In 1961, during a snowstorm, Dick Gregory received a personal request from Hugh Hefner to perform at Chicago鈥檚 Playboy Club. Until then, the African American comedian had worked mostly at small clubs with predominantly black audiences where he was being paid an average of five dollars per night. His performance at the Playboy Club launched Gregory onto the national comedy scene, and, within the year, he was selling out nightclubs and making regular television appearances.
This pivotal winter night in Chicago is a key moment in Turn Me Loose, Gretchen Law鈥檚 new play about Gregory鈥檚 life and career, directed by John Gould. Scandal star and Emmy winner Joe Morton stars as the famed comedian as he takes the Playboy Club stage with a hint of nervousness, starring out at his new, predominantly white audience that evening in Chicago.
Every night as Morton heads to the , the actor prepares to inhabit the mind and body of the historic funnyman and activist. Morton has a ritual of sorts: He puts Gregory鈥檚 cufflinks on, then his watch and wedding band as he works through the script. 鈥淚鈥檓 preparing my body for what I鈥檓 going to put it through for an hour and half,鈥� says Morton. He performs Turn Me Loose alongside John Carlin, but much of the play feels like a one-man show.
Law鈥檚 play blends Gregory鈥檚 real-life stand-up with more intimate moments backstage; we see the performer and the man behind the comedian鈥攁 civil rights activist, a father and husband and a man passionate about health, politics and humanity.
Performing Turn Me Loose is exhausting, says Morton. It鈥檚 90 minutes filled with tears, joy, laughter and a lot of history鈥攖he good, the bad and the ugly of it. Though much of it takes place in the 鈥�60s, the show feels eerily relevant today. 鈥淚 think one of the beauties of the play, and strangely one of the odd ironies of the play, is that here is a man who is talking about many of the things that we鈥檙e facing today, thirty years ago,鈥� says Morton. 鈥淓verything from racial politics, to nutrition, to corporate greed鈥he Trumps of the world, how the rich people of the world are affecting the disproportionate.鈥�
鈥淭hey鈥檙e still happening today,鈥� continues the actor, 鈥渨hich says a lot about what we need and how we need to heal ourselves as Americans.鈥� In a recent interview, President Obama called Gregory one of his two favorite comics ever; the other was Richard Pryor who himself said, 鈥淒ick Gregory was the greatest and the first.鈥� At 84-years-old, Gregory continues to be a prevalent rights activist and an important voice in the equality movement.
Like much of Gregory鈥檚 work, Morton sees Turn Me Loose as a call-to-action. 鈥淚t鈥檚 asking the audience to take a look inside themselves to figure out who they are and what they can do,鈥� he says. 鈥淣o one is asking them to be activists 24/7鈥but what is] the smallest thing that you can do? How much service can you give to your fellow human beings in the smallest possible way?鈥� Morton says this is what ultimately makes the play so relevant, along with preserving Gregory鈥檚 meaningful legacy.
It was also one of the reasons Grammy winner John Legend became attached as a producer. 鈥淧eople like Dick Gregory, Paul Robeson, Harry Belafonte and Nina Simone show me what the definition of an artist is,鈥� said Legend when he first announced his involvement. 鈥淚t isn鈥檛 just to make art but to speak truth to what鈥檚 happening, speak beauty into the world, speak love into the world and also get involved.鈥�
In preparation for the role, Morton read Gregory鈥檚 biography, watched countless YouTube clips of his stand-up comedy and listened to a lot of his recorded performances. He was also able to speak with Gregory on the phone. 鈥淲e spoke for about two hours,鈥� recalls Morton. 鈥淲e ended up talking about our fathers, and the way we grew up and those kinds of things. I just really wanted to just hear his voice. I wanted to hear his attitudes about things; and I just wanted to let him talk鈥攖alk to me about anything he wanted to, it didn鈥檛 much matter.鈥� The two also met in person twice, briefly.
Gregory is set to attend the official opening night May 19, which Morton predicts will be both 鈥渆lating and terrifying at the same time.鈥� 鈥淢y fear,鈥� he says, 鈥渋s that at some point during the show鈥攕ince I spend a lot of time dealing with the audience directly鈥擨 know I鈥檓 going to end up looking him straight in the face, and I have to figure out what to do about that.鈥�
The Scandal star says one of the most satisfying things about returning to the stage is this first-hand interaction with the audience, something he doesn鈥檛 get from television acting. 鈥淭he audience鈥檚 response is immediate...Especially if there are black people in the audience you鈥檒l hear a lot of 鈥楳m hmm,鈥� and that鈥檚 important,鈥� he explains. 鈥淭hat carries me. That buoys me all the way through the play.鈥�
Turn Me Loose officially opens May 19 and is scheduled to play through July 3 at the Westside Theatre Off-Broadway.
Olivia Clement is a news and features writer at 半岛体育.com, specializing in the wonderful and expansive world of Off-Broadway. Follow her on Twitter @oliviaclement_.
