Roundtree, Horsford and Crew Tell a 'Love Story'

OK, when I tell you that this was the most unusual interview phone interview I have ever done, I kid you not. The show is the acclaimed comedy The Greatest Love Story Ever Told, being presented March 18^th through March 23^rd at the Beacon Theatre. The show features some of the best talent in the business including Richard Roundtree (Shaft, Se7en), Anna Maria Hosford (Amen), Clifton Davis (Amen, That's My Mama), Tatyana Ali (Fresh Prince of Bel Air), Miguel Nunez (Tour of Duty), David Ramsey and Guy Torry (Russell Simmons Def Jam Comedy). 

Here's the the story: 'Mix a meddling mother who desperately wants her daughter to get hitched, along with a father that can't get over the fact that his little girl is growing up, a young woman who's just had her world turned upside down with the unexpected news that she is pregnant by someone other than her boyfriend and a totally clueless boyfriend who tries to run for the hills when he hears the news of the pregnancy.' If the play is half as fun as the interview was, this is something you definitely don't want to miss.

For this interview, we have some of the finest talent ever assembled on one stage:  Richard Roundtree, Anna Maria Horsford, Miguel Nunez, Jr and Guy Torry.  Here's a little background on The Players...

Roundtree is best known for his creation of the title character in the Shaft movies. He has had a successful movie and television career with TV roles in Roots, Heroes, Desperate Housewives and movies including Se7en, the 2000 remake of Shaft as Shaft's uncle and the upcoming live action version of Speed Racer.

Hosford has appeared as a regular in the TV sitcom Amen as well as numerous appearances on TV shows including The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Sparks, Moesha, The Bernie Mac Show, The Shield and Girlfriends. More recently she was seen in the first season of Grey's Anatomy.

Nunez has appeared in movies such as Return of the Living Dead and Friday The 13th:A New Beginning.  His first major starring role was Marcus Taylor on the TV series Tour of Duty, and later appeared on Sparks as well as in movies including Juwanna Mann.

Torry first gained prominence on Russell Simmons' hit Def Comedy Jam, resulting in a job as a staff writer for the HBO late night show and a spot on the Def Comedy Jam national tour for three seasons.  He can regularly be seen performing at Comedy Clubs around the country. His movie roles include American History X,  for which he received rave reviews, Pearl Harbor, opposite Cuba Gooding, Jr. and the Eddie Murphy/Martin Lawrence feature film Life.

And so we begin...

TJ: So, the show opens tomorrow night, folks. Anybody having opening night jitters?

HORSFORD:  I do because everybody that I went to elementary school with will be there.

TORRY: For me, I 'm just really excited because I've filmed Def Comedy Jam here and done the Paramount Theatre a few times. I am just real excited and ready to go.

NUNEZ:  And he's just happy to be working. (laughing) TJ:  Ok, this is like a cornucopia of who's who in the entertainment business. What's it been like for you guys to get together and do this?

ROUNDTREE:  They've all been learning from me. So for me, it's been more of a teaching experience than a learning experience.

HOSFORD:  It has gone so smoothly that you almost don't believe it. But we have all worked together at one point. Tatayna and I worked together on Fresh Prince and Mr Roundtree was my almost boyfriend on Amen when Clifton left me and I joined the service.

TJ:  Do you remember that, Richard?

ROUNDTREE:  Absolutely! I was a drill sergeant putting her through her paces.

TORRY:  I worked with Anna before on Ed Weinberger's series Good News and she had directed a couple of episodes.  Miguel and I had worked together on a movie called Life and also on a couple of episodes of Sparks. We just love what we do and the camaraderie is great. The respect is great. We all love the craft and the work so it's been real fun. Real easy.

TJ:  Is there any one project that you have all worked on together at the same time?

TORRY:  Just this. But the first time we came together, it seemed like we had all worked together forever. It seemed like we were on a sitcom for years and we took a break and we got back together for a reunion show. That's what it felt like.

TJ:  So, it's been smooth sailing from day one?

HOSFORD:  Yes. We call ourselves "The Lucky Bunch" because we have all been fortunate and luck enough to be working in this industry, this entertainment business, for many, many years.

TJ:  Do you find that there's not a lot of opportunities out there?

HOSFORD:  You know what? It's interesting because people always ask if it was real hard and I said that I have been able to sustain a nice lifestyle for the last thirty to thirty five years. So I don't know if it's not enough…it's always that you find your bottom. It's how much you're willing to sacrifice for this thing you call your creativity. I don't think we look at the scarcity. You know, every time I get a job, I rejoice inwardly and say, "Oh my god! Somebody hired me to do this!"

That is so true and I tell you, that is not insecurity. I don't think we ever get secure about talent because talent is that club that you join by yourself. Sometimes you join it at three and sometimes you join it at sixteen. You're the only member of the club. As the years go on, hopefully you pick up other members. Hopefully you pick up your mother or one person who comes to a play you're in.  It's always a little spark of that 'Oh my god! I'm doing this.' So, we're really more grateful every time we get a chance to work.

NUNEZ:  When you get a chance to perform, whether it's TV or movies or plays. It's exercising your craft. I just finished a movie with Eddie Murphy and Gabrielle Union. I'm producing a show for BET but it's nothing like being on the road in a play where you get that instant gratification from an audience. I love it!

HOSFORD:  Anytime with Miguel Nunez is an experience.

NUNEZ:  Yeah, when you're working with me, it's better than getting a million dollars for doing a movie! (laughing) This theatre thing is new to me and I have a total respect for the craft now. It's fun! It's kind of like acting and the stand-up comedy came together, where you have a role you're playing but you also have the instant gratification from the audience. It's America and it's a beautiful thing.

