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- [00:00]
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- [01:03]
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Danny Pellegrino
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- [01:44]
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- [01:54]
Interviewer Mickey Jo
Oh my God. Hey Cedric. Neal, it's very nice to see you.
- [01:57]
Cedric Neal
You too, Mickey. Joe, how are you been?
- [01:59]
Interviewer Mickey Jo
I'm doing very well now. We've brushed past each other in the past, but never properly sat down to chat before. And it's a great time to do that now because you're not only here at the Lyric Theatre, starring in Hadestown in the West End, but also getting ready to headline a one night only concert presentation of an exciting new musical called Personality about Lloyd Price.
- [02:21]
Cedric Neal
Yeah, I'm so excited about that. About a year we did a workshop presentation of Personality the Lower Price Musical. And when Sheldon Epps approached me about doing it, it was at a particularly interesting time in my life. You know, as artists we have that will I Ever work again? Will I ever work again? Well, I was going through that in 2024, and Sheldon approached me about this piece, and I said, hell, yes. Because, like, the first major line of the musical says, you don't know my name, but you know my music. And the ongoing theme through the Personality is, as long as I just keep singing, everything is going to be okay. And I can relate to that. And his most popular songs are Personality and Stagger Lee. And I'm from Dallas, Texas. And back in 2014, 2015, will power, the playwright, wrote a new musical called the Legend of Stagger Lee. And it tells the story of what happens in the song Staggerly. It plays out in the musical, and I got to play Billy Lyons, one of the main characters in the song Stagger Lee. So when Personality came up to me and I realized that Lori Price had wrote, written Staggerly, it was like it's just a full circle moment for Full circle moment for me. I remember every single minute of every single day of that workshop. And that's rare in what we do because the piece is so special. It's a piece about tenacity. It's a piece about how you can pave your way in this world just by sticking to your guns. And, yeah, I think it tells the Lord Price story. Musical tells Cedric Neal's story at the same time.
- [04:00]
Interviewer Mickey Jo
Yeah, you've preempted one of my questions. Cause I was curious about where you find kinship in his story. But I got to see that workshop presentation, and it was deeply special. It's also a nice opportunity. I don't know any music or musician in the history of the world unless they've been in a musical already. So if it hasn't happened on a Broadway or West End stage, I have no idea what it is. So it was getting to know songs and an artist that I wasn't familiar with. And I have had the song Personality circling around in my head for months ever since. That's a great infectious melody and like you said, something really special about the show and about the story. It was a brilliant company. Then it's another brilliant company assembled for the concert happening on October 11th.
- [04:43]
Cedric Neal
This company is stacked. This company is stacked. We have Clive Rowe, Zoe Burkett, Marcus Collins. I don't want to leave anybody out, shim.
- [04:53]
Interviewer Mickey Jo
It's just stacked.
- [04:57]
Cedric Neal
And just like the workshop musical, the workshop presentation, the themes that run in Personality that I relate to. Mickey Jo Lower Prices introduction into the musical world, the world of recording was almost happenstance. He went to this bar where he idolized Dave Bartholomew, who was a recording artist from Louisiana. And so that's. I'm not a trained actor. I'm a storyteller through music. And I stumbled into musical theater. And the success that I've enjoyed in musical theater is akin to the success that Lord Price enjoys in music in the recording industry. His relationship with his mother, she was always supportive. My mother was the most supportive. My mother was the loudest cheerleader. Even when I was doing opera, my mother would be singing I'll be doing an aria, and she'd sing that song, Son. At the time, it embarrassed me, but now I appreciate that. Just like Lord Pricey's mother was his biggest supporter and his father was kind of tentative about, you know, entering this industry. My father is the same way. And the ending monologue, he says, I knew I had to be different from my father, and I would be if I just kept singing. So I have yet to get through that monologue and get through many pieces of the show without getting emotional. It's not indulgent because, like Kinky Boots, because I relate to it so much. It's a dangerous situation, and I like to walk on the edge of danger. And the Lower Price musical gives me the opportunity to do that with Sheldon Epps reeling me back, reeling me back, reeling me back, and then propelling me forward, propelling me forward. So, yeah, I mean, you all know his music. It's infectious. Even the songs that I didn't know in learning the piece, there's one called Just because and Never Let Me Go. Oh, and the fact that he was the first African American to own his own record label. He was the first, along with his mentor, Logan, to own a first major club in. In New York City in Manhattan Midtown. Not very many people know that, but Lord Price was a trailblazer, and I hope that I'm doing some of the trailblazing that he did through musical theater, if that makes any sense.
