0:00

Music.

0:32

But I do remember Robert F. Kennedy. I only imagine what the world would have

0:37

become if he had become the president. Wow. But I do remember him, you know, he was speaking to a large black congregation.

0:44

And he, that night the king was shot, how he calmed them down because they were emotional.

0:50

But he didn't chastise them for being emotional. He said, I understand how you feel.

0:55

You know, I lost, you know, my family. Talking about his brother and how he went to...

1:03

You know atlanta and he was there he you know

1:05

did that long walk during the procession of funeral with you

1:08

know next to coretta scott king so man that's what i'm saying all of this history

1:13

man by the time i got to new york you know and studying and training here i

1:17

knew more than most people in any classes i've you know i ever took and that

1:22

was all because of your parents grandparents i taught you that history about

1:25

and my school you know the schools that i went,

1:28

Welcome to the No Picks of Dark Podcast. I'm your host, Aaron Dante.

1:32

You know it's nothing about the heavy hitters that come in here.

1:35

And you know, when I found this brother that was in town, I had to get an interview.

1:39

I had to go through three or four people. I had to call certain corporations.

1:44

Could he get a release to talk to me today? We ain't naming no names. Right. But I'm very appreciative that I was a hometown hero.

1:52

I'm so excited. And I saw an amazing show the other night.

1:56

But Shaquise Bennett, how are you, sir? Dude, I'm great. I'm blessed.

1:59

Highly favored. Loving being back in Baltimore.

2:02

Spoke to some kids. This is where I got my stock from.

2:06

I love it. Yeah. And so, you know, I'm going to run it down to you.

2:10

Okay. So tell people what you do. What are you doing in Baltimore right now?

2:14

Tell them. Well, I'm here with the Lion King. Okay. Rafiki Tour, the national tour.

2:18

You know, selling out shows like we do everywhere we go.

2:23

Three years ago, I became the show director of this show.

2:27

You know to govern all this talent which i'm you know i have to be honest it's a blessing.

2:34

We're here and, you know, we're just bringing all this raw talent.

2:39

When I say raw, raw talent has been cultivated because most of these kids have studied and trained.

2:44

You know, the rigorous training and, you know, what they do every night.

2:49

You know, when I see them around the theater, I get to direct them at points

2:52

in the show, give them notes.

2:55

And like I said, you know, now I'm coming back to Baltimore because when I came

2:58

here in 2017 with the show, I was playing bonsai. Yeah. I was in the cab. You're Diana.

3:04

Yeah. Yeah. My kids are the hyenas. They love hyenas. They go crazy for the hyenas.

3:10

Oh, my goodness. Yeah. So, you know, this time coming around,

3:13

I'm like, all right, good. You know, I'm about to retire. I get to come around this time as the show director

3:18

of the show, you know, of this national tour.

3:22

How does that feel hearing that show director of one of the best-selling tours ever in the world?

3:30

How does that feel when you say, like, when I hear that, that gives me chills.

3:33

Because I'm looking at somebody who looks like me. That gives me chills.

3:38

And I'm sure the audience, when they hear it, they're like, damn,

3:41

he's probably doing some things. You know, I have to be honest,

3:44

this is intimidating if you're someone like me.

3:46

You know, that's what I always tell people you have to be careful with that word, perfection.

3:51

You know, theater is not perfect. It's expressive and it happens in the moment.

3:56

You know, so when something has happened in the moment, we shouldn't search

4:00

for perfection. But I thought, oh my God, you know, Because it's a big thing.

4:04

It's like a hit show. One of the biggest hits on Broadway.

4:09

Right now, there's a plan in all these countries. Different languages and everything.

4:14

And now, I'm going to front this massive...

4:18

You know, situation. And, you know, it's, it's great.

4:22

Like to have the title of, you're like, oh my God, it's great.

4:25

I can celebrate the title, but then, you know, you have to get down to the work of this.

4:28

Oh, for sure. But we're going to bring it back even further.

4:30

Yeah. We're going to bring it back. So tell the audience, you grew up in Baltimore. Where did you go? High school?

4:37

Did you, do you remember chicken boxes when you grew up? Was it around?

4:40

I remember, I remember, I had a Snoopy lunchbox years ago.

4:45

That's when I was a kid going to, you know, I went to all saints

4:48

was a catholic school on liberty street okay on liberty

4:51

heights yeah yes but anyway i

4:54

think when i really started developing to the you know the person

4:57

i was to become it was at walbrook okay and it's like back in 77 and you know

5:03

i decided i want to do this theater thing so i had a friend of mine you know

5:08

who uh he gave me the tools you know his name was robert ferguson I got to say his name,

5:15

you know, he gave me the application to go and seek out Sabrina Ward and fill

5:19

out the application to get an interview at Towson State University because they

5:23

were taking a lot of inner city kids out to Towson State to study.

