LaChanze Stars in a Play That Waited 66 Years for Its Broadway Moment
The Tony-, Obie-, and Emmy-winning actress discusses Alice Childress’s Trouble in Mind, Black Theatre United, and A New Deal for the performing arts.
LaChanze attends the 2021 Tony Awards in New York.
Photographer: Bruce Glikas/WireImageLaChanze is about to debut in a role 66 years in the making. On Oct. 29, the Tony-, Obie-, and Emmy Award-winning actress will star in the the Roundabout Theatre’s production of Trouble in Mind. Written by Alice Childress, the play about racism in theater premiered Off Broadway in 1955. It was supposed to head to Broadway in 1957, but Childress declined to rewrite the ending to appease producers who wanted her to make the White character more likable. The conversation below has been edited slightly for brevity and clarity.
Trouble in Mind never made it to Broadway in 1957. What happened?
This play is about a middle-aged actress who was going to do a Broadway show. The story centers on the issues that the Black female actor has to contend with a White male director. The producers that wanted to bring the show to Broadway back in 1957 asked Alice Childress to change her ending, to make the White male character more likable. And she refused because she wanted to tell her authentic experiences. Because she said no, they did not bring it to Broadway.