Amara Granderson Took Broadway by Storm in ‘for colored girls’

With passion, talent, and tenacity, Amara Granderson made her dreams come true by making her Broadway debut as Lady in Orange in the revival of Ntozake Shange’s for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf.

Directed and choreographed by Tony Award nominee Camille A. Brown, the production centers on seven women as they share their stories and find strength in each other’s humor, pain, and passion through a fusion of poetry, dance, music, and song that explodes off the stage and resonates with all.

For colored girls opened April 20 at Shubert Alley, but unfortunately, its run was cut short and closed June 5. Granderson may not have been ready for the final performance, but she is grateful to have been a part of this impactful play. Born and raised in Brooklyn, Granderson has been expressing herself through various art mediums since she was a child.

The rising star took some time to answer some questions for OFM.

Let me begin by asking, how did it feel to make your Broadway debut in the revival of Ntozake Shange’s for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf?

It felt amazing! It was so great. I had the immense privilege of doing the show in college, and if you’ve seen it, been in it, read it, or are familiar with it in any way, it really does move you. So, it was such a privilege and honor to do it then, and I couldn’t have imagined that I would have been able to do it, not only a second time five years later, but on Broadway. It has been so amazing, and I’ve cherished every second of it.

Personally, what have you taken away from this experience?

Sisterhood is really the biggest thing that I’m taking away, and the impact that we left the audience.

You played Lady in Orange. Can you tell us more about your character and how you made it your own?

Totally. I think what’s great about all the colors is that they’re all kind of Ntozake’s brain children. They all kind of embody different aspects of different emotions that she has, experiences, and goes through. For me, Lady in Orange is someone who embraces joy consciously in the face of adversity.

I think all of us in the cast were very aware of the societal barriers that are put up against us, and in the face of that, still being able to revel in each other’s camaraderie, passion, and love for one another. I feel like I am the one who’s consciously trying to maintain joy throughout all of that.

The show was supposed to run until August, but the final performance was held on June 5. With it being nominated for so many Tonys this year, I was surprised that it was cut short. Any official word on what’s next?

No official word on what’s next. These are just crazy times that we’re in where you can plan for something, and then things don’t go as planned, which is unfortunate because we all would have wanted to do this show forever and ever and ever. It’s the type of show that requires a lot out of us all, but it’s so worth it every time. I’m very grateful that was the case with my Broadway debut.

What do you hope audiences took away from for colored girls?

I hope they took away that it’s OK to feel whatever you feel, and however you process your feelings is the way you need to be processing your feelings. I think we live in a society in which capitalism tells you, “Whatever you experience, suppress that, and just keep on working.” Sometimes, you just can’t, and you hit that roadblock and impasse.

I think that audiences took away, “Hey, I can actually name this thing. I can name this thing and either claim it and embrace it or claim this thing and then release it.” I think it’s such a beautiful acknowledgement of the nuances of humanity, and I think audiences everywhere can take that.

Have you always had a passion for acting and performing?

I have. Acting was kind of the last artistic medium that I pursued, but still, I’ve been doing it for a very long time. The first medium was dance, and I started dancing at 2. I started singing professionally with the children’s chorus and playing piano at 7, and I was 9 when I started acting. Broadway has been my dream, and I was like, “Wow, this is so surreal when I got here, but also, I felt very ready. It has been feeling very right.

You majored in Africana studies in college. How has that helped you enhance your art, and was it beneficial for for colored girls?

One thousand percent. When I started college, I knew that I wanted to pursue something in academia that I had never pursued before. Africana studies is just a history major through the lens of the African diaspora, right? So, it was important for me to know that I and my people are actually tied to something greater than what we had been taught, or not been taught, leading up to this point. It gave me a much more enriched and nuanced sense of what Black life really is and made me feel a lot more comfortable within myself.

When I first tackled this piece while I was an Africana Studies major—and shoutout to where I went to college, Oberlin College—the theater department and the Africana studies department, there were a lot of crossover classes and a lot of professors that taught in both disciplines. I was able to have this academic, historical path while also being very true to my artist roots. When I was really embracing this text for the first time, I was able to approach it with the sense of history and nuance and that these stories, even though different stories are spoken by different characters, they’re so relatable.

We are products of our environments and where society and the system place us, so I was able to go into this text with that knowledge and carry that to Broadway.

Are there any Broadway shows you would love to be a part of someday?

I would love to be Monsieur Thénardier in Les Misérables. Master of the house? That’s my jam! I would love to do that one day. I don’t believe that’s on Broadway anymore, but if it is, I will at least be auditioning.

What are some of your interests outside of acting?

You know, I love yarn and knitting. I also love, this is going to sound so corny and boring, but I really love to take long walks and long drives. I love to relax the mind because I have a whole bunch of voices up here in my head, so it’s never relaxed (laughs). Even just going over to a friend’s house and having a conversation with them.

I was having a conversation the other week, and I was saying oh you know, would you rather spend time with your loved ones doing something really extravagant, or just, like, doing nothing? I’m like, I love, love doing nothing with my loved ones or by myself.

What are some future goals you hope to achieve with your career?

I definitely want to do more writing as my career progresses. Short film, episodic type of writing, and I wrote and performed a solo show at the end of 2021. Now, I’m looking for places where I can perform that show again to more audiences.

Can you tell us a bit more about that show?

The show is called A Cohort: A Train of Thought, which is very much an isolation COVID response. I was pretty much the only person that I saw live for, like, a year-and-a-half, so I created a piece that was basically a conversation between all the voices in my head trying to navigate what constitutes as real trauma and what doesn’t, and whether or not I do need to acknowledge what is going on in my brain, ss well as the world. It is OK to ultimately come to the realization that you’re not OK, and you might need to pick up the phone and call someone and let them know.

Stay up-to-date and connect with Granderson by following her on Instagram @pbnj_hotter, or visit her official website, amaragranderson.com.

Photos courtesy of Marc J. Franklin