TJ:  So you're hooked now?

NUNEZ:  I'm hooked. I am hooked, yes!

TJ:  When you look for roles, is it more than just the money?

TORRY:  I look for something that I can really get into and make something out of because even I was making money, if it was a boring something, it doesn't stimulate or do anything for me, I don't really need that. I want something that really I can get into. Make something happen with for people because that will get you more jobs.

HOSFORD:  And also, we're selling our persona. So, you always have to be aware of what you're selling. You know what I mean. That's a big responsibility. Richard and I had a conversation last night and we're never necessarily aware until you go out and you run across somebody who has seen you in something you're in and they share with the impact that the role on their lives.  We are looking at it like a job and they are saying that you saved me. The bottom line is that we are selling something. Every time you accept a role, your're selling a story…you're selling a point of view. And you're aware of that. And you'd better be aware of that. What are you selling? And the face is attached to it.

ROUNDTREE:  And that also is the challenge. You asked early about nerves. I doing something that I have never done before. I really stepped out of my comfort level in doing the role that I am doing in this play.

TJ:  What is your role in the show?

ROUNDTREE:  I'm the preacher. I am marrying Mary and Joseph.  Coming from being a PK, that's a scary thing. TJ:  What's a PK?

HORSFORD: It's a preacher's kid.

ROUNDTREE:  I am treading on some very thin ice here and there's no net. There's a nervous thing that goes on with me. I talked to Clifton Davis, who is a preacher, and I get pointers and notes from him every night. He boosts me up every night to go out there and give a performance. But I tell you, there's a panic moment just before going on.

HORSFORD:  And Clifton is a PK too!

ROUNDTREE:  Oh yeah! I don't have to say anything. He can read clean lines. We communicate on a totally different level without a bunch of words. You know, "Here's what you need. Here's what I think you might want to try." And it's sharp and it's great.

HORSFORD:  I think that's a wonderful thing about this group. What we get is a long term friendship. I think that's our prize as the actor when we get to work with people. People will say, "Oh how come you all act like you like each other so much and you're so friendly?" That's the kind of intensity that you have with people that you work with in doing a theatre piece like this. We get more intimate with each other mentally that sometimes we end up closer than your Brothers and Sisters. So, that's our prize for each other. I think we are all in a fabulous learning situation.

The guy who wrote this piece, him and his son, I was there when the son was born and he's no longer with us but Jack is somebody that every night I go out, I say to myself, "Who would have thought I'd be reciting his words?" He said, "I want to be a writer…I want to be a comedy writer!" And we all said, "Huh??", because a lot of time children who grow up in this business run from it. But it is an exciting thing to see how we can make a person's life just go on and on and on. I think I am humbled by that. That this little boy wrote some words and I am able to perform them and have a job and a responsibility of sharing his humor.  So, that's exciting to me.

TJ:  OK, so now, how would you describe this show?

NUNEZ:  It's the story of Mary and Joseph. The Bible say that the angel Gabriel came to Mary and told her she would be with child and that Jesus would save mankind. That's pretty much all the Bible tells you. This takes it one step further. What happened when she told her mama and when she told Joseph, how did he take it? So he took the story on a humanistic turn and in humanizing this story, stays true to the Bible and it really brings the story home so everybody can understand it.  A funny humorous comedy so that everybody gets the story.

It is absolutely phenomenal what he has done. Ed Weinberger created The Cosby Show, Taxi, Amen, The Mary Tyler Moore Show...he's a brilliant, brilliant writer. And all the churches go crazy! We put it up at in Los Angeles for five days. By the fourth day, we had two hundred people fighting to get in. Helicopters were overhead because they were fighting because there weren't enough tickets at the box office. We were looking at each other wondering what was going on! The whole from row was all church pastors saying, "We've never seen the story like this! Everybody should see this!! No one's ever told the story like this. It's incredible" And the audience was the reason we took it on the road.

TJ:  It must be a bunch of laugh backstage with all of you at the show.

HOSFORD:  Yeah, you have to be in a good mood to hang with this group. (laughing)

NUNEZ:  There was a scene I was doing for the last three weeks and Richard came up to me and said, "You should replace your line with this line and the audience would die." I changed it and the audience exploded. And then he said, "You know that other line you have, you should replace that line with this line." I ended up replacing that line with the line that Guy told and the place went crazy! So everyday is a learning experience and each one of us is helping each other make the whole thing better.

TORRY:  We all believe in the piece. When you believe in the piece, it doesn't matter who wins. When the play wins, we all win and we want to see everybody's part do well. So, we're all writers in this thing. Ed Weinberger and Jack Weinberger, they set the foundation and we're just adding the meat and the flesh and the bone and the color to it.

NUNEZ:  Yeah! And I'm the gravy.

TJ:  Well, this is definitely an event!

HOSFORD:  And I must tell you, I am so happy that Tatyana Ali is playing Mary. She is wonderful!

ROUNDTREE:  She is special.

NUNEZ:  She is brilliant in her role. As is Anna and everybody else!

ROUNDTREE:  Thanks for getting us all together for this interview. This was a lot of fun and we appreciate it! Thanks very much to these characters for making me laugh and giving me a wonderful task for an interview.

A couple of secrets were given to me about the show but I am going to keep them. So, if you want to know what they are, you'll simply have to check out the show, THE GREATEST LOVE STORY EVER TOLD, opening for a limited engagement on March 18^th and running through March 23^rd at the Beacon Theatre, located at 2124 Broadway between West 74th and 75th. You can get tickets at http://www.beacontheatre.com/events/greatest-love-story-0308.html or call Ticketmaster at (866) 448-7849. So for now, here's a prayer for all of you and remember, theatre is my life. Ciao!