Tony Winner Lillias White on Revisiting The Life, Advice for Effies in Dreamgirls & Making Her London Stage Debut in This Joint is Jumpin’

It has been 20 years since Broadway powerhouse Lillias White won a Tony Award for her performance as the seen-it-all hooker Sonja in The Life and now here she is in London, frontlining with inimitable style a Fats Waller musical revue downstairs at The Other Palace called This Joint is Jumpin’ and—coincidentally—stopping by to see the U.K. debut of The Life at Southwark Playhouse. Broadway.com spoke to the effervescent White both about revisiting her past and her ever-exciting present.

How did you come to be making your London stage debut in This Joint is Jumpin’?
[The producer] Hoagy B. Carmichael is a dear friend of mine and he asked me if I would come and be a part of it with a group of musicians, Michael Mwenso and The Shakes. He invited me to come and listen to the group and said that if I liked their sound, he would love for me to join them.

Was the decision a no-brainer?
I was excited because Hoagy is my friend, and I would do just about anything for him. Also, I’ve never played London before, so I thought this would be a great way to come over for several weeks. I’ve been overjoyed by the experience so far.

Is the show a sort of companion piece to Ain’t Misbehavin’ [the Tony-winning Fats Waller musical revue from nearly 40 years ago]?
That was more of a revue which this really isn’t, though, of course, we have a lot of the same material. Funnily enough, I was in the first national company of Ain’t Misbehavin’ 35 years ago: we started in San Francisco and later went to Canada. But this [show] feels completely different.

Is the Waller songbook second nature to you?
I know this stuff, definitely! I’m doing “Black and Blue” and “Keepin’ Out of Mischief Now” and “I’ve Got a Feeling I’m Falling,” among others, and the way it’s structured, we’ve got a story within a story. But we don’t know what’s going to happen to this after London; it’s a work-in-progress, so to speak.

Did you have any idea when you came over for this that The Life would be having its U.K. premiere at south London’s Southwark Playhouse at the same time?
Yes, and that was another reason I wanted to be here: I really wanted to see The Life, and [director] Michael Blakemore, who is 88 and has got this great energy and who we just adored when we did the Broadway show because he’s very quick-witted and funny—funny without even trying to be funny!

How did it feel to watch the show the other night?
It was very emotional to witness that show again and to reconnect and to see Michael [Blakemore] and Shelby [composer Cy Coleman’s widow] and just hear those words and that beautiful score. That show was incredibly important to me in that I was committed to it from the very beginning from our Westbeth workshop downtown onwards, so to hear and see it again and watch it have a life in London—which is something we always wanted—was a real thrill!

What was it like to seeing it in a small space [221 seats] and with British performer Sharon D. Clarke as Sonja?
I think The Life works in any space because of the power of the piece; the show has enormous emotional appeal, and the performances were exceptional. Unfortunately, Sharon wasn’t there for the talkback afterward, so I didn’t get to meet with her, but I was so excited when I got home that night that it kept me up. I was up again early the next morning: whenever I see a great performance, it always encourages me to work harder on whatever it is that I’m doing.

Are you going to try to see it again before you head back to New York?
Yes, and hopefully then I’ll get to see Sharon!

Does London theater feel like an episode of “This is Your Life,” with not just The Life but also Dreamgirls running here at the moment?
That is really something, since Dreamgirls is another show that literally changed my life. I got to work with the geniuses that were Michael Bennett and Michael Peters and also [costume designer] Theoni V. Aldredge and a wonderful cast who made it their business to make the show come alive. It was just one of those experiences.

What was your first association with that musical?
I stood by for Jennifer Holliday in the L.A. company, which was an extraordinary to watch her do that role, and then she decided after a while that the five-show weekends were too much so Michael made me the matinee Effie and he had the reviewers come back and re-review the show, which didn’t go over very well, but that’s show biz!

What was it like when you got to take on the role for real?
I took over the part of Effie on the road and then in the 1987 Broadway revival and remember Michael Bennett being very good to me and very encouraging and letting me know that he thought I was a really great actress in the role. I had a little girl then, and he loved my little girl. The story of Effie kind of mirrored my life at the time, so it was wonderful to get on stage and let all that out: Michael got me and he got it.

What advice do you have for the show’s current Effie, Amber Riley, or for anyone playing that part?
I would say keep up with your vitamins and your physical and vocal exercises and get your rest and also really let Effie go at the end of each performance: let her go, leave here there on the stage because Effie is a beast and if you hold on to any of the hurt built into that character, then you’re looking for trouble.

What can you tell us about your latest venture, Gotta Dance, directed and choreographed by Jerry Mitchell?
They’ve changed the name to Half Time and we’re going to do it next year at Paper Mill Playhouse. They’ve got a nice new number for me to do, and I do like the material. Other than that, I can’t tell you anything about it except that it’s going to happen next year!