When FELICIA CURRY takes the stage in Lela & Co. at Factory 449 she carries with her the inspiration of Cicely Tyson and Viola Davis, the wit of the Golden Girls, and her secret past as a singing orphan. Get the scoop in this week’s Take Ten and catch the show through October 8.

1) What was the first show you ever saw, and what impact did it have?

If I'm going to be honest, first performance I saw - me, in the mirror, with my brush, belting out Whitney Houston. I knew immediately I was born to perform.

2) What was your first involvement in a theatrical production?

I  was an orphan (yes, the littlest orphan) in a production of Annie when I was 5 years old at All Children's Theatre in Parsippany, NJ.

3) What’s your favorite play or musical, and why do you like it so much?

Favorite musical, Ragtime. I think the music is beautiful and it's a story that captures the experience of so many people and the experience of America and the experience of being in America. It's both entertaining and asks you to think and ask questions. I love that.

4) What’s the worst day job you ever took?

I've been pretty lucky to work doing things that I love. But I will say, the job that was the hardest for me was clothing sales, I was no good at convincing people that they looked good in something they didn't. So needless to say, I didn't sell much.

5) What is your most embarrassing moment in the theatre?

I was doing The Stephen Schwartz Project at MetroStage and during one of the song/dance numbers, I kicked my leg and my bottom leg slipped from under me. I fell flat on my back. I got up pretty quickly and I was in 4 inch heels, so in that moment, I was both proud and embarrassed.

6) What are you enjoying most about working on Lela & Co. with Factory 449?

I'm enjoying working with this group of people, the production team, Reno,​and of course, Rick [Hammerly]. Rick has both pushed me and encouraged me to find moments and go to places I didn't know I was capable of. I am so grateful to be able to bring this story of survival to DC audiences with Rick at the helm.

7) Other than your significant other, who’s your dream date (living or dead) and why?

Anyone who knows me well, knows I'm desperate to quote Rose from The Golden Girls right now ('...would it be ok if Jesus stopped by for dessert!') But I'd have to say Viola Davis. She is a seasoned actress working not only in film and tv but onstage as well. I would love to pick her brain about her process, her experiences (the good and the bad and the ugly) and how she handles it all so gracefully.

8) What is your dream role/job?

What's Love Got to Do With It, The Musical. I've got the arms and I do a killer 'Proud Mary'. All I need now is a script - any DC book writers/song writers interested?!

9) If you could travel back in time, what famous production or performance would you choose to see?

I actually had the pleasure of seeing Cicely Tyson in A Trip to the Bountiful. And if I could, I would see it again and again. I was mesmerized by her performance, her courage, her honesty, her stamina. We should all be so lucky to be doing what we love, and doing it so damn well, at that age.

10) What advice would you give to an 8-year-old smitten by theatre / for a graduating MFA student?

Oddly enough, my advice to the 8 year old would be the same advice I'd give to the MFA student: don't be afraid to look silly, and remember that theatre is a collaborative art. Be kind to everyone you work with and learn from your friends and colleagues.

FELICIA CURRY is a Factory 449 company member, seen earlier this summer in Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company’s remount of An Octoroon. Other local credits include Ragtime, A Christmas Carol, Civil War and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Ford’s Theatre), Disgraced (Arena Stage), Laugh and Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson (Studio Theatre), Collective Rage (Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company), OLIVERio, Chasing George Washington and Beehive (John F. Kennedy Center), This and Caroline, or Change (Round House Theatre), Home (Rep Stage), as well as productions with Adventure Theatre MTC, Imagination Stage, MetroStage, Toby’s Dinner Theatre and Olney Theatre Center for the Performing Arts. Her regional credits include The Mountaintop and Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike (Gulfshore Playhouse), Sister Act (Riverside Center for the Performing Arts), and The Color Purple and Dreamgirls (Virginia Repertory Theatre). She has received 5 Helen Hayes Award nominations, an RTCC Supporting Actress nomination (Lorrell, Dreamgirls) and a RTCC Best Actress Award (Celie, The Color Purple). She will next be seen in Nina Simone: Four Women (Arena Stage) and Jefferson’s Garden (Ford’s Theatre).

Login to post comments

Printer-friendly version