courtesy of Kevin Coughlin at MorristownGreen.com
Before she won her Tony as Angelica Schuyler in Hamilton, before she starred as Mimi in Rent, Renée Elise Goldsberry was taking bit parts in films while racking up more Broadway rejections than she cares to count.
Then The Lion King called about an audition for the role of Nala. Goldsberry sang Shadowland, but her heart wasn’t in it; this was right after 9/11. The casting director asked her to sing it again — only this time, connect to it.
“If we can’t do it today,” the director answered, “then why ever do it at all?”
Goldsberry got the message, and the part.
It’s a lesson she never has forgotten. At Friday’s Season 28 opening night at the Mayo Performing Arts Center, she connected with the audience like Aaron Judge connecting with a fastball.