- [07:17]
Interviewer Mickey Jo
No, no, I think you are. I think you definitely are. There's a lovely moment in the first few scenes of the piece, as I recall, where we get to see him finding his voice and finding his musical inspiration in real time. And I'm curious about you as a young artist, finding this extraordinary voice that you have. Truly one of the greatest musical theater vocalists.
- [07:38]
Cedric Neal
I'm a believer, and I choose to give all glory to God for that, for the gift. I do believe it is a gift. It took me a long time to not resent the gift, but once I stopped resenting it and accepted it as the gift that it was, I presented it to the people and I hope I'm doing that successfully. But I come from a singing family. My mother sounded just like Aretha Franklin, and there's a gospel singer named Shirley Caesar. My mother sounds like a cross between Shirley Caesar and Aretha Franklin. And my dad is first cousins with Sam Cooke. Was first cousins with Sam Cooke. And my dad sounds just like Sam Cooke. So I like to say I got it. Honest. I was raised in the church in Texas, Went to a performing arts high school in Dallas. Shout out to Booker T. Washington High School for Performing Visual Arts. Studied classical vocal there, went to the East Muscular music. Continued to study classical vocal. So that was. The technique comes along. But the soul comes from being raised in the church, being raised on 80s 90s gospel groups like the Clark Sisters, the Winans, Daryl Coley, Olita Adams, you know, all those people. Even modern artists like Brandy and Donnie Hathaway and Joe and. Yeah, so I just. All my life I've been singing. And no matter what's going on in my life, there have been two constants. Mickey Jo. There's my faith and my song. Those two things have gotten me out of a whole lot of trouble and continue to get me out of a whole lot of trouble and continue to present a whole lot of situations. There's a song in a song that shows Gypsy says, gotta have a gimmick. So people ask me all the time, how do you think? What do you put your success to? I learned a long time ago that you gotta have a gimmick if you want to get ahead. And for the first 10 years of my professional life, the riffs, the soulful singing that I brought to every piece that I did was a problem. But now there are casting calls saying we want it to be Cedricfied. So it's working for my gimmick is working for my good. Now.
- [09:39]
Interviewer Mickey Jo
Yeah, we were talking about how that resonates with Lloyd Price's story. But also just hearing you speak about it, it sounds a lot like hadest as well. And this song that's gonna save the world. And it's interesting. Cause you rightfully so described yourself as a storyteller, which is how I think of you. But also in your performance as Hermes that I got to see a few weeks ago. There's something so soulful and spiritual about it as well. And it's such a malleable role. The people who have played it, it's been played by completely different individuals in different ways. What did you want to bring to it? And what are you finding in it?
- [10:18]
Cedric Neal
I wanted to emulate my idol, Andre de Shields. First of all, that's what I wanted to do. I wanted to do as much of his Hermes as possible. But when we got to rehearsals, I'm going to try not to get emotional about this because because of what I do. I was very restricted the first couple of weeks of rehearsal because I thought I would go too far. But once I convinced Tariq Merchant, our musical supervisor and director, and Rachel Chavkin, the director of the piece, that anything that I do vocally is only to propel the story, any riff that I do is going to be on a word that's propelling the storytelling. And you can trust me. So they pull the reins back. And Rachel said, cedric, we hired you because we wanted you to bring as much of Cedric to Hermes as possible. And I think I'm doing that. I like to say that Hermes is just Cedric in a silver suit because I consider myself. I'm pops to some of my theater and lifestyle kids. I'm mama to some of my theater and lifestyle kids. I'm uncle, I'm sister, I'm brother. I'm a godly figure to some of some people in my life. And so I think that's all that Hermes is. Hermes is a narrator. He's paternal, he's their maternal. They're paternal, they're spiritual. They're the person, the entity that's responsible for making sure that the generations behind us know what it took and what it's going to take to continue being storytellers and continuing to sing that song again and again and again. I like to say that we all have turnaround situations in our life. Hadestown is about don't turn around this time. Don't turn around this time. Whether it's politics, religion, addiction, relationships, self expression, self esteem.
