Backstage at the New York Theatre Workshop’s Lights Out: Nat “King” Cole, the 14-person cast is buzzing. They have just finished a fabulous performance, and now it’s time for part two: A celebratory after-party. But their first stop—okay, the first stop is to wipe off all that stage makeup—the next stop is the Valentino Beauty glam room, where full glam moments are happening pre-cast party.

“After these weeks, we have really gelled together as a cast,” Krystal Joy Brown, who took on the legendary roles of Eartha Kitt and Natalie Cole in the show, tells me before she goes in for her glam. “The message we want to send is, as Eartha says, ‘joie de vivre,’ like live your life. Be joyous in your pursuit of more, for greater, for speaking your truth, being open, honest, and vulnerable.”

It’s a message that permeates throughout the powerful show, in fact. Written by Vogue cover star and Academy Award nominee Colman Domingo and Patricia McGregor, Lights Out: Nat “King” Cole takes a look at the singer on the night of his final television broadcast, and what its cancellation really means.

“This show gives a voice to people and topics that were voiceless back in the 1950s,” Brown says as they are calling her name. It’s her turn to step into the spotlight again (this time, a ring light) so she can move on to the party. “This is a very vulnerable piece. Although we’re talking about people who are no longer with us, the message and the plight that they went through is something that we’re still going through today.”

ANDREW DAY STUDIO 2023