Cleavant Derricks on Making Broadway Magic in Wicked & Dreamgirls

Cleavant Derricks, who is known for his Tony-winning turn as James Thunder Early in Dreamgirls, is now taking pulling the curtain back as The Wizard in Wicked at Broadway's Gershwin Theatre. Derricks sat down with Broadway.com Editor-in-Chief Paul Wontorek at citizenM to talk about returning to Broadway, his unexpected road to Dreamgirls and more on The Broadway Show with Tamsen Fadal. 

Originally from Knoxville, Tennessee, Derricks arrived in New York in 1977. He won a Tony Award for creating the role of James Thunder Early in the original Broadway production of Dreamgirls. He was also Tony-nominated for his performance in Bob Fosse’s Big Deal. His other Broadway credits include Your Arms Too Short to Box With God (following in the footsteps of his twin brother Clinton Derricks-Carroll who suggested Cleavant audition for the show), But Never Jam Today, the 1977 revival of Hair and Brooklyn.

It was a chance run-in on the street with Loretta Devine that resulted in Derricks joining the workshop of Big Dreams, which would become legendary musical Dreamgirls. "To this day, it was such a fascinating experience that I had in my life that I'll never forget," he said. "That show had a fire to it. That show had life to it."

"It's good to be back on the boards," he said of appearing in Wicked. "Once you've done Broadway, it never leaves you. It's always in your heart. It's a joy. It's thrilling, and I'll never get tired of it."

Watch the interview below and head here to check your local listings for The Broadway Show. Hosted by Emmy-winning anchor Tamsen Fadal, it is the only nationally syndicated weekly theater news program.