Wine in the Wilderness' with Grantham Coleman, and Olivia Washington

Summary

Podcast Summary: "Wine in the Wilderness" Episode from All Of It

Introduction

In this episode of All Of It, hosted by Kusha Navadar, WNYC delves into the revival of Alice Childress's 1969 play, Wine in the Wilderness. The discussion features actors Grantham Coleman and Olivia Washington, who star in the production currently running at the Classic Stage Company through April 13th. The episode offers an in-depth exploration of the play's themes, character dynamics, and its enduring relevance in contemporary society.

---

Overview of "Wine in the Wilderness"

Wine in the Wilderness is a poignant exploration of gender dynamics and societal expectations within the African American community during the tumultuous 1960s. The play centers on Bill, an artist portrayed by Grantham Coleman, and Tommy, his confident and outspoken model, played by Olivia Washington.

Key Plot Points:

• Bill’s Artistic Pursuit: Bill is working on a triptych focused on Black womanhood. While he successfully paints an innocent little girl and his ideal woman, he struggles with the third portrait, aiming to depict what he perceives as the negative traits influenced by 1960s societal pressures.

• Tommy’s Role: Tommy, unaware of the ulterior motives behind her selection as a model, brings vibrancy and authenticity to the portrait sessions, challenging Bill's preconceived notions.

• Setting Amidst Chaos: The narrative unfolds against the backdrop of a Harlem riot, symbolizing the external turmoil and internal conflicts faced by the characters.

Notable Quote:

"Culture encompasses religion, food, what we wear, how we wear it, our language, marriage, music, what we believe is right or wrong, how we sit at the table, how we greet visitors, how we behave with loved ones, and a million other things." — Host Introduction

---

Character Analysis

Bill (Grantham Coleman): Bill represents a prescriptive artist striving to contribute to societal betterment through his art. His approach is rooted in a classical, almost baroque method, as he attempts to encapsulate the essence of Black womanhood. However, his intentions are marred by a judgmental perspective, inadvertently propagating stereotypes.

Tommy (Olivia Washington): Tommy is portrayed as fearless, confident, and full of life. Her character challenges Bill’s narrow depiction by embodying qualities that reflect genuine strength and resilience. Olivia Washington brings an exuberant energy to Tommy, making her a pivotal force in the narrative.

Notable Quotes:

"Tommy is such a full human, and I think it was intimidating at first, the idea of kind of beginning to develop this character." — Grantham Coleman [03:51]

"She's not afraid of anything." — Grantham Coleman [10:35]

---

Themes Explored

1. Gender Dynamics and Masculinity:

   • The play delves into the expectations placed on Black men, portraying Bill’s struggle to define masculinity within his community. Bill believes that strength lies in educational and societal contributions, questioning what constitutes a strong Black man.
   • Notable Quote:

     "As a strong black man, you must do all that and lead your people and find a way to keep getting by." — Grantham Coleman [12:51]

2. Use of the N-Word:

   • A significant portion of the play addresses the contentious use of the N-word, reflecting its complexity and the generational shifts in perception.

   • Notable Quotes:

     "It can speak to the time where she was writing, which was like, late 60s... It can speak to 20, 25." — Grantham Coleman [19:45]

     "I am using this word in a way to show care and love of you and safety in this space." — Grantham Coleman [20:59]

3. Community and Identity:

   • The interaction between Bill and Tommy highlights the internal dialogues within the Black community regarding identity, respect, and representation.
   • The play emphasizes that there is no monolithic answer to these issues, advocating for open conversations and self-reflection.

---

Production Insights

Rehearsal Discussions: Grantham Coleman and Olivia Washington share insights into their preparation for the roles, emphasizing the importance of understanding the historical context and the personal histories that inform their characters.

• Research and Personal Connection: The actors engaged deeply with archival materials, including articles from Jet and Ebony magazines, to ground their performances in the reality of the 1960s Harlem riots. Grantham draws parallels between his family history and Bill’s character, enriching his portrayal with authentic emotion.

• Emotional Depth: The actors discuss the emotional challenges of portraying characters navigating fear, love, and societal pressure amidst chaos.

