Myra Lucretia Taylor Might Play a Grandmother in Tina, But She Once Got Frisky with Antonio Banderas On Stage

While Antonio Banderas was busy last week preparing for the Oscars, Myra Lucretia Taylor, who currently plays a loving grandmother in Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, was reminiscing about all the quality time she spent with the Spanish star. Taylor performed alongside Banderas in the 2003 revival of Arthur Kopit and Maury Yeston’s Nine. "Antonio said: 'We are going to give Broadway something they’ve never seen!’ He was so excited,” Taylor remembered in a recent #LiveAtFive interview with Broadway.com's Paul Wontorek.

In the musical, Banderas played Guido Contini, an Italian filmmaker caught on the verge of a nervous breakdown and haunted by the many, beautiful women in his life (a role not dissimilar to his Oscar-nominated turn this year). Taylor played Saraghina, the Italian prostitute who Contini visits as a child to learn about love. In the show, Taylor sang “Be Italian,” and got up close and personal with the Banderas. “He was like, ‘Myra, I think we can do more with the bosom,” she said, doing her best impersonation of Banderas. “And the next thing I knew, he was in there!” Taylor then laughed, making the sound of, yes, a boat motor. “He was so adorable in that production.”

Nine was Taylor's last Broadway production before joining Tina as Turner’s grandmother, Gran Georgeanna. In the musical, Georgeanna is a well of emotional support for the singer and an ever-present reminder of Turner’s ancestral roots. As Taylor put it: “Her grandmother was the one who, in our script, crowns her, tells her, 'You have to go and develop this gift.'" It’s a role that often connects with the audience. “There are so many who say, ‘I miss my grandmother. You remind me of my grandmother,” she said about meeting fans at the stage door.

Taylor has been a staple of the New York theater community for 30 years; she has numerous off-Broadway credits—including her 2018 Drama Desk-winning turn in School Girls: Or, the African Mean Girls Play—and seven Broadway shows. Along the way, she also made some history; she was the first black woman to be cast as Madame Morrible in Wicked. Taylor joined the musical’s national tour in 2008. “I could've said no to Wicked,” she said. “‘No, no, I don’t think that’s a part I can play or should play because people are going to be angry I’m playing it.' Sometimes you just say yes."

When offering advice to young, aspiring actors of color, Taylor also talks about the importance of being open to the possibilities. “I say, 'Work really hard, develop all of your interests, and think of yourself as a full human being, defined and limited only by your interests,'” she said. “You also have to have an idea for yourself about what it is you want to do, because it’s up to you to say yes or no.”

See the rest of Taylor's #LiveAtFive interview below.