- [12:13]
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- [12:43]
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- [13:02]
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- [13:12]
Cedric Neal
We all have turnaround situations in our lives and we have to keep waking up every day hoping this is the day that I won't turn around. So that's what I take on that stage with me every, every night when I'm telling the story of Hadestown and which I will continue to tell in any show that I'm in from now on will be influenced by Hermes and what Hadestown has meant to me.
- [13:34]
Interviewer Mickey Jo
Is there anything in the material of this show? It's so lyrically dense and you have all of these extraordinary storytellers on stage with you. Is there any way in which your Hermes has evolved or shifted or anything that's surprised you about it during the run so far?
- [13:50]
Cedric Neal
Yes. I initially knew that whenever Orpheus is on stage, Orpheus is the most important person to Hermes, second to. And then Persephone, because Persephone is like his sister. So initially I started playing off that Hades was a bad guy. And I consider Hades to be Hermes's brother. The devil on this shoulder and the angel on this shoulder. So initially I played it as their relationship was just, you know. But for that to be possible, Hades had to care. I mean, Hermes had to care about Hades at one point. So as we go along, I'm finding different points where, oh, that's from our childhood. That's from. That was from the sweetness of Hades. And so I correlate to that. So it's not one dimensional, it's a three dimensional relationship now between Hermes and Hades. I think that's the biggest development and finding the relationship that Hermes has with the workers and what they mean to the workers. But definitely Orpheus is still the most important person. And when this, this little heifer Eurydice comes along, I try to warn them. I try to warn them, but she's dancing and all that now. You got my baby down in Hadestown now and I'm upset with you. But yeah, yeah, I think that's the biggest development among relationship with Hades. Yeah, yeah.
- [15:13]
Interviewer Mickey Jo
I've seen this show in a bunch of different places. I've seen a bunch of different people do this show and it has never sounded more vocally thrilling and exciting than when you are getting your vocal cords around it. It's really stunning stuff and I think that's what a lot of audiences here in the UK have been able to enjoy from so many of your performances is there is really nothing like a Cedric Neill vocal. Now cycling back a little bit. It was many years ago now that you first came over here to bring your wonderful talent across the Atlantic. And now you are officially here and permanently here.
- [15:49]
Cedric Neal
Can't get rid of me now. Normally, Nigel Farage may try, but you can't get rid of me.
- [15:55]
Interviewer Mickey Jo
I'm curious, in those early years or even through recently, what you have felt are the breakthrough moments of your career here in the uk?
- [16:05]
Cedric Neal
There are several. You trying to make me cry? But I initially came over in 2014 to do Porgy and Bess at Sporting Life in Porgy and Bess at Regent's Park Open Air Theater, shout out to Tim Sheeter, and even that I didn't know at the time what a stacked cast that was. Get a load of this. Sharon D. Clark, Golda Rusheville, Tyrone Huntley, Leon David Arbery, Oliver Ladert, Claudia Karaoke. It was just stacked and I had no idea who these people were. And now they're some of my best friends. And I looked back and I was going, whoa, whoa. So I initially came over to do that. So that was a breaking point, definitely, because so many people saw that production. My first agent, who I'm still with, saw that production and signed me on. Andrew Lloyd Webber came to that production of that and he confronted me backstage and he was like, so, I'm redoing Cats. I want to call you in for Rum Tum Tugger. And that audition is going in my memoirs. I'll have to tell you about that later. So the next time we have an interview, remind me to tell you about the Rum Tuck Tuck.