Notable Quotes:

"We have the job to tell the story that Alice Childress wrote and to tell it truthfully and to tell it fully." — Grantham Coleman [24:40]

---

Audience Reactions

The play elicits strong, visceral reactions from the audience, particularly during moments where characters grapple with the use of the N-word. These interactions foster a sense of kinship and empathy, bridging generational and cultural divides.

Favorite Audience Moments:

• Interactive Struggles: Instances where Tommy struggles to articulate certain words, prompting the audience to collectively support her, demonstrate the play's interactive and immersive nature.

• Emotional Connections: Responses to pivotal scenes, such as when Tommy confronts Bill about being treated like an N-word, highlight the play's ability to resonate deeply with diverse audiences.

Notable Quotes:

"They're just with her. They're with her and they're like, girl, I want to help you." — Grantham Coleman [25:36]

"There's so many. There's so, so many. And feel so lucky when people can feel connected enough to want to respond." — Grantham Coleman [26:12]

---

Conclusion

Wine in the Wilderness remains a powerful and relevant exploration of race, gender, and identity. Through compelling performances and thoughtful dialogue, Grantham Coleman and Olivia Washington bring Alice Childress's vision to life, inviting audiences to reflect on enduring societal issues. The episode underscores the play's significance in fostering meaningful conversations and highlighting the universal truths embedded within its narrative.

Notable Closing Quote:

"We can all see ourselves in the people and people perhaps that we never thought we saw ourselves in, we can. And we can find the humanity in everyone and see the value in everyone." — Grantham Coleman [24:40]

---

Additional Information

• Production Details: Directed by Tony Award-winning Lachanze, Wine in the Wilderness is a must-see production currently at the Classic Stage Company until April 13th.

• Audience Engagement: The play's ability to engage and provoke thought across different demographics exemplifies its timeless relevance and the evolving conversations around race and identity.

---

For those interested in experiencing this riveting exploration of culture and context, Wine in the Wilderness offers a profound theatrical journey that echoes the complexities of its time and continues to resonate today.

Transcript

[Progressive Insurance]

All of it is supported by Progressive Insurance. You chose to hit play on this podcast today. Smart choice. Make another smart choice with Auto Quote Explorer to compare rates for multiple car insurance companies all at once. Try [e-mail], progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates not available in all states or situations. Prices vary based on how you buy.

[WNYC Studios]

Listener supported WNYC Studios.

[Kusha Navadar]

This is all of it. I'm Kusha Navadar. Alison Stewart is on vacation. So just for the next handful of days, you're stuck with me. But hey, thanks for spending part of your day with us. I'm grateful that you're here. Here's what's coming up on today's show. We'll speak with Calvin Eng, the chef and owner of Bonnie's, a Cantonese American restaurant in Brooklyn. He's got a new cook titled Salt Sugar msg, and he joins us to discuss. We'll speak with musician, composer and producer Terry Lynn Carrington. And two members of the band the Altons. Join us in studio for a listening party from their new album heartache in room 14. All right, that's the plan. So let's get this started with Wine in the wilderness. The 1969 wine in the Wilderness from acclaimed playwright Alice Childress is about two people with very different thoughts on gender. There's Bill, an artist played by Grantham Coleman. Bill is working on a triptych about black womanhood. The first painting is of an innocent little girl. The second painting is of his ideal woman. And he wants the third painting to be of a woman he describes as, quote, ignorant, unfeminine, coarse, rude, vulgar, what he sees as a product of 1960s society. Bill thinks he's found the perfect model in a woman named Tommy. She's played by Olivia Washington. Tommy is loud and confident and funny. She's excited to have her portrait painted, but she doesn't realize she's been chosen for unkind reasons. The first meeting between artist and model takes place as a riot unfolds on the streets of Harlem. They actually start to hit it off. But will Tommy find out why she was chosen for this portrait? And will Bill reevaluate his expectations of black women? This production of Wine in the Wilderness is directed by Tony winner Lachanze and is running at Classic Stage Company through April 13th. And I am thrilled to be joined right across the table right now from me by the stars of the show, actors Grantham Colman and Olivia Washington. Welcome to you both.

