Broadway powerhouse Alex Newell returns to the Main Stem this season in the new musical comedy Shucked. The show, which is being billed as a “farm-to-fable” tuner about corn features a book by Tony winner Robert Horn (Tootsie) and music and lyrics by the Grammy-winning team of Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally. Newell takes on the character of Lulu, a wise, no-nonsense kind of gal. NY1 News entertainment journalist Frank DiLella recently caught up with Newell to chat being back on the boards.
Shucked is so much more than just a story about corn. How would you describe the musical?
That it’s about corn. [Laughs.] It’s hard to describe. There are so many things the show is about that it’s hard to pinpoint what it’s about without confusing people even more. So I just say it’s a heartfelt story about love and corn. [Laughs.]
You play Lulu. Tell me about her.
Lulu is teaching me what I’m going to be like in my thirties. I’ve been very much by myself and doing the brunt of the work by myself and I’m extremely independent. And I know there are a lot of people around me who have gotten me this far and where I need to be. But at the end of the day, I make a lot of decisions on my own, and it’s OK to not be alone and ask for help and find a partner as well.
The book for Shucked is hysterical. Your book writer, Robert Horn, knows how to write a one-liner. What’s your favorite one?
My favorite would have to be “Men lie all the time. Hell, one tried to convince me you could suck out a kidney stone.”
You have a song in the first act called “Independently Owned” that literally brings down the house. In fact, when I saw you perform it in the rehearsal room, I had to pick my jaw up off of the floor. Tell me about creating that showstopping number.
Well, the song was so much lower when I went in for the director. It was a good old alto rabble-rousing kind of song. Then Jason Howland (music arranger/orchestrator/music director/music supervisor) got his hands on it and kept taking it higher and higher and higher, and I agreed. The song is fun to sing — and you rarely get to hear a woman sing like that. Or say things in that song in that way. I miss a good old Broadway belt.
When did you discover your voice?
I’m genuinely shocked by my voice most days and I’m learning something new about it and finding new things about it as I get older and grow in a musical journey. I think finding your voice never stops. I think the first time I realized it was something special was probably when I was too young to fathom what it meant to have a special voice. And I’ve kind of been going with it.
You made your Broadway debut in the revival of Once on This Island. What did you learn from that experience that you’re applying to Shucked?
That you can say no to a lot of things. [Laughs.] Saying yes is beautiful. And saying yes is great. And sharing and being around is wonderful. But sometimes saying no to protect your heart, your voice, or your mind is a good thing.
You’re working with Jack O’Brien, one of the great musical-comedy directors. What has Jack taught you about musical comedy?
So much. Jack is the head of this ship. And we feel it every day. Jack respects your time and the art and the talent and the entire process of it all. He will never say it’s a bad idea or a wrong idea; he wants to try it all. And he can give a speech at the drop of a hat.
You have one of the greatest voices of our generation — and I know a lot of people will back me up on that. Who do you look up to as an artist?
I’m inspired by so many different voices. The top three — Aretha, Barbra, and Whitney. Then you have Jennifer Holliday, Nell Carter, and Luther Vandross. I love hearing Kelli O’Hara sing. I adore what her face does while she’s singing. I love everything that Audra [McDonald] does.
You’re such an inspiration — living your true authentic self — especially in the world of entertainment, where even today some people feel like they need to mask themselves. Where does that authenticity come from?
Being everyone else didn’t work for me. [Laughs.] I grew up in Massachusetts, and when I was younger, my mother sent me to private schools. And I was always the Black kid in the predominantly white school. So not knowing my true identity to my own self — I was always taking on the persona of people around me. Doing The Glee Project and having to be thrust into this group of eccentric people, I found telling the truth, and my truth was the one thing that set me apart from everyone else.