- [17:15]
Interviewer Mickey Jo
Oh, I will.
- [17:17]
Cedric Neal
So I would say that. And then I made my West End debut as Berry Gordy in Motown the Musical. And I was in that show for two years. And that changed my life. And then immediately after Motown, I did this little production of Chess at the Coliseum with Alexander Burke, Cassidy Jensen. This little man named. What's his name? Michael Bol. Michael Bolton. His name was on the tip of my tongue.
- [17:52]
Interviewer Mickey Jo
I thought you were doing a bet.
- [17:53]
Cedric Neal
No. And that was direct choreographed by one of my favorite people, Stephen Meir. And the relationships that were formed during that little mini run will always stick out. Then I go on to do to originate the role of Goldie Wilson, Marvin Barry in Back to the the Musical. That was the first time that I took a show. From the first workshop, we did six workshops, Manchester run, and then originated in the West End. That was pivotal. And then There was a little show at the Soho Place, Soho House called the View Upstairs.
- [18:31]
Interviewer Mickey Jo
I saw it.
- [18:31]
Cedric Neal
Yeah. With Victoria Hamilton Barrett, Declan Bennett, Tyrone Huntley. Again, just another stacked cast. And that show, Victoria Hamilton Barrett and I were talking about it when she was still in this show. There wasn't a single show where we didn't get emotional on stage because of the material and because of how it's been overlooked. And we still have relationships to this day. Carly Mercedes Dyer. And we still have relationships to this day. We're still a phone call away. And then there comes Guys and Dolls at the Bridge Theater. For many reasons, I never thought that I would be playing Nicely Nicely Johnson in a major production and a major production of that tale. Nick Heidner is a sick genius and that show was sick. And it garnered me my first Olivier nomination. And it. I hate to keep saying this changed my life, but it did. And then you're gonna say, do you think I'm saying this just because of the basis of this interview? But like I said earlier, I said to Sheldon Epps and Sheldon Becton and Jeff Madoff that those three weeks last year there were we workshopped personality.
- [19:53]
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- [20:24]
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- [20:58]
Cedric Neal
It reminded me that as long as my natural man thinks that that is possible, that it is, because I would never thought that a piece that I could relate to that singing my kind of music. Our musical director Shelton Becton was like, sing the melody, the first verse and then just do Cedric. You know this music. You know this, you know this in your soul. You know this in your heart. And Sheldon Epps, our director, trusts me so much. I've never had a director trust me as much as Sheldon trusts me. And that's a first in my career. I've been doing this 26 years, Mickey Jo. And for Sheldon to. Every day I'm in the room with him, he finds another way to let me know he trusts me. So I would say personality.
- [21:42]
Interviewer Mickey Jo
I think when I got to see you do the little workshop presentation of that, that felt like a breakthrough as well, because we've enjoyed you stealing scenes and giving thrilling vocals and fantastic performances in a bunch of shows. But you were center stage telling that story and taking custody of that story in such a beautiful and a powerful way. I felt like it gave me a chance to see a fuller dimension of you for the first time. And I was like, oh, this is the star. That is Cedric Neil. That was really fantastic. There's a story with Kinky Boots as well, I think, because you had come close to having the chance to play the role a couple of times. And then you got to do the concert at Drury Lane.
- [22:24]
Cedric Neal
There are two concerts that I didn't mention that were also special to me. And Kinky Boots is one of those. I was scared of Kinky Boots again because the story relates, I've never been a direct performer, but the story of the relationship with his father is so close to mine. So that when I got to do Kinky Boots at Jury Lane, and this is not a narcissistic or puffed up statement that I'm about to make, it was the first time in my entire life that I got a mid show standing ovation. And the first concert after Hold Me in youn Heart, it was a standing ovation for three minutes and four seconds. And Freddie Taplin, conductor and of the lmto, said to me, called me that night. He said so, said when we do the show tomorrow, if you move, I'm gonna punch you. He said, just take it all in. Just take it all in. That, that's, that's for you. So that was special and I'm glad I got to do Lola. There was another. Back in 2018, as I was doing Motown, Sharon D. Clark and her partner Susie McKenna. Susie McKenna produced this musical called King, which is the Martin Luther King musical. And I got to play Martin Luther King. So akin to personality, where I'm playing center stage, main character, that was a special event, being able to play one of the most respected African American leaders of all time, just flat footed center stage. And yeah.
