Vanessa Williams Brings Talent, Vision, Advocacy to Virtual PGH Concert

In the midst of a pandemic came a bright and musical light when Dallas Summer Musicals presented its third national installation of the “Live from the West Side: Women of Broadway” livestream series, this time starring the multi-talented and critically-acclaimed actress/singer, Vanessa Williams.

The Dec. 5 concert was hosted locally by the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, with proceeds supporting nonprofit organizations nationwide which were impacted by the pandemic, including the Trust.

From the virtual studios of The Shubert Theater on Manhattan’s West Side in New York, Williams sang a medley of her own hits and Broadway and holiday classics, Throughout the virtual concert, Williams shared personal stories about her past and how mileposts in her life continue to drive her in her ongoing work both on and off the stage and screen.

Williams opened the show with “Other Side of The Tracks,” originally from the musical, “Little Me.”

She stood alone in her shimmery and elegant jumpsuit next to a stool she used to rest and hold notecards with questions from audience members that she would answer in between songs.

Questions answered by Williams had to be emailed, but the platform provided a live chat feature for audience members to react to her performance. It was filled with clapping hands, heart eye emojis, and comments of admiration for Williams.

Behind her was her band: Carmen Ruby Floyd, singer; Al Caldwell, guitarist; J.T. Lewis, drummer; Keith Robinson, bass; Rob Mathis, pianist.

Mathis composed Williams’ Christmas hit “Starbright”, and he accompanied her in a duet of “Love Is”, a song she originally performed with Grammy-nominated singer, Brian McKnight. It was featured on the 1993 television series, “Beverly Hills, 90210.”

Floyd is a newcomer to the band. After performing a mash up of Stephen Sondheim’s ballads together, Williams gave the stage to Floyd for a solo performance of the song “Creole Love” from Duke Ellington’s Broadway musical “After Midnight.”

Williams also performed “Dreaming”, from her Grammy-nominated album, “The Right Stuff.” She ended the show with her signature song “Save the Best for Last,” from her second studio album, “The Comfort Zone.”

Williams is one of the most respected and multi-faceted performers in the entertainment industry today. Having sold millions of records worldwide, she has also achieved numerous top hits on various Billboard Album and Singles charts, Pop, Dance, R&B, Adult Contemporary, Holiday, Latin, Gospel and Jazz.

Her critically acclaimed work in film, television, recordings and the Broadway stage has been recognized by every major industry award affiliate including four Emmy nominations, 11 Grammy nominations, a Tony nomination, three Screen Actors Guild nominations, seven NAACP Image Awards and three Satellite awards.

“I’m happy to be able to bring my artistry to people…maybe be a distraction from the mayhem that has been 2020,” Williams said.

Williams is professionally trained in singing, dancing and acting. She grew up in West Chester County in New York with music educators as parents and she studied theatre at Syracuse University.

“My parents, particularly my mom was an avid theatre goer and she would take me to the matinee on Saturday. I knew it was a short ride to an audition and that would be a tangible goal for me to be on Broadway,” Williams said.

As a little girl, Williams remembers “being called the N-word,” and how it motivated her to work harder. This resulted in a successful career in film, music, and theatre.

“I came home and asked my parents what that means. My mom said that means you’ll have to do better than everyone else just to be considered equal, and that was my reality. So, I did everything to prove that I had talent, intellect. Both my parents were educators, music teachers. I was exposed to the arts and travel. I made it a point to make sure that when I walked into a room that I was prepared, but I had to be better because of my skin color,” said Williams.

While living in New York, she won the Miss Syracuse title and later went on to become the first black Miss America in 1983. Williams spoke of the racism she encountered as a young black woman, and the first black Miss America.

“I was 20 years old, but then came the shock of being the first black Miss America and the death threats that would follow. It was one of the hardest periods of my life,” Williams said, “along with some major controversy that came 10 months into my reign that I couldn’t control,” she added, citing being forced to resign her reign.

“At 21 years old I was viewed as a beauty queen instead of all the training that I had as an actress, dancer and singer. So, I had to really start from zero. I was denied a lot of projects, but I worked my way up,” Williams said.

At one point in her career, she said she was considered for one of the high-profile roles of Nala in the 1994 film, The Lion King but, in the end, she was denied the role, being told that she “would never be Disney material.” But Williams noted that she pressed on.

“In 1995 I got a chance to sing an Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz song for an Academy Award-winning movie, called Pocahontas,”
Williams said, as an introduction into her fourth song, “Colors of the Wind.”

Williams eventually enjoyed success on both stage and screen, receiving an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture for her portrayal of Teri Joseph in the film “Soul Food” (1997).

Her best-known television roles are that of Wilhelmina Slater on “Ugly Betty” (2006–10), for which she was nominated three times for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, and Renee Perry on “Desperate Housewives” (2010–12).

During her pre-concert news conference the week before, Williams talked about how good things can come out of tragedy, saying that “one of the lucky things…is to be one of the founders of Black Theatre United.”

Black Theatre United is an organization she co-founded to bring light to discrimination people of color face in the arts community, developing actionable items to address disparities in the arts community. The organization was created in June after the killing of George Floyd.

Billy Porter, the Emmy/Oscar/Tony-award winning actor and singer, who is also a Pittsburgh native, is a cofounder along with Williams and 19 other professionals in all roles in the theater.

“Since we have moved through such a tremendous time of change, action and awareness, a lot of people weren’t aware of the discrimination that people of color had to go through in every aspect, particularly in the arts. They realize that it’s not enough to have a black usher in a theatre. We want black people that are on staff, that are artistic directors, producers, and directors,” Williams said.

For more information about Williams and the theatrical community’s work to combat racism and inequality in the arts, visit www.blacktheatreunited.com.

For future performances and virtual events during the pandemic, visit Trustarts.org. Penn State Greater Allegheny students can receive ticket discounts.

Story by: Alisha Tarver (ait5274@psu.edu)