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Video: Kara Young Is Coming for Her Tony Award
Jun 7, 2024
Did you know that with her Tony nomination for Purlie Victorious, Kara Young has become the fourth actress to be nominated for Tony Awards in three consecutive years and the first African American actress to be nominated three times in a row in any category? In this video, watch as she chats more about the incredible impact of this play, why being a part of it meant so much to her, and so much more!
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0:00
Welcome to Backstage with Richard Ridge
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I am once again at The Legendary Sardis, and I'm sitting with one of my all-time favorite people
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Kara Young, who this year received her third Tony nomination for her brilliant performance as Lutie Bell in Pearly Victorious
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How are you, my love? I'm so good. How are you? Thank you so much for having me
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You know, I love you. I love you so much. It's crazy. I'm like, I'm so happy to see you today
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I was like, yes. I can't wait to see you. So thank you. Thank you for bringing me in your presence
0:39
Well, I want to thank you for all the incredible performances you've given us. But this performance in Pearly victorious as Louie Bell, I mean, first of all
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what does this Tony nomination mean to you? This one's really special, isn't it
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This one's special. It's special because there's something else attached to the fact that, you know
0:57
Ozzie Davis Ozzie Davis is this were resurrecting his play after 62 years of it
1:05
being done originally on Broadway we've done it now it has another life
1:10
on PBS through great performances but also these are people who weren't recognized
1:17
62 years ago for the work that they've done that they did and
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Ruby D wasn't either and I feel like this three it feels kismet
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And it belongs to them. For me, it's like I, you know, this is a historic one for me
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They've told me that I'm the first black performer to have ever received a Tony nomination
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consecutively for three years in a row. And it feels like this is for them in that, you know
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And it also shows how the industry is changing in a way
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what's being produced, how we're paying attention to the work. So to be acknowledged three times
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but then for this to be the third feels really special. Yeah
2:10
You know, looking back at Pearly Victoria's, Ozzie could have written this yesterday
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I know. Isn't that amazing, though, when you come and think about it? It's a masterpiece
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Yeah. It's like a timeless masterpiece, and there's so many things, there's so many nuances in this play that he's written
2:25
that it feels so applicable today. Like, too many moments. When you found out that you're like
2:34
oh my gosh, I'm stepping into the shoes of Ruby Dee that this was created on
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What went through your mind? And then how do you, like, make your own Lutie Bell
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Oh, oh, my goodness. I mean, you know, so I think I've told you this in the past
2:48
But my aunt lined up our pictures years ago. and she was like, one day you're going to play Ruby D
2:57
Like, that was the manifestation from her. And then, like, there are more than one person in our theater community that has said
3:06
you're the Ruby D of our generation, you're the Ruby D of our generation. And, like, I've always received this as like, oh, my God
3:12
Like, wow, that's a lot to hold. And then this happened. And I just, it's like there's something else happening that is
3:23
is bringing me to this moment. Yeah. So like I just have to listen and I just listen and I said
3:30
this is what I have to do, you know? Yeah. Yeah. So what was it like, I didn't mean, I was
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I always make you cry. We always get here. We always get there. No, but it's like, you know
3:40
you've wanted to do this your whole life. But I mean, the pieces you've gotten to do
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and like I said this is a very very special piece Like your aunts arranged this for you years ago putting your picture next to Ruby Dee and then what do you get to do You get to do the first major production of Pearlia Victoria since the original
3:57
Since the original. Yeah. I mean, it's such a revolutionary piece. And, like, I mean, to even just pay attention to this work
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to, like, put our hands on it, to put our, you know, like the phrase, like, put your feet in it, put your foot in it
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Like, for us to just pay attention, read the work. activate the script, activate the world
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feels so important in the history of what theater can be and the kind of work that we really should be producing
4:30
and paying attention to. I mean, this play is such an incredible offering
4:38
in this theater season that we've had. But even more so, it feels like our political climate, right
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So it's at such a, it's in this moment of like absurdity
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It's like, how did we get here? And that is literally what I feel like
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Pearly victorious examines and what Ozzy's examining on the page. It's like, we don't understand how we got here
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but we have to move forward together. I mean, Pearly is feet
5:13
he's like preaching freedom for all mankind. That when we get to the church at the end, he's preaching freedom for all mankind
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I mean, that means that we can sit in a room together and we can laugh together and we can cry together and we can be together
5:26
I mean, that is the source of healing. We look at our past
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We can't forget our past, but we can move forward together. Yeah
5:35
Let's talk about working with Kenny Leon. Oh my goodness. I mean, brilliant director and then taking this piece, a piece that he's loved. Yes
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And I mean, you know, when you look at the script, the script reads differently than the way you perform. because there's absurdity to it
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There's this heightened level of stuff going on in it too, right? Yeah
5:52
Oh, and you know, Daniela Topal, who was the former artistic director of the Rattlestick
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she used to have this language around oops and ouch. And like when you're reading a script, you're like, oops, ouch
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like that actors and everybody in the room, whoever's in collaboration on the piece
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would freely express their oops and ouches. And if you're reading the play
6:14
If you're reading the play without a brilliant director like Kenny Leon
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who's able to guide you through this really roller coaster of emotions
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and wild rides of like laughter and vulnerability in a single moment
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you can feel a lot of oops and ouches on that page
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But Kenny was able to meticulously direct us in a way where we were paying attention to that ride
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We were paying attention to that absurdist nature of it all, like not necessarily playing into the comedy
6:52
but playing into the truth of what Ozzie wrote. And also, like, what we talked about earlier
6:59
like the nuance of the fact that there's so many moments that are so applicable today in our world