- [23:56]
Interviewer Mickey Jo
So, yeah, before we move on from guys and Dolls. I'm always so curious because I went a bunch of times, always did the standing. It was such an atmospheric, exciting production. But what was it like from your vantage point doing Sit down youn Rock on the Boat, doing the entire show? What was the view like from up there of that experience?
- [24:14]
Cedric Neal
It was so. So. This is gonna sound so lame, but it. I love to break the fourth wall. So the fact that the fourth wall was broken and there were hundreds of people there, and you could see it in their eyes that they were getting the story. You could see it in the excitement. You see it in their eyes when the soul, when the spirit hit them. I had so many people come up to me after Guys and Dolls saying, I'm not a believer, I don't believe in God, blah, blah, blah, blah. But there was God in there. There was some spirit in there. And so that was comforting to me. It was just, I'm most comfortable when I can relate to the audience. And so that was my most comfortable situation. I loved it. I loved seeing the people getting shifted around, like, this is not going to work. This. Oh, this is working. This is working. We're in the mission with them. We're in the mission with them. So it's fun.
- [25:06]
Interviewer Mickey Jo
Obviously, you're in a place right now where you're in a fantastic West End show and building another project, another new musical at the same time. But I'm curious if a decade down the line or less than that, there's anything else in the bucket list still, Anything you haven't had the opportunity to do that you would love to. Any particular shows?
- [25:26]
Cedric Neal
I didn't believe in dream roles until Hermes, so that's a difficult question for me. I always said that the dream role. The dream situation hasn't been written, but there is one role that I want to sink my teeth into. I want to be the first male identifying Acid Queen in the who's tummy.
- [25:45]
Interviewer Mickey Jo
Oh, I mean. I mean, I want that now as well.
- [25:49]
Cedric Neal
Yeah, that's so. Hey, producers. Is that somewhere in the pipeline? Hey.
- [25:54]
Interviewer Mickey Jo
And even if that wasn't, that's reason enough now to start building a revival. I'm gonna email people after this.
- [25:58]
Cedric Neal
That has to wanna be the first male identifying Acid Queen in who's Tami?
- [26:03]
Interviewer Mickey Jo
Yeah, that would sound. Oh, the version that I'm imagining right now sounds fantastic. So.
- [26:08]
Cedric Neal
Yeah.
- [26:08]
Interviewer Mickey Jo
Wow, that would really be something. Selfishly, I just want to hear you sing all of them. That's all my bro. But thinking about personality, then. October 11th. October 11th, what is your greatest aspiration? For what audiences are gonna take away from this show when they come and.
- [26:25]
Cedric Neal
See it, that they walk away going, this works. And that they walk away going, more people need to see this. More people need to know this man's story. We already know his music. We already now they know his name. That's a line from the show. But that more people need to know this story because this was a special man and it's a special show and it wouldn't be so if his music wasn't in his life, wasn't so special. I hope they walk away going, when is it coming to the West End and when can I get tickets and just keep singing?
- [27:03]
Interviewer Mickey Jo
Which is a lovely message to leave us with. I am excited about the Future of Personality, the Lloyd Prize musical and I am excited about the future of Cedric Neal here in the uk. Thank you you, it's been so lovely.
- [27:14]
Cedric Neal
Sit down with you. So good to sit down with you.
- [27:15]
Interviewer Mickey Jo
Lovely to see you. Thank you so much.
- [27:17]
Cedric Neal
Thank you.
- [27:17]
Interviewer Mickey Jo
For 10 more seconds, I'm Mickey Jo Theatre. Oh my God. Hey, thanks for watching. Have a stagey day.
- [27:26]
Cedric Neal
Subscribe.
- [27:30]
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