[Grantham Colman]

Hi.

[WNYC Studios]

Hey.

[Kusha Navadar]

Hey. It's really great to have you here, Grantham. I'd love to start with you. Why did you want to be a part of this production?

[WNYC Studios]

You just said it all in a nutshell, really. It was Lachanze and Olivia. But Ms. Childress work has been around my peripheral for a while, and I never read this play. And so my buddy sent it to me and was like, hey, what do you think of this? And I was like, oh, this is great. What do you want me to do? He was like, well, we might need a bill. I was like, oh, this is cool. Who's doing it? He's like, lashanze. I was like, oh, that's awesome. Who's playing Tommy? Olivia Washington. I was like, oh.

[Kusha Navadar]

Okay.

[WNYC Studios]

I get to yell at Olivia every day. Yeah.

[Kusha Navadar]

And y'all pay for sure pay to yell at Olivia. Well, Olivia, then I'll ask you what was special about Alice Childress writing for you? Because during the times when the character Bill is not shouting at your character on stage, you yourself are doing plenty of talking, and it feels like you're really living in the words.

[Grantham Colman]

Yeah, yeah. I mean, I never read a woman so vulnerable, so bold and so free and so curious as well. I just. Tommy is such a full human, and I think it was intimidating at first, the idea of kind of beginning to develop this character. But of course, like, being with Lachanze, she's so incredibly talented in so many different ways. So I felt like we were in good hands. To begin.

[Kusha Navadar]

Grantham, like Grantham was saying, first experience with this play. Was it your first experience as well?

[Grantham Colman]

Were you familiar with this play? Yes, absolutely. So I was like, wait a minute. What? When? How? And, you know, just really opened up the floodgates. Of course, we all know Lachanze and the Alice Childress, Tony Award winning production that she was in. But I think this plays. So firstly, it's quite quick. Like, it's a short. It's a short, compact story, and yet there's so much that's happening historically as well as internally in the lives of these two people.

[Kusha Navadar]

Yeah, you know, I saw the show just two days ago on Tuesday, and the pacing was so wonderful. It really hits you. It's like a rollercoaster ride where it just kind of goes up the hill and then it falls down in the thrill.

[Grantham Colman]

I am talking about.

[Kusha Navadar]

And I want to talk a little bit about some beats of the play. I'd love to start with the triptych. And this is the three piece art piece that the character Bill talks about right at the beginning of the show. So, Grantham, what are Bill's goals with his art what is he hoping to achieve?

[WNYC Studios]

Good question. I think my gap between Grantham as artists and Bill as artists, not just he's a painter and it's visual, but I think he's somebody that's more prescriptive as an artist. Whereas I think a lot of actors are reflective. We reflect humanity back at themselves, be it ugly, pretty, beautiful, dirty, whatever it is. I'm just trying to be a vessel. Whereas I think Bill is trying to prescribe, like, this is what we need. This is what we should be doing. This is. This is my piece of the revolution, of the riot. This is how I, as Bill, contribute to better society. And it can come off in some ways as like, oh, you know, hopeful, optimistic. But I think a lot of it is judgmental and. And a lot of it might be self. What's the word? I don't wanna say self hate, but, like, you know, definitely not appraising the value of people that look like him.

[Kusha Navadar]

Well, judgmental was a word that you use that might be a self. Judgmental, maybe. And that applies to this triptych that he's making?

[WNYC Studios]

I think so. Cause you look at artists who did triptychs. It was like a very. Not archaic, but, like, it's a very classical, baroque approach to art. We'd had it in churches, we had it in cathedrals and things like that. So I feel like he an artist who probably studied history. Like, I'm gonna do this thing for our people. They're gonna see themselves like you would see, like, the triptychs, about, like, the Virgin Mary. And so I think when he approaches this work, it is about, like, let's take what we are. We had the innocence of the young girl, the innocence of the child. And I'll go to my ideal woman who he believes is real. He thinks that's what people should be. He thinks, like, this is the idealistic black woman that doesn't exist. Like, he doesn't. I don't think he knows anyone like her. And then he has this third idea in mind, but for some reason, he can't complete the idea. Like, he can imagine the second one, but he can't imagine the third one. He needs a real person. He needs a model. He needs somebody to base his hate off.