5:26

They had the dance, they had the music program and had the theater program with

5:30

Marvin Lusky, Dr. Lusky, Dr. Dick Gillespie.

5:33

That's where I first saw Charles Dutton out there. Oh, wow.

5:37

John Mann Love. But it was my man, Robert Ferguson, who, you know, pushed my career.

5:41

And then my aunt, my aunt Calverta, my cousin Adrian Johnson,

5:45

they're the ones who took me, you know, back there, I went dressed real nice,

5:48

took me to my first interview where I met this lady, I don't know where she

5:51

is, Sabrina Ward, and they took me in their program.

5:55

And that's, that's what really started my career. That was back in like,

5:58

you know, the, you know, the mid seventies and stuff like that.

6:02

Who was there for you growing up? It's like, like, I want to be in theater.

6:05

Like who, like who was out there that was like, that you were like,

6:08

wow, this is what I want to do. Was there anybody you looked up to? Well, I saw, so for you to look up to someone,

6:14

you have to, you have to discover something to look up to. Right, right.

6:18

I saw Stormy Weather.

6:21

It was 1943, you know, not me.

6:25

But I saw Stormy Weather, and it wasn't until I saw the Nicholas Brothers.

6:30

Mm, those brothers could dance. Yeah, and just, but the whole presentation,

6:34

you know, they had Bill Robinson in it, Lena Horne, Cab Calloway.

6:40

I saw that, and I was like, you know, I'm sitting up there watching with my

6:43

brother, Terrell. We're sitting up there watching that. I was like,

6:46

man, I want to get into that. You know, we were young, and then my grandmother, that's when she took us to

6:51

New York, and, you know, it was in 76, and we...

6:54

We saw at the Lyceum Theater, we saw your arms too short to box with God.

6:58

So this lady, God rest in peace, Salome Bay and, you know, Cleveland,

7:02

Derricks. I mean, I was like, man, you know, it was a Vinnett Carroll presentation.

7:07

I saw that and I was like, look, this is what I want to do. So I went back,

7:10

came back home, just started like getting all information I could because,

7:14

you know, I just didn't know anything. And that's when, you know, Robert Ferguson was like, you know,

7:18

help me, you know, fill out the application, which got to Sabrina Ward.

7:22

And I got to go and study at Towson only to get back to Wahlberg.

7:25

And I was like, okay, this is what I really want to do. Okay, let me tell you about Wahlberg too. They had like Ms. Shera,

7:31

I remember she was the counselor. Okay.

7:34

And she said, all right, you want to study, you know, music and drama.

7:38

You had this guy, McElroy Hines. I can't believe I can remember these names.

7:41

I mean, I'm impressed right now too. This young, my teacher, Ms. Von Ador was my English teacher.

7:47

Beautiful women looked up to her and Ms. Sheryl Pastore,

7:51

She was in charge of the drama department. Whoa, this lady blew my mind because

7:56

she made me, as a young black kid, I'm studying all the Greek tragedies.

8:01

You know, and, you know, Lorraine Hansberry and Tennessee Williams, all these great plays.

8:07

And, you know, Henrik Ibsen, you know, the father of modern theater.

8:11

And she made me read all those books.

8:14

I like that. Yeah, so now I'm not just like just studying movement and dance and just winging it.

8:20

I'm getting the academics behind what this thing is

8:23

you know and she was tough you know and

8:26

then you know then i went out to my aunt dr lucia

8:29

hothman she used to you know she was at the speech and english department out

8:33

at morgan state university and i went out there and i met you know they have

8:36

the ira aldridge players and i met dr samuel hay out there he was one he was

8:41

god he was tough he's one you know his his niece martina sykes is in the show

8:46

okay and her brother you You know, it was Ephraim Sykes, who, you know, he's nominated for a Tony for Ain't Too Proud.

8:51

Well, that's how all this, you know, all this, you know, just mixture of,

8:56

you know, where I got to, you know, where I am and the people that I've met.

9:00

But I'm telling Miss Pastore, you know, Towson State University,

9:04

Morgan State University, and, you know, Arena Players. I did a show there with the great Sam Wilson.

9:10

You know, we did a presentation of UB. That was like back in 1982.

9:15

That was the first theater. I've also, I can't tell you the name to play,

9:18

but it was the first theater I ever went to with three new players.

9:20

Oh, yeah. Well, you know, back in those days, you know, I don't,

9:23

I haven't been in touch, but man, that, that is like the oldest,

9:27

it was the oldest community theater on, you know, I think in the country.

