The Rage Monthly: Hello Darius, thank you for taking the time for this interview. I’ll start by asking where you’re from originally. Darius Nichols: I was born in Smithfield, NC, raised mostly in Reston, VA before moving to N.Y.C. 12 years ago.


Rage: What was your first memory of wanting to be an actor? How did you get involved in acting? DN: My first bug was not acting, it was music. I was 10


years old and went to a “Meet the Orchestra Concert” put on by the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center. I went home that day and told my mom I wanted to play one of those shiny brass instruments. She found a trumpet for $100. That started it all.


Rage: What compelled you to move to New York? DN: Every year my family would watch The Kennedy Cen-


ter Honors. One year Audra McDonald and Brian Stokes Mitchell performed, Wheel of a Dream from Ragtime and I sat up and thought-that’s the show I have to be in one day. A friend of mine was actually going to NYC after college and I decided to go with her. She left after a couple months, but I stayed. I thank her often for getting me there.


Rage: Fate, now you have been playing Hud since the Off-Broad- way Shakespeare In The Park Revival in 2008; how would you best describe your character? DN: Hud is a brilliantly smart, well-educated southern man; the son of a preacher man who has been emotion- ally hurt many times through his life. So, he expresses his frustration with his faith and life in America, as a black man, with lot of sarcasm and confrontational rhetoric.


Rage: How did this Off-Broadway production make the leap to a Broadway revival? DN: Simply that the fans kept coming. We call it “The little show that could.”


Rage: Did the entire cast go to London’s West End from Broadway or was their recasting involved? DN: We were all invited to go to London. Most of the


original revival cast did go. There were a few recast roles. Some people stayed in the replacement cast to continue on Broadway.


Rage: Now you are on the national tour of HAIR--what is that like? DN: I enjoy touring. I am an amateur photographer. So, getting to photograph this country as I perform is fun. It’s also interesting to see how different audiences respond to different parts of the play. In D.C. the political humor was a big hit!


Rage: Have you had the opportunity to meet anyone from the original cast? DN: They are dropping by all the time; when we were on


photography by Joan Marcus


Broadway many came to the show. We also got the meet the original London cast members there on opening night as well. Now that we are headed to L.A. soon, I hope we get to meet some of the cast members from the movie.


Rage: I have a feeling you will. Are you single or do you have a partner? DN: I have a partner of eleven years. We are now officially


fiancés. He asked me before we left for tour. 11 years is the Steel anniversary, so we have titanium rings.


Rage: Congratulations. How tough is it when you are away on tour? DN: It’s hard to be apart, but thanks to Skype it makes it


much easier, although it confuses our dog quite a bit. She keeps looking for me when she hears my voice.


Rage: You’ll all be back together before you know it. What makes this version of HAIR unique? DN: I feel like this version is a little more sensual than other versions I have seen.


Rage: What was the most outrageous thing that has happened during the production so far? DN: When we were in Central Park, a woman ran out of


her seat toward me, grabbed my ears and stuck her tongue in my mouth.


Rage: That is hilarious. How long does the tour last? What are some of the cities that you will be visiting? DN: So far we are scheduled through September 2011.


We have been to DC, Seattle and Tempe. We are coming up on Portland, L.A. and O.C., Chicago, Boston, Miami and Atlanta.


Rage: Do you have another project lined up after the tour? DN: Nothing yet. But I have my eye on some TV and film projects. Keep your fingers crossed.


Rage: Will do. What would you be doing if you weren’t an actor? DN: I went to school for Music Performance in trumpet.


But, I watch quite a bit of HGTV and help my friends with their apartments. So, I see a career in design in my pathway too.


Rage: What is your ultimate career goal? DN: To be the first openly gay black man to join the EGOT


club. Another goal is to be an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony winner. Oprah said to dream big, right?!


Rage: I feel the same way. Now, describe to our readers in one sentence the theme of HAIR. . . DN: To quote from the show . . . be whoever you are, do whatever you want to do; as long as you don’t hurt anybody.


Rage: Well put! Thank you very much for your time and break a leg in Southern California!


HAIR


Runs January 5 through 2 4 at the Pantages Theatre L.A. Runs January 25through February 6 at the Orange County Performing Arts Center, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. Tickets: 714.556.2787 or ocpac.org. (Show synopsis in A-List Theatre section)


JANUARY 2011 | RAGE monthly 17


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