[Kusha Navadar]

Olivia, you hear Grantham talking about that. What reflects for you in terms of what Bill. The character's impression of black women is through how he's approaching this triptych?

[Grantham Colman]

Oh, you know, I just. I think when you're telling a story, it's always important to try to figure out how and why someone thinks the way that they do. And I think it's coming from a place in my perspective of Bill, of a deep desire to show his love of a community, of his community. And it just happens to be a little bit misguided. And I think what Tomi does is help re correct unintentionally that idea. I think what I love about her as a person is that she just has this openness and curiosity and love. And it's funny, your sign behind you that says, work hard and be nice to people. I think it's a sign in the studio right now. Yeah. I feel like Tommy's is how you treat people, and when you're comfortable around people, you show love, and maybe love can be reflected back at you. So I think that is. And I think that's what Bill's trying to do. So I don't think any of these characters think that they're being deprecating or harmful to anybody. I think they think they're uplifting and being good and trying to show goodness.

[Kusha Navadar]

But what their version of goodness is, like you said, might be misguided. I love that interpretation, that term of love, like, it comes from a place of love. It really resonates with me. Listeners. If you're just joining us, we're talking with actors Grantham Colman and Olivia Washington. They are starring in the current revival of the 1969 play Wine in the Wilderness by Alice Childress. It is running at the Classic stage company through April 13th. I'd like to talk about Tommy's personality a little bit, since you touched on it. Olivia, you know, such a big personality. What was your process for finding Tommy's voice and energy?

[Grantham Colman]

You definitely can't be shy, and I'm super shy. So it's just, you know, we have an obligation to tell this great story written by Alice Childress. So there's really no time to feel insecure or to kind of pull back. I mean, I think one of the first things that I kind of wrote in my little actor notebook is that she's not afraid of anything. And to play a woman who's not afraid of anything, even though seemingly there's so much to be afraid of outside in the world of the ride outside of, like, you can't trust people you don't know. But I think I love how fearless she is. So that was like, a little part of me of being like, you know, Olivia might be afraid today, but maybe Tommy's not. So how does that. How do they. How do these two People talk to each other. So.

[Kusha Navadar]

Yeah. So finding the way that the character influenced you as much as what your interpretation is.

[Grantham Colman]

Absolutely. Every time you go out there, I'm like, I can't be scared even if I am scared.

[Kusha Navadar]

And Tommy's not scared.

[Grantham Colman]

I mean, maybe she's scared.

[Kusha Navadar]

I don't know, but.

[Grantham Colman]

Or she's not afraid of being afraid.

[Kusha Navadar]

Yeah.

[Grantham Colman]

Oh, fair.

[Kusha Navadar]

I hear that you mentioned the riots. Let's talk about that for a little bit. Cause the show opens with sounds of a riot happening outside the apartment where the play takes place. Grantham, it's all taking place in the midst of a riot in Harlem. How is Bill responding to what's going on outside of his window? How is he dealing with it?

[WNYC Studios]

I think for Bill, especially at the top of our play, for those of you love the people who are coming to see it, there is a bit of a pre show where you get to see some art happen, maybe. But I think for Bill, it's about trying to be a part of what's outside, but knowing this is his way of being in the riot. Cause it's based on the actual riots that were in Harlem in 1964, where a young black man was killed by the police, and there were three days of riots. And this play happens on the third night of when the riots actually end. And Bill has to finish this triptych because he has a deadline for this exhibition, but he wants to be in the streets. He's not the guy that can go out there and stir a crowd together, even though he speaks very well. So this is his way of being a part of the revolution that he wants to see. So knowing that he has to finish this piece, but with no inspiration, drawing on dead ends, he's gifted a stranger by his friends who. They know what he's looking for. They know what he needs. So he's not the only judgmental one. Other characters in this play are judgmental, but I think his response to the riot is, this is good. This is good. We can use this. And then throughout the play, as he looks outside and sees once again how other people's want for betterment can be misguided and things do go wrong. He says, we busted up Harlem. No plan, no nothing. Things like that.