9:33

I think it might still be. Yeah, dude. I think it's still.

9:36

And so when I was there, you know, it was, I just met like all these like great

9:40

people when I did the show, you know, I was, you know, still young.

9:44

So all of this stuff, you know, studying, you know, with this guy named,

9:48

I want people to know who this man is, Norman Ross. He used to head the Cultural Arts Expansion Program.

9:53

I think that was the name of it. Or Urban Services Agency, you know, it's one of them.

9:58

And that was over at, he gave me a scholarship to study it. It was then called Gallery 409.

10:03

And then it went over into the UB Blake Cultural Arts Center,

10:06

right there on Charles Street. Well, Norman Ross gave me a scholarship there. And I got to study with Thomas

10:11

Hanner and Donald Williams. And, man, I was just totally immersed and engulfed

10:16

in this theater thing and just, you know, learning from all these people,

10:20

you know, here in Baltimore. So by the time I got to New York, I was ready to go. But it was the discipline.

10:28

You know, so back then, you know, in Baltimore, it was like they took no shorts

10:32

in terms of the discipline. And, look, the truth is, you know, once I got into, you know,

10:38

I've done some shows on Broadway. Way but the truth i have to be honest and it's

10:43

not just because i'm sitting there doing this podcast with you it's all good

10:46

but i knew it i was doing ragtime which is another big

10:49

hit show i love ragtime we were out in la doing

10:53

ragtime great cast man when i

10:55

saw the tonys and i saw like you know the presentation of i'm like come on you

11:01

know the opening of the lion king and you know the the parade of all the animals

11:06

and i was like man look at that so the opportunity came around for me to audition

11:11

for the show. They flew me out to audition.

11:14

And I was like, man, and I was like, you know, I was like 30, 33, 30, 32, 33, 34.

11:22

I was like a kid. I'm like, man, I get to take over, you know,

11:26

the second bonsai to ever do it from, you know, one of my mentors,

11:30

Stanley Wayne Mathis, who was the original bonsai.

11:33

And he and I had worked together in a show on Broadway called OK.

11:36

And I'm like, now I'm taking over his role, the second.

11:39

So when I look at The Lion King, I'm like, man, you're the second to ever do

11:43

this. I don't mind that, dude. I don't mind being a second.

11:45

How does that feel? It feels incredible.

11:48

You know, it's like, okay, that's one legacy for me that I can leave behind.

11:51

How was that moment when they told you you had the job? Like, how did you feel?

11:57

Like, just take us through, like, the emotions of that. Okay.

12:00

I did the audition at the theater.

12:05

And the truth was I was living out in L.A. at the time. Okay.

12:10

Threw back to New York. You know, you know, you get that, you know,

12:14

thanking you all that. But I knew deep down the side, I wanted the show.

12:17

And I remember just goofing around at the audition.

12:21

And he was the head of wardrobe, this gentleman named Kel. I was just goofing

12:25

off. And you got the director there. You have all these people there.

12:29

And I think this is the truth, dude. I was working with this gentleman.

12:33

We were auditioning together. He's well-respected in New York.

12:36

It's true. He bent over. And I just took the tongue because we were switching off puppets.

12:40

He had the bonsai puppet this time i had the edge puppet he bent

12:43

over and i just took the tongue and just start licking them and stuff

12:46

like he's like keith come on man get serious in

12:48

the audition i'm like oh i'm sorry i'm sorry and i

12:52

remember cal telling me he said i knew you were gonna get it at right right

12:56

that's because that's that's that's the character yeah dude

12:58

i was just crazy then that's the character though and they you know

13:01

i think i got around the corner and my agent

13:04

called me he said keith they they want you for the lion king i

13:07

can't lie dude i thought i was i thought i

13:10

was all that at that point you know what i mean i'm like because

13:13

it was a bit it was the it was the hugest hit on broadway right

13:16

right across the street i remember was rent i have you know i have friends in

13:19

rent two two blocked up you know had bringing the noise bringing the funk i

13:24

mean new york was just bringing it was just bringing the heat back then you

13:27

know with all these great shows i'm like man i'm you know i'm so i'm gonna be

13:30

amongst the stars out there so i just thought I mean, here's the thing.

13:35

I will tell you, Rent was my favorite, was my favorite show on Broadway. Right.

13:42

Lion King is now. Yeah. Well, I'll tell you what, I'll tell you.

13:46

Because I saw it when Taye Diggs was in it and all, like, you know.

13:49

Yeah. I really, yep. I used to see him going, yeah. Original, original one. Right.

