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Interviews
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Anthony Chisholm - Working with Wilson Anthony Chisholm tells Philip Fisher about a life in the theatre and his work with playwright August Wilson Anthony Chisolm is a tall, lean man with a smoker's gravelly voice, who likes hiding himself behind a beard and hat. He is currently starring in Gem of the Ocean, the ninth play in August Wilson's cycle presenting the twentieth century from an African-American perspective. Chisolm seems happy enough to give an interview, which might seem surprising. This took place in his dressing room at the Walter Kerr Theater on Broadway, between shows on his second consecutive two-show day in the middle of a punishing Christmas schedule. Although he gives his all for 2 3/4 hours every performance, constantly limping around on stage, face in a perpetual grimace, the actor says that physically this show has not been a problem. He qualifies this by saying that that statement only applies provided that he takes care of himself. It seems that parties and late nights will be off the agenda while Gem runs. His commitment is such that he would almost certainly be the happiest man in the world if he couldn't party again until his wake (at least fifty years from now, one hopes). Already so early in the run, he talks with enthusiasm about the need to market a show of this type vigorously. Straight plays have not traditionally fared well on Broadway of late and in order to survive, he believes that the producers must invest in a serious marketing plan that will bring crowds flooding in to see this wonderful play. This will take imagination, since he points out that "the cost of a full page ad in The (New York) Times is about $250,000". His ideas include contacting every union in town and getting to students and clubs of all types. If the show cannot play in New York forever, he would love another chance to visit London. He has heard a rumour that the National Theatre might be interested in taking up the rights. He made his London debut in 1985 with Tracers, a play written by the combination of no fewer than eight playwrights at The Royal Court. This was described by Jack Kroll in Newsweek as "a land mine of a play that blows complacency to shreds. In sharp, sometimes unbearably intense scenes, eight totally dedicated actors seem to take us into almost every aspect of the war". One of those totally dedicated actors returned to the United Kingdom almost ten years later, this time the National with an earlier play in the Wilson cycle, Jitney, which won an Olivier Award Chisholm's relationship with Wilson, the Pulitzer prize-winning chronicler of an African-American century, goes back a long way. It is far closer than one might normally expect between an actor and one of the playwrights with whom he has worked. They first met in early 1990, when Chisholm auditioned for Lloyd Richards, a man known as "the Godfather of the Theatre" who was casting the fifth play of the series, Two Trains Running. As fellow smokers, that great rarity in United States, the writer and actor soon became friends. It turned out they had much more than the love of tobacco in common. They had grown up in sister cities, Cleveland and Pittsburgh, were almost the same age and had suffered the loss of mothers at almost the same time. In addition, both were boxing fans. The pair became friends and Chisholm was lucky enough to visit Wilson at home and meet several of his oldest friends and acquaintances. He tells stories of "an old barber who looked like he was 90 years old, that used to cut his hair when he was a kid". The tales about Eddie's restaurant are even closer to home, as Wilson was once employed there while he was trying to make his name as a writer. Eddie was none too impressed with his short-order cook as "he wasn't doing any cooking, he was sitting in the back writing all the time. He told him to take to get writing and get the hell outta here". Luckily for all of us, Wilson took this advice to heart and has probably never looked back. As well as doing much other work on film and television and stage, Chisholm has been working in Wilson's plays ever since. He now proudly claims to have performed in no fewer than thirty-five productions of five different plays around the world, including three on Broadway. He clearly loves the latest play, Gem of the Ocean, which he describes as "very special, an incredible play... the deepest of his nine in the canon thus far". Audience reaction has been amazing "they've been standing up in every performance for Gem of the Ocean, often with tears in their eyes", an experience that reminds him of similar enthusiasm at over 1,000 performances of Jitney. Chisholm has a real affection for the work of the man with whom he has spent so much time. "August Wilson is without question the Shakespeare of our time, you can stack him up against older established playwrights like Eugene O'Neill, Tennessee Williams - and here is a man who educated himself from the age of 15". The British should now cross their fingers and hope that the National can bring the play and its cast to London. They will not be disappointed if they can see its depiction of the harshness of life for Black Americans in 1904 and some unforgettable characters such as Phylicia Rashad's Aunt Esther and Anthony Chisholm's Solly Two-Kings.
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