From Hollywood to Home: Black Voices in Entertainment
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It’s been nearly 45 years since Sheryl Lee Ralph starred in “Dreamgirls” on Broadway, but the experience left a lasting impact on her.
In a new episode of Hoda Kotb’s “Making Space” podcast, the former TODAY co-anchor sits down with the actor and singer and asks how the role impacted Ralph’s life.
“It changed everything for me, because first of all, what happened was there were so many little 9- and 10-year-old girls, little Black girls, in the audience (going to) their first musical. They look up onstage, and they’re looking at me, and Loretta (Devine) and Debbie (Burrell), and they’re like, ‘We’ve never seen anything like this,’” she recalled.
Ralph went on to say that she and her co-stars were like “a living, breathing Barbie doll” for their young fans.
The Broadway production premiered in 1981, but Ralph still hears from fans who were touched to see several young Black women onstage in a story about chasing dreams.
“I think about that, and it’s like, that was life-changing for a generation or two. And the way gay men who saw the show talked about whatever they felt watching the show, I mean, it’s just — it was revelatory for so many people to see this show and talk about dreams and what it takes to fight for yourself within your dreams, especially when everybody’s telling you it’s not you, it can’t happen to you,” Ralph explained.
Ralph then recited lyrics from the song “Dreamgirls” and said the words have become a lifelong motto for her.
“‘I’m your dreamgirl. Dreamgirls will never leave you. All you’ve got to do is dream, baby. I’ll be there,'” she said. And I live by that to this day.”
“I could cry,” Hoda responded, gesturing at her eyes.
During their conversation, Hoda also complimented Ralph on her energy, and the “Abbott Elementary” star said a friend once described her as “the happiest person ever.”
“She sent along some pictures of me, and I said, ‘Actually, you are quite correct. Joy is my strong suit,'” she said.
“Joy is your thing?” Hoda, who recently released a book about joy, asked.
“Joy is my strong suit,” Ralph said. “Oh God, yes. You know what I think about every time I wake up in the morning? I know for a fact, millions didn’t make it. But I am one of those that did. And on top of it, I woke up in my right mind. How about that?”
Hoda was curious to know if joy has always been a part of Ralph’s personality.
“I would have to say that I was built on joy, because as a child of the ’60s, you know, there were so many horrible things going on in the ’60s, and your parents really had to fortify you with strength,” Ralph, 68, said. “They had to give you hope. They had to show you joy to let you know that yes, there is a future. And yes, there’s definitely something to live for, and you can be a part of what it is you want to see in the future.”
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