13:53

And I saw it in New York and I was like, wow. Like I, because my mom and my

13:57

mom loved it. They loved it. We used to, we used to see, we saw cats all the time.

14:00

Right. Remember the original, bro, we saw cats. They loved cats.

14:03

I don't know why, but I was too young to really enjoy it.

14:06

But my first enjoyment was really rent in New York. That was really my thing.

14:10

Because you're experiencing life, not...

14:14

Not and take not anything from any show right rent is

14:16

just a slice of life of what's going on right that's what it was

14:19

that's for me that's what i thought when you come and watch my show is a slice of

14:22

life when you watch and you you sit down and interpret what's going on in this

14:27

kid's life simba and you see this struggle and you can relate it to is it the

14:31

book of job is it cain and nabel you know with mufasa and scar so yeah dude

14:37

like if first here i'm not When I first heard, you know,

14:42

when Rafiki comes out and you hear just that South African pulse and that sound

14:47

and the kungas and the rhythm and the drum, of course.

14:50

And then, number one, because you're going to see the animals as they enter on stage.

14:57

But you see, it's the parade of everything that's going on.

15:02

You know, I think that has captivated people.

15:06

And more than anything, then you get into the story of it. yeah when i saw that

15:09

i was like yeah okay but i mean you 30 something years old right.

15:15

Biggest show in the world yeah who was

15:18

the first person you called i called my wife

15:21

i like that and told her you know okay we have to move to new york now you know

15:29

this is what happens i got the job then i call all my you know i called my you

15:35

know my my cousin adrian because she you know she and my Aunt Calverta,

15:39

my cousin Adrian, they were like instrumental in my, you know, career.

15:43

I called them and I just start, you know, I'm not gonna like,

15:45

then you want to brag about it. So I just started telling everyone in the business, called my buddy Greg out

15:51

in, you know, LA and my buddy Kenny, he was there with me making the decision to do it.

15:56

And then that was it. You know, I was like, all right, now I'm here.

15:59

I had my crazy locks just where, and most,

16:03

you know, the original cast was there you know i thought

16:06

that was the joint then who who was who

16:09

would you say on that cast really helps

16:13

you along or took you under the wings like this is what we do here is there

16:16

was anybody on that on that on that team or well there were different people

16:20

right you know stanley lay stanley mathis laid out you know somewhat a little

16:27

bit of what was going to happen because they disney has their show directors and their directors.

16:33

But Sam Wright, who was the original Mufasa, he was there.

16:37

He helped me in some of the stuff, the scene work with him. John Vickery,

16:41

he was the original. He was still there. So I had help with everyone around there and the people that used to come to my rehearsals.

16:50

You know, a kid, his name was Kevin Cahoon. He was the first Ed. He was great.

16:56

Tracy, Nicole Chapman, she was the first Shinzy. You know, I can remember all these names.

17:02

That's amazing. That's amazing, though. So they were all there, you know.

17:06

You know, they had to come to my rehearsals and stuff like that.

17:09

And then this kid, Jeff Scowron, he was going to be the next Ed to come in to replace Kevin Cahoon.

17:15

So he and I, that was like, you know, we used to call ourselves Vincent and

17:19

Jules. you know, from, you know, from Pulp Fiction. Pulp Fiction. No, man, I love that kid.

17:24

So he and I, we just, you know, we just, we just brought it.

17:26

We just brought the heat, you know, on stage. How long were you in that role for? How many years you were in that role?

17:31

I did it for two years on Broadway. Okay. Then I left the show for a number of years. Okay. I had a family and stuff like

17:38

that. That's what I see. That's where I wanted to get into, yeah. Yeah, we moved to Florida and then I just started working in Florida at Disney.

17:44

Disney has been in my, you know, in my, you know, circumference for years. Seems like it. Yeah.

17:50

And then, you know, while we were in Disney, you know, they,

17:52

they were going to open up a Vegas cast.

17:56

Let me tell you, it had been 10 years. Okay. About 10 years since I've been away from the show.

18:01

10 years. So I had to go on up. They were like, okay, you know,

18:04

all right. You've been away for 10 years. You got to come back and audition.

18:09

But here's the truth. I got the work ethic and the, and the, you know, the drive of a pit bull is

18:17

the truth. My old boy, Bruce Anthony Davis, may he rest in peace.

18:20

He said, man, Keith, you know, we were doing a show on Broadway called Hot Rollers.

18:25

He said, man, you like a pit bull. So, you know, when I knew,

18:28

my wife said, look, Keith, I went to the audition. She went to an open call.

18:33

Okay. Because they said at that point, we only want new faces.

18:36

We're older at that point. She in theater also, though, right? Yeah, yeah.