[Kusha Navadar]

So much of this play is about gender. So I also want to spend some time talking about that, starting with masculinity. So, Grantham, what would Bill say makes a strong black man when we meet him at the beginning of the play?

[WNYC Studios]

At the beginning of the play, I think it would be More of the king of your own castle. More of the, how are you helping your people reach any goals? What are you doing in your life to better yourself? Like, are you reading? Did you go to school? Did you study? Did you follow the plan as we're all taught to as kids, like, go to school, then go to college, contribute to society? I think he very much say that, like, as a strong black man, you must do all that and lead your people and find a way to. To keep getting by.

[Kusha Navadar]

And I think that leads into the next question so. Well, because there is this line that, Olivia, I want to talk to you about really quickly from the play that struck me. Tommy has this conversation with Bill's friend Cynthia, and Cynthia tells her, tommy, you have to let the black man have his manhood again. You have to give it back, Tommy. And then Tommy says, if I didn't take it from him, how am I gonna give it back? What does this exchange reveal about how both of these women see the world, do you think?

[Grantham Colman]

Ooh, I mean, I think there's a certain kind of correction I think we can make as people, and, like, you know, what is to be ladylike? What is to be a strong woman? And I think we can all kind of place these ideals on top of that and then live our life accordingly to those, like, big idea pictures. But the truth is, I think with both of them, what comes down to, it's like, we're just trying to be good people, and we're trying to live full lives. So how do we do that? And I think they just had different ways of doing that. So I think Tomi was seeking information from Cynthia to try to figure out how to be a fuller woman. And I think the idea of. I don't know, it just feels like she's being super honest in that moment of, like, okay, I hear what you're saying, and I'm taking up. You said, I have to give something back that I never took away. And that's also just reflective, I think, of the time period of what is we discussed in rehearsal. You know, these ideas of black nationalism, of finding your identity were newer, so people were figuring it out, rightly or wrongly, and figuring out what worked. And when you're identifying yourself, you don't always have the right answers right away. It's a process of seeking yourself. So I figure that's kind of what's happening.

[Kusha Navadar]

Can you talk a little bit more about that process? Like, what were the conversations like in the rehearsal room on those topics? How much did they influence choices that you were making. I know that's two separate questions, but maybe just stick with the first one. What were the conversations like in the rehearsal room?

[Grantham Colman]

We had. I mean, Armenda Thomas is our dramaturg, and she had a wealth of information about both Alice Childress and the time period. And that's kind of where we began a lot of articles from Jet magazine or ebony from the 60s, and just kind of getting history about the time period and then, yeah, just having discussions back and forth. I mean, us bringing our own family history into it, and my grandfather, my grandmother, and we kind of just brought everything. I don't know. Where did we start?

[WNYC Studios]

Well, no, I think it definitely started with Lachanze and Arminda just talking about their own personal family. And also the research that Amanda had, like, she had all these articles that Alice wrote before and after the play and just referencing her own experience in the theater, her experience as a black woman writing plays and how the plays that she wrote were based on people she knew. So, like, Bill, Tommy Sonnyman, like these. Yeah, they're characters into play, but, like, there's definitely some way to strategize and find out, like, who were these people in her world. And so we had a lot of ways in, but, like, a lot of it was us just talking and we would ask questions. And, you know, there are people, fortunately, in the room who had lived through some of these experiences. Like Milton Craig Neely, phenomenal actor, phenomenal. He plays Old Timer. And he was like, well, yeah, you know, we. Like, I knew. He was like, day one, he said, I knew exactly who Old Timer was. He's like, I saw this man in my neighborhood because he's from Chicago. He's like, I saw this man in my neighborhood every day growing up. And I like to think that I know Bill just from looking. And I've done a lot of different shows and films about the 60s and a lot of different research. And, like, they're all have amalgamated into my head about, like, oh, this dude who, like, says he's about the movement, says he's for the movement, but he's not at the movement. And what does that say about someone?

