to reconnect with people I haven't seen in a long time," says Wade, who will be performing professionally for the first time in Columbus. "I'm going to have to relearn the city because there have been a lot of changes since then. It'll be kind of nice to reintroduce myself to my own hometown."

Wade says attending Pickerington prepare her for her career. She performed in such shows as 42nd Street, Gypsy and Mousetrap at the school's theater department.

"That fueled my desire to want to do this professionally," she says. "When I was a child that this was what I wanted to do. I took a lot of dance classes and watched a lot of PBS. I didn't know what was happening all the time but I like the way acting made me feel and that I always wanted to do it."

Wade remembers going to the movie theater with her friends to see the LION KING when it first came out. She says it's easy to understand the popularity of the show even after 17 years on Broadway and over a decade on the road.

"For me the LION KING is a great story of redemption and that it's never too late to start again," she says. "That was something that resonates with everybody regardless of their age, cultural background, or religion. In the story, Simba comes back to do what he was supposed to do all along. Everyone can identify with wanting to start over again."

The LION KING will be performed at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 14-16, 21-23, 28-30 and Nov. 4-6 and 8 p.m. on Oct. 17-18, 24-25, and Nov. 1, 7 and 8. There will be afternoon shows at 1 p.m. Oct. 19, 26, Nov. 2, 6 and 9 and at 2 p.m. Oct. 18, 25, Nov. 1 and 8 and 6:30 p.m. shows on Oct. 19, 26 and Nov. 2. Tickets can be purchased at the CAPA Ticket Center (39 E. State St.), all Ticketmaster outlets, and online at www.ticketmaster.com.