Interview: Actors Chuma Gault and Jason Delane of HYMN at Odyssey Theatre

Gregg T. Daniel is directing the West Coast premiere of Lolita Chakrabarti’s Hymn, an Odyssey/Lower Depth co-production. It centers around two middle-aged Black men from different backgrounds who meet as strangers but, before long, they’re singing the same tune. A co-production between Odyssey Theatre Ensemble and Lower Depth Theatre, Hymn runs May 2 through June 14, with three low-priced previews on April 29, April 30 and May 1.

At a moment when public conversation about men’s emotional lives, and the particular pressures facing Black men, has never been more charged, Hymn offers something rare: a portrait of male friendship that is tender, funny and utterly without apology. Set against a background of R&B rhythms, boxing and rounds of scotch, Jason Delane and Chuma Gault star as Benny and Gil, who meet at a funeral; Gil knew the deceased, Benny did not. Soon they, and their families, begin an unexpected journey together.

Chuma Gault and Jason Delane 
Photos courtesy of Odyssey Theatre Ensemble & Lower Depth Theatre

I spoke with Jason and Chuma about their involvement with the play, how they interpret their characters and the story, and what new insights they hope to audiences will gain.

I first spoke with Jason Delane who portrays Benny:

Benny enters the story as someone who did not seem to know the deceased. What clues did you build into your performance about his deeper motivations for being there?

Benny enters the story troubled by something. He is wrestling with… something. Hopefully by the end of the play, audiences will look back upon Benny’s character arc and understand his journey, scene by scene and moment by moment. I’ve attempted to sprinkle in very specific choices that highlight Benny’s deeper motivations throughout the play.

Jason Delane and Chuma Gault
Photo by Cooper Bates

As the play unfolds, Benny is carrying knowledge that shifts how we understand his connection to Gil. How did you approach revealing that gradually?

Our playwright, Lolita Chakrabarti, uses a quote attributed to Miles Davis as an introduction to her script. “I’ll play it first and tell you what it is later.” Tracking moments for Benny as he reveals his character’s wants and needs by “playing it first and telling it later” has been a creative joy.

The play explores ideas of identity and belonging. How does Benny’s personal search shape the way he forms a bond with Gil?

Regarding Benny’s upbringing, Lolita has crafted an empathetic, honest, and frank mother-son experience that I believe audiences can connect with and, hopefully, relate to. By sharing personal stories, songs, and experiences from the past, Benny and Gil form a connection.

Music plays a central role in the play. How did shared musical moments help you express what Benny struggles to say directly?

Early on, Benny has a line: “The music was… moving.” This line perfectly captures music’s impact on Benny. Lolita’s specific song choices throughout the play highlight music’s immediacy. The music of “our youth” that any generation can connect to. No matter how young or old you are, those songs you first heard when you were a child that sang directly to you and helped shape your understanding of yourself and the world you reside in.  In this case, Lean on Me. Rapper’s Delight, and more…

Benny’s emotional journey involves both hope and risk. How did you navigate the stakes of what he stands to gain or lose in this relationship?

Both qualities of “hope” and “risk” insist on some form of “trust” to attempt to undertake. The play asks a fundamental question here - how do you gain or build trust?

Does Benny remind you of anyone in your own family or circle of friends. In what ways?

I connect deeply to Benny’s love of music and his desire to seek out truth. So, I would say, that in my family, Benny reminds me of me.

Lastly, what would you most like to change about Benny? Why?

A little more grace and compassion under pressure could have helped Benny out.

And now, Chuma Gault who plays Gil:

Jason Delane and Chuma Gault
Photo by Cooper Bates

Gil begins the play grounded in his understanding of family and history. How does that foundation get challenged as new information comes to light?

I don't think the foundation of his family and history changes much in that his life experience is still one of loneliness and alienation. As the under achiever, actually the “new information” is a kick in the pants and he becomes motivated to do more, be more and overcome his self-image. Failing that, it brings up the question of we are who we are, and some are meant to succeed and perhaps some are meant to struggle. He is perhaps the sacrifice that makes the rest of the family appreciate what they have.

The relationship between Gil and Benny evolves in unexpected ways. How did you approach the shifts in trust and perception between them?

From the jump Gil buys in. There's an initial surprise, but here is this doppelganger of his father who appears just as Gil begins to mourn and face the rest of his life in his father's shadow. The play really revolves around Gil trying to start over as a man with a new role model and a new hope for a life that is under his own control. Gil is also incredibly giving emotionally and sees Benny as someone he can put his support behind, and get something back from, in a way that he never experienced with his birth family. Benny represents Gil's deep-seated need for validation, and my work has been tapping into what that need feels and looks like when you're trying to get it from another grown man you really barely know. It's incredible, heartbreaking emotional projection on Gil's part.  

The play centers on emotional openness between men. What moments felt most pivotal for Gil in allowing himself to be vulnerable?

In some ways Gil weaponizes his emotions to fight his way out of the box in which his family put him. I am discovering how kind and caring and compassionate he is, while never having a place to put it: no children, difficult marriage, unmet potential, the black sheep of the family, and incredibly painful realities are revealed in subtle lines and scenes throughout the play, yet I don't really have time to lean into emotional beats because the real-life circumstances of the play are squeezing in only fleeting moments of self reflection before he is pushing on from his painful past. There are lovely tender moments sprinkled throughout, with perhaps the final climactic moments of the play breaking open the tension of things unsaid to show just what Gil had been holding inside.

Jason Delane and Chuma Gault
Photo by Cooper Bates

The idea of unseen connections runs through the play. How did you and Jason build that sense of an underlying bond?

The whole creative team has been open and vulnerable throughout the rehearsal process. It's been an intense journey of investigation, mature communication and trust. It's trippy to have material this sensitive as a grown man acting with just one other grown man on stage. We are intertwined, and the play is so brisk and intense we have to really focus and be there for each other. We have open communication, very honest conversation both personally and about the play. There's some ritual involved in the rehearsal and preparation process that has been grounding. Jason and I have very different and dynamic backgrounds but our paths have led us down some similar, relatable roads and I think, humbly, we're intelligent and curious enough to look for where we can make those connections as colleagues, artists and sensitive men.  

As Gil processes revelations about his past, what do you think ultimately defines his sense of family by the end of the play?

I don't know if Gil ever gets to fully define what family is for him. There's so much that Gil had to unwind from around who he has believed himself to be, the demons he has had to fight, the alienation he has suffered through, and this tenuous new relationship with Benny that, early doors, is put under intense pressure to rescue both men from a life that wasn't quite theirs until they met each other. These are grown men sort of set in their ways and it takes a lot to move on from the big challenges that shaped their lives.

Does Gil remind you of anyone in your own family or circle of friends. In what ways?

Gil reminds me of me, in a lot of ways, of a few of my best friends. The character's journey will be familiar in so many ways to so many people because it is about maturing into the person you are meant to be, not who you thought you'd be, and learning to accept that difference.  

Lastly, what would you most like to change about Gil? Why?

I wish I could get him to see how special he is, how much love he has inside of him to share, and how much love is waiting for him to open up to and accept from the world. He needs a big hug and someone to say he's a good man with a big heart, and God loves him just the way he is. Because what man doesn't need that?

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