[Kusha Navadar]

Right. He's prescriptive in a lot of ways. Like, he's outside looking through. You mentioned that there are questions that you're asking. I hate to put you on the spot, but was there a question in your mind, Grantham, that you needed answered at the top of your character study that ended up making a big difference with how you chose to portray Bill?

[WNYC Studios]

Yeah, but it was an internal question of how. How dangerous is he? That was one that I. And we made a lot of choices and spent a lot of time, like, with the. You know, it's such an intimate space that we have. Yeah. So using the space with five people, five bodies in the room, and the different movements that you have read differently to an audience. So, like, I spent a lot of time trying to figure out not what does Grantham want to do, but, like, what did Alice need Bill to be? Like, how present is violence in this world? Cause it's outside. And how much of that do we bring into this play? Is Bill's apartment a safe place or is it another place of danger? Be it sexual violence, physical violence? Who knows? So that's one of the questions that I was, like, cognizant of.

[Kusha Navadar]

What was the original artist's intention and making sure that that followed through with your choices. Listeners, we're talking right now with the actors Grantham Colman and Olivia Washington. They are starring in the current revival of the 1969 play Wine in the Wilderness by Alice Childress. It is running at the Classic stage company through April 13th. So I want to move to a different topic in the play. There is a lot of discussion about the N word. And I want to just set this up for our listeners because this isn't a word we lightly on our show. And of course, I'm not going to use it. But the characters themselves have that debate about whether it's okay to use the word. Tommy uses it to refer to the people who are rioting in Harlem. Bill tells her to say Afro American instead. And there's a pivotal moment later in the play where they look up the word in the dictionary, which for me was one of the most striking moments of the play. I'm not going to ruin anything, but it is an important part. Olivia, this play was written in the 60s, but the conversation that I saw on stage felt like it was something that could have been written today. What do you think about that?

[Grantham Colman]

I think that's what makes Alice Childress a classic. It can speak to the time where she was writing, which was like, late 60s, 69, 68. And it can speak to 20, 25. I think what is so beautiful about this play, it's an internal conversation. And to find not there is no monolith. There is no one answer that anybody has. And to start a conversation that we definitely have all had at some, like, the African American experience, we've had this conversation. When is it acceptable? Why is it acceptable? Some people refuse to Use the N word. Some people find great reverence in using the N word. So I think there really is no answer but to present it to the room. And how she, Alice Childress, does in this play is, in my eyes, beautiful. She is empowered by this word, and she is, again, reminding not just the people in the room, but herself. Like, we are the community. We are using. I am using this word in a way to show care and love of you and safety in this space.

[Kusha Navadar]

Is it that idea? If I heard you correctly, it's this idea that it's not a monolith and there is nuance to it. That's fair to say, right? What I heard. Is that what makes it feel, this exchange about the N word, so relevant to 2025? Is it that in something else? Is it something. Is that what it is?

[Grantham Colman]

Truthfully, I mean, did the word ever go away? I mean, I think maybe the meeting changed over time for some, but there's, you know, constantly new generations are being born and having to kind of reconcile with what that word means to them and what it means to the family or their group or your group of friends and whoever you're with, you know, obviously specifically in the community. So I think it's relevant because it's still resonating, so people can still have visceral reactions. I mean, every time that moment happens, that realization, you hear different generations across, like, responding, rippling through the audience of, like, huh? Like, I knew that's what it meant. Or, oh, I didn't really know what that. That's what that meant. And it's a beautiful thing to happen.

[Kusha Navadar]

And those visceral reactions are apparent in the audience, like, in my audience, at least, which we're going to talk about in a second. But. But, Grantham, I wanted to turn it to you before we move on. At one point, another line that really stuck out to me, Tommy says to Bill, your character, you treat me like an N word. I'd rather be called one than treated that way. How does Bill receive that?