18:40

She's an original Fly Girl, Deidre Lang. That's my wife. Uh-oh,

18:44

uh-oh, uh-oh. So anyway, she goes to the audition.

18:47

And the casting director comes up to her and he goes, so where's Keith?

18:51

Because now at this point is all new people with the Lion King.

18:56

New worldwide show director. John Stephan, love you, brother. You know, these new people,

19:01

Clem, love you, brother. They're all there. And so I go in and audition.

19:07

They said, oh, wow. All right. Good. We like it. You know, anyway,

19:11

when they told me to come in the next day, I kept my wife up all night because that's how we work.

19:15

I believe in that. We stayed up all night. She was tired and said,

19:18

no, if I'm going to go and audition for this tomorrow, you know,

19:22

we have to go in there because it was packed with people auditioning.

19:25

So this was in Florida, went and did the audition. And they said,

19:28

OK, you know, this gentleman came over to me who was a casting agent.

19:32

I won't say his name. He said, look, you know, I'm going to call them and see

19:36

if I can get you an audition in New York. They did the call. I got back home. And we said, look, you have to be on the

19:40

flight tomorrow to fly to New York to audition in front of the panel for the Vegas company.

19:48

I said, all right. That morning, driving to the airport, I did a flat tire.

19:54

Now, I'm not one with cops. You know what I mean? And I'm in Florida with those cops.

19:58

You know what I mean? Right. But this white cop, bald-headed,

20:01

with tattoos everywhere, came up to me.

20:04

And I said, man, I said, I got a flat tire. I don't know how to fix a flat.

20:08

I said, I'm going to be late for my audition. I said, man, it's just it. And I had nothing going on in Florida. We were broke.

20:13

He looked at me. He had tears in his eyes. I said, brother, brother,

20:17

he said, I'm going to get you on that, get you on, get your car ready so you

20:21

can get through to where you need to go. He fixed a flat tire for me and made sure that I could get through all those

20:27

lights driving to the Orlando International Airport. Stop.

20:31

Yeah, dude. It was just weird. It was just spiritual. I get there and because

20:36

you have to, at that point, you had to, you know, it's still, you know, it's in 2008.

20:40

So it's still a little bit after, you know, 2000. No. Yeah. So it's all the stipulations and rules and laws.

20:48

This guy looked at me dressed in his nice suit. And I said, I'm going to miss

20:53

that flight, am I? I said, I blew it again in life.

20:56

And he looked at me. He said, nope, I'm going to make sure I hold that plane for you.

21:00

I said, he held the plane for me. Then I got on the plane. I'm sitting on the

21:04

plane. I'm like, wow. You know, so it was two miracles.

21:06

For me, those were like little miracles. Starting to line up now. Right.

21:09

On the flight, I'm like, I gas everywhere. And I'm like, God,

21:13

I'm just uncomfortable. And I know I got to go to New York and I got to see some of the same people

21:19

that I knew when I did the show on Broadway. Right.

21:22

Got finally got there and I'm seeing all these guys around just sitting around talking.

21:27

I'm looking at them guys. I'm like, God, you guys aren't hard enough.

21:30

You don't have the heart. That's what I'm saying to myself. Because they talking and everything. I'm like, I'm not going to do that. I went in the studio.

21:37

I think it was at Wrigley Greer's studio. I went in the studio by myself and

21:40

I just looked in the mirror and I started just, you know, going through the

21:43

whole text, the dialogue, the song that I used to sing and just getting ready

21:46

for when I go in the room to audition. I had the look that I wanted to have. I want to wear all black,

21:51

but I want to, you know, you know, you know, this is hard. I'm coming off with this.

21:56

Got in there and I saw the producers. They came around the table. They hugged me.

22:00

Now, I didn't let them know I was nervous. I approached it with a little bit

22:04

of like, you know, bravada and arrogance, you know, and gravitas.

22:07

Hospital, I knew deep down the side of this, nervous as hell,

22:10

got there, did the audition.

22:13

You know, they clapped. It still didn't mean anything to me.

22:16

Because I'm like, they're going to see someone else. And it was packed.

22:19

Kids everywhere. They're younger than me. We get back. You know, I get back to Florida. And I'm a little depressed because

22:24

I was like, ah, you know, whatever, whatever.

22:28

Yeah. And I'm like, you know, we're at odds with our house here in Florida.

22:33

Compromised financially. So, yeah, I'm not going to lie. We're driving to see,

22:36

you know, to maybe file bankruptcy. I can say it.

22:40

So, we get in the car the next day. And we're driving down.

22:44

Colonial Highway, Highway 50 in Orlando.

22:48

And, you know, Deidre said, you know, she said, I said, let's stop over and

22:52

get, like, some lunch before we go there. She said, okay, we'll stop over.

