By Demetrius Dillard
In many ways, Laiona Michelle feels she is a reflection of iconic singer-songwriter Nina Simone.
For essentially her entire professional career, Michelle has been immensely inspired by Simone. As a Black female playwright, actress and musician, Michelle was naturally drawn to Simone’s artistic style, uniqueness, brilliance and creative spirit.
“Little Girl Blue” (LGB), Michelle’s latest work, is a play that will pay homage to the late classical musician. Michelle has labeled “Little Girl Blue” her “passion project” that is a culmination of more than a decade of writing, brainstorming and extensive planning.
“I began putting the pieces of this musical together more than ten years ago and bit by bit it came together,” Michelle said in the writer’s notes for the play.
“For so long, I felt that she had been misunderstood, partly because of the labels often attached to Black women who don’t play by the standard rules, and partly by the media.
Nina was a very complicated woman, but what always stood out for me was just how talented, how naturally gifted she was.”
“Little Girl Blue,” also a musical, opened at Goodspeed Opera House, a performing arts theater in East Haddam, and has been running since early August. Michelle and her production team plan to open the musical play in New York beginning Feb. 11, 2022 — Simone’s birthday.
Unsurprisingly, Michelle is starring in the role of Simone which of course brings her a great deal of excitement. LGB, directed by Devanand Janki, began as a one-woman play, then morphed into a musical over time, Michelle said. Three gentlemen will share the stage with Michelle, as actors and musicians.
Michelle, a graduate of Alabama State University (undergraduate) and Brandeis University (masters), was encouraged to begin her journey as a writer after receiving pushback for questioning why Black-centered plays were so often written by White men.
“I grew up knowing about Nina Simone, and I felt like it was important that as a Black artist we control our narratives and own our stories,” said Michelle, a native of Springfield, Mass.
“As a Black actress, there’s been so many times in my career where I walk into a room and open up a script for a show that I’ve been cast in, and the show may be about Black people, but when I look and see who wrote the show, it was always by a White man.”
Prior to making its way to Connecticut, LGB premiered at New Jersey’s George Street Playhouse. “Little Girl Blue” is the name of Simone’s first album (released in 1958-59).
Not only was this production designed to pay tribute to the influence Simone had on Michelle personally, but above all else, is purposed to shed light on Simone’s pain and conflicts. Michelle said she wants audiences today to see the full scope of the classical musician as an unapologetic creative who spent her life chasing her dream.
“First of all, I bow down to Nina Simone. I respect her body of work, everything she sowed during her time here on earth, the path she created for me as an artist – she was indeed a trailblazer,” Michelle added.
“She didn’t set out to become a civil rights activist, but she certainly became one and her career took a blow for it… she knew she had a mission and she knew she had a calling, and she answered to it every time. I applaud her for that.”
LGB is an immersive theatrical experience, Michelle emphasized, that will materialize in the form of two concerts that will take a look at how Simone evolved over the span of a decade. The first act takes place in 1968 in the U.S. and the second takes place in 1978 in Switzerland as the play takes a hypnotic musical journey into the mindset of Simone in those times and settings.
Michelle concluded by saying this musical will give Simone the recognition she’s always desired as the first Black classical pianist. Simone exhibited characteristics that are much-needed in today’s time.
“I think she’s incredible and I think she deserves to be on the biggest platforms, and that is why I stepped to the plate to write this musical about her life,” Michelle said.
“She was not just a provocative influencer, but she’s necessary to our times, she’s important, she’s transparent and I think this world needs a lot more transparency.”
Michelle plans to release her next work, “Mandela the Musical,” next year in London, which will focus on the life and times of the late South African statesman Nelson Mandela.