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I mean, when Perley leaves, and he's like, I'm going to go and he leaves to
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we don't know if he's going to come back, he hasn't come back in two days
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Like I think about when black men leave their homes or black people leave their homes in this America
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that we live in. And, you know, or a mother watching her son walk out the door
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and not knowing if he's going to come back. Like that a you know there so much that we can apply not even apply but there so much that so real right now Yeah Talk about sharing the stage with this incredible cast
7:48
Oh, my goodness. All of these people are some of the most talented people I've ever worked with
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I have been waiting to work with Heather Alicia Sims and Bill Eugene Jones for so long
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because I've been watching their work on the off-Broadway stages forever and I've just like always been in awe of their like just the talent
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their their everything and like a dream came true when I knew that they were going to be in the room
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and then you have Vanessa Bell Callaway who is a legend I mean her face is a legend in all and every little black girl in America
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like if you live you watch any movie complexity from like, like, for the last 20 years, like you're going to see Vanessa Bell Callaway's face
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And so like seeing her, being with her all the time, I was like, I can't believe I'm going to ruin with her
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And then Jay O. Sanders, I mean, I've been watching his work for so long and I got to see his brilliance in primary trust, which he also won an Outer Critic Circle Award for
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And I was just absolutely in awe of what he was able to create on that stage, what everybody was able to create
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Noah Paisek and Bill Tomoni and Noah Robbins, whom I love, I just love, love
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Noah, I've been watching Noah's work for so long. And then the incredible Leslie Odom Jr., I mean, what more can I say
9:19
He really does make the impossible feel possible. He makes everything feel possible, and he was able to be not only just our leading man
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but one of the lead producers. one of our leaders in the room
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And I just, I feel so privileged to have had that moment with him
9:40
Yeah. You know, so much electricity and so much love of storytelling was in that room
9:45
And yeah, with Kenny's, with Kenny's creative mind and heart, I feel like Kenny's whole spirit was up on the stage with us as we were performing as well
9:59
Everything you do is different. yet you're an actress. I know you as Carrie Young
10:05
but everything you do is different from Clyde's to cost of living
10:09
You live inside these people. You become them. And I was wondering for Lutie Bell
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like, how did you get inside her? What unlocked her for you
10:18
Was she easy to find? Was it during the, was it during previews
10:23
Like, when did she all come together for you? I feel like she always was coming together
10:27
Yeah. Because, like, there was always, you know, And man, it was challenging
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It was like, it was really challenging. It was challenging to understand the comedy on the page
10:40
But, like, you know, there were moments in which, like, I might have played a little bit really broadly into the comedy
10:47
But then there were also moments of, like, when we're together, when black people are together, like, it's so, like
10:54
we are, like, fully expressive of ourselves. And there's an unapologial. when we're around each other
11:02
And so there's like that as well. It's like sometimes that's bold and big and wild
11:07
And so to find her was really just wanting to honor the women who are really like the heartbeat of this country
11:17
We're talking about women who work with their hands and on their feet. We're talking about women who work in kitchens, who work in households, who take care of the kids
11:25
who take care of the laundry, who take care of, who take care of, who take care of, who take care of, families you know and I come from women who are who do that you know And so it was like honoring the women that I come from honoring the women of this country honoring the
11:43
honoring black women and really trying to craft a world where, like
11:49
it's a million black voices in her. And like, there was something about the quality of her voice
12:00
and how it sort of evolved that was about gathering so many stories
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And I don't know, it must have manifested in that way, but I was like really, I never felt like the work was over
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So I would really do a lot of research every day before a performance
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and try to gather as many stories, as many narratives that I could
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from people who worked with their hands and on their feet and with their bodies, you know, and yeah
12:28
Yeah, but this is, This is like a woman who is infinite and who says
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I'm going to go with this man. I'm going to go with this man because I know that that is my soulmate
12:37
And not only that, I'm going to take a chance on my life. And I'm going to just jump off the cliff with this man
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And whatever happens, it's going to be great. Like, that's her spirit in like a nutshell
12:53
Yeah. You know, like she's infinite, but might not have the language for that
12:58
But also, like, she finds her voice. She finds her human. She finds that her journey is about finding the fact that she is a spiritually intelligent being
13:14
Yeah. What I also love about this production is you have, it was just filmed for great performances, and it's running now
13:21
How cool is that? Not only did audiences fall in love with it here on Broadway, but now all around the world, what that means to you
13:27
Oof, it feels like this is about access to theater. Yeah. This is about making sure that theater is accessible
13:35
We know we have a different language around isolation after the pandemic
13:39
You know, people, some people are still not comfortable being in spaces with other people
13:44
And you can watch this from your home. You know, it's access to free theater, you know
13:53
And I just find it to be like, It's really beautiful when you get to participate in a world in which things can be accessible to everyone
14:07
You know, like classical theater for Harlem does that every year, right? You can go to the park and now they're doing Midsummer Night's Dream at the Marcus Garvey Park, but it's free
14:14
You can go and watch free theater. And people who might be, you know, are compromised in regards to how they might enter a space
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you can literally go in that park and there is space for you to be
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You know, so free theater, what does that mean like in the ether of also the offering
14:37
of Pearly Victorious as the play that should, that we all should know, like we know
14:43
Romeo and Juliet or we know, like we should all know this play
14:48
Yeah. You have begun working at film and TV also. Yes. But you always come back to the theater
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I do. I love the theater. It's my foundation. It's my foundation
14:59
And you have been with me the whole time too, because, like, I, for real, for real, like, you have always supported me
15:06
So thank you. I'll always be there for you. Have you chosen your Tony outfit
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I have not. But it's coming. It's all coming together. Have the best time and thank you just for doing what you do
15:19
You bring so much joy to everybody who watches you do your work. Thank you so much
15:23
I love you. I love it too. You know
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