22:55

And she, you know, she get a text message and it said 212.

22:58

She said, Keith, this is from New York. I said, I'm going to answer it.

23:01

You know, she said, it's Mark Pratt. I said, okay. She said, I got the job.

23:05

She said, I got the job. And she was excited. I was like, okay,

23:07

good. At least one of us. She said, and Keith got Banzai.

23:10

I was like, oh my God, we're out there in the middle of this black couple.

23:15

I can only imagine what we look like dancing and singing in the middle of Colonial

23:19

Highway down there in Orlando, Florida. Oh my God.

23:23

We were back in, you know, and that's what took us, got us back into the Lion King.

23:28

And that was back in 2000, 2008, 2009. We were driving to do bankruptcy.

23:34

We had no money. We had nothing. Everything had collapsed in our lives.

23:39

And, but we had each other. We had the kids. Look, I won't lie to you,

23:42

it was even sometimes, you know, you come in our house and flick on the lights,

23:45

the lights don't come on, and we're saying, hey, you know, kids,

23:49

we're going to play a game tonight. We're going to play, we're going to be,

23:51

we're going to act like we're in the wilderness. My oldest daughter, she said, daddy, the lights are out again. I'm like, all right.

23:59

We were saved to us. And that's when we had got. Got me tearing up over here,

24:03

brother. Oh, yeah, brother. This is real. This is real. This is real stuff, dude. This is real stuff right now. Yeah.

24:08

And we had gotten the Vegas company of the Lion King, which,

24:12

you know, it was it was a huge hit. I got to meet, got to work with Julie Taymor again, work with all these incredible

24:18

artists. And that was back in 2008, 2009.

24:22

The great Alan Kosher and all those people, John Stephanick,

24:25

Julie Taymor came out there. Clem came out there, Murray and Solis. How long was it in the Vegas for? We did two years.

24:34

And you know after that you know you always get

24:37

nervous you know for me being you know we don't in show business you know it's

24:41

feast of famine well I can't lie to you you know I've always been able to make

24:44

it though you know very few days I went hungry but you know we knew the show

24:48

was closing I was gonna close but they came up to me Thomas Schlank called me

24:54

said you know Keith would you be interested in going on the road,

24:57

With the show. I was like, oh, it was then the Gazelle tour.

25:02

Okay. And I was coming out here as bonsai.

25:05

And it's the same thing. Just, you know, apply pressure, you know,

25:09

just the hard, you know, the repetitive of hard work and stuff like that.

25:12

I've never let down, you know, so that's, and that, so at that point I've been

25:16

with the show ever since. Wow. You know.

25:19

And you've, you've regressed within the Disney and the show and we're not.

25:23

Yeah. And, you know, so they're going to come to you, like, because it was my

25:28

work ethic and integrity, you know, I hold myself high, you know, to myself, you know,

25:35

you know, get up every morning, what my daily ritual is, you know,

25:38

I know where I come from, you know, I know days of being in New York,

25:42

being hungry, you know what I mean? So I always look at people in this world today, you know, you know,

25:48

people say, where are you going on? You know, what do you want to do? I'm like, when you look at the,

25:52

a lot of these kids and a lot of people today, you know, they're striving to

25:55

go somewhere because they're running from something.

25:58

Okay. You know what I mean? So my question for you, do you think you're Baltimore

26:03

upbringing to who you are? Absolutely.

26:07

You talked about how tough it was. You worked hard at the stage.

26:12

You be blank like i said to you yeah it was you

26:15

did no cut no corners it was like that the neighbor made

26:19

you who you are because i

26:22

hear baltimore screaming through when you're like i'm

26:25

at i'm in the room getting ready everybody like you just i'm better than everybody

26:29

i'm i'm gonna beat everybody out it's feast or famine i'm i gotta make it happen

26:33

and every audition i treated like that i love it and that's the baltimore mentality

26:38

and you know what i i have to be honest when i was growing up, we had the elders.

26:43

You know, there's that saying that we, everybody begin to talk about when the

26:47

lights go off, you know, it's time to go home. Right. Or you would get an ass with it. Right.

26:51

Right. You know, and you had that, you know, I had Mr. White, Mr. Brown, Mr.

26:55

Carroll, you know, and that cross everyone, you know, everyone used to police

27:00

the young kids in the neighborhood. Facts. That's how we grew up. That's how we grew up. And, you know,

27:05

one parent could talk, you know, could fuss at you or, you know,

27:08

back in those days, you went to school, you know, I saw a nun,

27:11

you know, tap the kid on the ass. because he wouldn't behave.

