Naturi Naughton-Lewis Finds Her Power in Broadway’s The Great Gatsby

Naturi Naughton-Lewis is back on Broadway, nearly two decades after playing Little Inez in Hairspray. The singer and actress, known for the R&B group 3LW and the hit television series Power, now brings her confidence and resilience to Jordan Baker in The Great Gatsby at the Broadway Theatre. Naughton-Lewis spoke with Broadway.com Managing Editor Beth Stevens about rediscovering her voice, fighting for career-defining roles and returning to the stage at exactly the right moment.

At just five years old, Naughton-Lewis knew she wanted to sing. She asked her parents to join the choir at the New Hope Baptist Church in East Orange, New Jersey after a pop icon changed everything for her. “I remember seeing Whitney Houston,” she recalls. “I think it was Greatest Love of All. I saw a video, and I was like, ‘Mommy, Daddy, who is that?’ A brown girl, a woman who's also from East Orange in northern New Jersey, my roots, my hometown. I was like, ‘If she can do it, I can do it.’”

Houston’s success pushed Naughton-Lewis to pursue her goals. Accumulating a small collection of gigs and even a spot on Reading Rainbow, she won a contest which crowned her the “anthem girl” of New Jersey, singing for the governor, the mayor of Newark and the New Jersey Nets. “I got that opportunity to sing for the Nets, and I got discovered by the person who was putting together the girl group 3LW,” she says. “Then they asked me to audition. It all took off. Teenage pop star, here I come.”

Naughton-Lewis and 3LW became certified platinum. When her time with the group ended at 18, she questioned whether she would ever perform again. “That was heartbreak,” she says. “It was a time in my life when I had to rebuild myself.” After enrolling in classes at Seton Hall University to study political science, Naughton-Lewis planned to leave entertainment behind. An audition for casting director Bernard Telsey eventually led her to the national tour of Hairspray and then Broadway, where she remained for two and a half years. “I knew my purpose was to perform,” she says. “My purpose is to inspire people through music, through art, through acting.”

Playing Little Inez restored the confidence she had lost in the music industry. “It gave me my power back because the music business definitely made me feel defeated,” she says. “When I did Broadway, I felt empowered and I felt like I was able to touch so many people every night.” That renewed confidence propelled Naughton-Lewis into film and television. While appearing in Hairspray, she landed the role of rapper Lil’ Kim in the biopic Notorious. Years later, she pushed for another audition after initially being told she was too young to play Tasha St. Patrick on Power. She returned with a new look and ultimately secured the role. “Power changed my life,” she says.

After years on screen, Naughton-Lewis feels more than ready to return to Broadway. “I have actually been praying for this,” she says. “I have manifested it.” She also found a personal connection to Jordan, the independent professional golfer who refuses to let others determine her future. “I really related to her resilience and her strength,” she says. “Jordan is a boss. She’s smart. She’s a new woman. She knows what she wants and she’s unapologetic about it, which I love.”

Before joining the production, Naughton-Lewis had never seen the musical and was struck by its contemporary approach to F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic. “I was surprised by how cool the choreography was,” she says. “It's very 1920s, but still very modern.” Little did she know that it was The Great Gatsby choreographer Dominique Kelley who thought of her for Jordan. Kelley was a dancer in the 2009 Fame remake, while Lewis played the student Denise Dupree. “It just felt full circle,” she says of the connection.

For Naughton-Lewis, returning to Broadway offers a chance to bring people together while giving audiences a fresh perspective on a familiar story. “We need more moments when we can just enjoy life with each other,” she says. “The Great Gatsby puts a smile on your face, although it has emotional moments. Definitely does make you think, but it also will make you feel.” That spirit of connection extends beyond the audience to Naughton-Lewis’ own place within the Broadway community. “Broadway is a community that’s needed the most because we all need to start coming together,” she says. “I am exactly where I should be. I know that I’m supposed to be here.”

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