[WNYC Studios]

Well, Bill, in the moment, receives it. Not well, I think, especially at that part of the show. He's learning a lot of things about himself, and at first apologizing without processing, and then processing without apologizing. And then hopefully at the end, he comes to a marriage of the two. But I think in general, for all of those moments, this play is interesting because it's not done very often, and you ask yourself why. It's really well written, it's not long, it doesn't have a huge cast, and I Think, especially for the last 50 years, that it was probably that scene because it's a play about five black people written for five black people, for black people. And the interesting thing that we can do now is you can bring an audience that's of any background and see and find their way into it. But I think for probably the last 50 years, that was very hard for subscriber bases and other audiences to even feel comfortable sitting in a room where people are using the N word because they don't have a way in. I imagine, like, you know, you see a play or a story or a movie, everyone tries to find themselves in the story. And that didn't happen for a lot of people that didn't look like me.

[Kusha Navadar]

Yeah.

[WNYC Studios]

So now in 2025, I think it's very. It's very powerful to be doing this play that wasn't done a lot and having so many people go, like, how come this isn't like, why is this the first time I'm reading it? Why is this the first time I'm hearing it? Why is it the first time? Because I think now we do have enough social love to kind of be able to see and find ourselves in any story. And the universal truth that she wrote in this play. Aren't just black people like truths. They're everyone's. But it's. The gaze has shifted, so now people can actually see themselves in it.

[Kusha Navadar]

And there's this very striking moment. I don't want to ruin anything, but, Tommy, your character, Olivia, does get a chance to speak her mind, and it is a powerful moment indeed. For you as an actor, what emotions are you channeling through yourself in those final scenes?

[Grantham Colman]

You know, we have a job to do, and I think above myself, we have the job to tell the story that Alice Childress wrote and to tell it truthfully and to tell it fully. So that is my attempt every night that we get to have the opportunity to speak her words and to speak life into these people, to do it honestly so that similar, like you say at the end, that we can all see ourselves in the people and people perhaps that we never thought we saw ourselves in, we can. And we can find the humanity in everyone and see the value in everyone. And that is a mission for me to continue to work through in this process.

[Kusha Navadar]

We have about a minute left, so I want to. Very quickly, I mentioned the audience reactions. There are big audience reactions in my show, at least. So for each of you, very quick, what have been your favorite audience reaction moments so far? Grantham, let's start with you.

[WNYC Studios]

There's a moment where Tommy struggles to find a word. And I won't say what the word is, but she struggles to find it. And like several times people yell it from the audience. They're just with her. They're with her and they're like, girl, I want to help you. I want to help you. But like, it's written that way that she can't find it so that the other actor in the show, lakeisha, who plays Cynthia, can say the word. And it brings some kinship, some bond back. But you'll have people in the audience be like, blank and then go.

[Kusha Navadar]

I'm an X right now on this show.

[Grantham Colman]

That's a good one.

[Kusha Navadar]

Olivia, how about you?

[Grantham Colman]

Oh, there's so many. I mean, I think again, he mentioned. You did, you did, you did. So I have to find another. No, but Milton, whenever, anytime. Milton, in the beginning he said, I think one of the lines is that calls for another drink. How people really enjoy the joy that he's having with you on stage. I don't know. There's so many. There's so, so many. And feel so lucky when people can feel connected enough to want to respond. And it makes you feel like, oh, people are listening and they really are hearing the story. So that's a good feeling.

[Kusha Navadar]

Olivia Washington and Grantham Colman are actors in the show Wine of the Wilderness. It's a revival of the 1969 play by Alice Childress. It is running at the Classic Stage Company through April 13th. Grantham, Olivia, thank you so much for hanging out with us.

[Grantham Colman]

Thank you. Come see Wine in the Wilderness. Yay.

[Kusha Navadar]

Start a business that sells decorative plates.

[Grantham Colman]

Find out you have to track expenses. Use Intuit QuickBooks to auto track expenses so you can keep spinning selling those plates. Manage and grow your business all in one place.

[Kusha Navadar]

Intuit QuickBooks your way to money.

[Progressive Insurance]

NYC now delivers the most up to date local news from WNYC and Gothamist every morning, midday and evening. With three updates a day. Listeners get breaking news, top headlines and in depth coverage from across New York City by sponsoring programming like NYC now. You'll reach our community of dedicated listeners with premium messaging and an uncluttered audio experience. Visit sponsorship.wnyc.org to get in touch and find out more.