27:14

Yeah, dude, it was that level of discipline. Right. Don't get me into these

27:17

politics about the way, you know, where the country's gone. We ain't gonna have it.

27:21

But, like, a lot of that discipline that we had in our own black communities

27:25

and stuff like that. Correct. And when I got to Walbrook, like

27:28

I told you, you know, Cheryl Pasture was hard. Oh, my God, she was hard.

27:33

You know what I mean? Those teachers I had up there at Walbrook back in those days were hard.

27:38

And they, you know, but the neighborhood, the teachers, You know,

27:41

everyone was invested in, you know, you know, procuring the best that they can out of the student.

27:47

You know, I had I had such I had such a great time at Walbrook and those teachers. And, yes, it was hard.

27:53

The neighborhood was hard. I remember getting out, you know, you know, you have the situation called bullying. I was bullied.

27:59

My cousin and I, you know, you hang, you know, you know, I would go over to

28:02

my grandmother's house on Pulaski Street, you know, out in the back alley.

28:06

They, you know, they wanted to fight you. So, okay, you got to go out there and fight, Keith.

28:10

We fought. We shook hands. And then we continued to play squares,

28:15

Scully, or, you know, you know, go play baseball.

28:18

We were allowed to be kids back in those days. Facts. You know,

28:21

all, all that stuff, you know, I think was, you know, it was a,

28:24

you know, a mixture of what has got me to where I am the day where,

28:27

when I started going to college, the discipline, you have to,

28:30

listen, if you want to be in this business, anything you do today, you have to be disciplined. You got to be.

28:35

Yeah. So now you are in charge of the show. Yep.

28:39

Run the show. And how many years have you been doing that for, you said? Three years. Three years. Yeah. Yeah.

28:43

Tell us what's been the most rewarding experience of doing the show for the last year.

28:48

What's that was most rewarding? I have to tell you, when you do,

28:50

like you go through, they send a new actor out.

28:54

You know, if they're a principal actor, I start rehearsing them right away. Right.

28:59

And that can be nerve wracking to me because you want to make sure that you

29:02

articulate the information to them. They get the most benefits out of that.

29:06

You know, or if they're an understudy for the role, they learn,

29:09

we call them tracks. You know, the character that they're going to play in the show as an ensemble.

29:13

And then they come to me and whether it be for, you know, Zazu,

29:17

Scar, Pumbaa, Timon or Nawa or Simba, then, you know, I'll have I'll have rehearsal with them.

29:23

They'll block out like three, three to two weeks or maybe a month.

29:28

And those to me, those are always nerve wracking because I'm up at night.

29:32

OK, because I have to I have to I have to articulate the show to them in a way

29:35

that I'm hoping that they'll get the information that I'm sending out to them.

29:39

You know, then we go through a process where we get them on stage.

29:43

First you start rehearsing in the studios and then you get them on stage and

29:47

start moving them around on stage. And then you start putting more people around them and more pieces in terms of the set around them.

29:53

Then you start giving them more and then you get them to where you get to their

29:57

put in. And the put in is where is the, oh, excuse me.

30:00

The put in is the last event that happens before they go on that night and portray or play that role.

30:08

And so it's always after that, after they get through that show for me and,

30:13

you know, the curtain called it, I'm like, you know, okay, thank God I got through that.

30:17

And I gotta be honest, it's a short celebration because then you have someone

30:21

else coming down the pipeline. That's new. You know, so, yeah. So, you know, it's like, but it's like little,

30:28

little vignettes of, you know, achievement and, you know, an appreciation.

30:34

But, you know, it's ongoing work. what's going

30:37

to be your emotion on the last night you know

30:40

then why did you choose to end it in baltimore because it's my

30:43

home city it's baltimore and you know this podcast i hope people get to see

30:48

it to know that the kid came back home was not the first time i've been home

30:51

here it's the second time i've been here with the lion king but i came to baltimore

30:55

with five guys named mo you know came from broadway the tap dance kid came from

31:00

broadway and i thought it was you know fitting.

31:04

To retire and end this thing here in Baltimore because this is where I started.

31:09

I did my first big job, big union show uh thanks to terence womble

31:15

who he was the head usher at the mars mechanic that i

31:18

used to usher at he he told me about the audition at

31:21

the uh lyric opera house yeah for for

31:25

kismet it's with the you know when they used to have the baltimore opera company

31:28

and they had patrice munsell eddie bracken bracken john reardon you know all

31:32

these great people and you know terence momble who told me about that was my

31:36

first big professional show and i got in the union agma I saved all my money that got me to New York.

31:42

So I started here, my professional career here, and I'm ending it here.

31:47

And I hope, God, I hope more than anything is that to tell young kids,

31:52

I didn't grow up entitled or privileged.

31:55

And you don't have to, but you have to have a certain amount of that fight.

31:59

I was telling these kids, act, accountability, credibility, and take no shorts, take over.

32:05

You have to have that in you. So I'm hoping my coming back here,

32:09

will just, I hope that it will inspire kids, you know, and whatever is,

32:13

you know, they may not want to do theater, but you know, it's what I'm telling

32:17

you that theater gave me, you know, you had to have a discipline, but you know,

32:20

you know, whether you want to be a lawyer, a doctor, one young lady told me

32:24

yesterday, she wanted to be an obstetrician. I was like, wow.

32:27

I was like, what do they do? You know, you know what I mean?

32:29

But she was like, she got what I was saying about the discipline, you know?

32:33

So that's, that's the thing I think coming back here and being in a big hit

32:36

show, You know, everybody know the Lion King, you know, that I get to come back

32:40

here in this show and represent it in this way.

32:43

Oh, brother, you nailed it right there. Is there anything else you want the

32:47

audience to know before we sign off? No, listen, I have love for my people. I have love for the world.

32:54

I adore Baltimore is where I started. You know what I mean? Those people.

32:59

And that's why I can remember those names. You know, the Cheryl Pastures,

33:03

the Terrence Wombles, you know, the Ferguson, my man Ferguson,

33:09

dude from Ballbrook, you know, who got me my first, you know.

33:13

My first application, all these people. I wouldn't be here without those guys.

33:19

My cousin, Adrian, my brother, Terrell and Don, all those people.

33:26

I really do thank Robert Ferguson though.

33:29

They got me my first start, Marvin Lusky and all those people, Dr. Samuel Hay.

33:36

My thing is not about me is to pay homage to the people that got me here.

33:39

That's it. Oh, and I got to be honest. Back in those days, his name was Mayor

33:43

Schaefer. I don't know if anyone remember him.

33:46

He had this program, the Urban Services Agency. So they had those programs for

33:50

a lot of kids back in those days. And they know Schaefer. Yeah, you know who he is. They know Schaefer. Yeah, dude. We appreciate taking

33:56

your time, brother. Brother, you've been great. You're doing great things out here.

33:59

My kids and I, family went to see it. My kids were blown away.

34:03

The smiles on my faces is what all I needed to see. When the animal parade came

34:07

in the beginning, for their eyes to glow and scream and the people around laughing.

34:15

That is what it's all about. And I want to tell you, thank you for what you have done.

34:21

Thank you for doing what you're doing. Thank you for opening up,

34:24

telling people like, it's always not the highs.

34:26

Sometimes it gets real low. They're going to happen. Things happen, but you made it through.

34:31

Right. And then that whole story about how everything was happening.

34:35

Right. It was meant for you to be there. Right. And I always tell people in

34:39

life, just in life, you can't force anything.

34:42

It's either going to happen. Right. You can't force something.

34:45

You want something to happen tomorrow. No, no. That's when it's right. And I just want to say one thing I want to tell everyone.

34:52

They're going to happen, the lows. Yes. Yeah, the lows in your life,

34:56

unfortunately, will happen. But fight through it.

34:59

Because the highs, that's what you'll appreciate.

35:02

One day it's raining and you want to go outside. The next day it's going to

35:06

be sunny. That's how life is. And then make sure you appreciate those highs.

35:10

Brother, I appreciate you. Man, come on, brother. All right, folks.

35:13

Guys, hell, before you leave, are you going to eat crabs while you're here?

35:17

Oh, dude, I had crabs. Come on, Baltimore. You got that. You know,

35:21

everybody's been telling me, Akeem, you got to go to Coco's.

35:23

Oh, that's my spot. Yeah, so. That's my spot. You know, I'm going to get, you know, Monique, Majay.

35:28

She's this young lady. It's dope. She's coming through. She's going to be taking over as the RD.

35:34

She and I, we're going to have to get out there. Got to go to Coco's.

35:36

Got to go to Coco's. Why are you involved in going to get caught at the crab

35:38

cake, man? You got to come and get one. You haven't got a half and a half yet. You haven't got the lemonade iced tea.

35:44

Oh, my God. No, dude. I know.

35:46

I'm just saying. I know. I know. But you back home, though, you know,

35:50

and it's just we really appreciate everything you've done. Thanks. And salute to you.

35:54

Thank you for what you did. And thank you for sharing your story.

35:57

You know, and I really appreciate you taking time to do this.

35:59

Thank you for the crew from TBC for making this happen. I really appreciate

36:03

you guys for making this happen. And folks, love. Peace. We're out. Thank you.