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virginia beach — Broadway actor and dancer James T. Lane believes sharing stories is fundamental to humanity.
That’s why he used the details -- from the good to the gritty -- to write a one-man, autobiographical play that will debut at Zeiders American Dream Theater this weekend.
Lane described his play, “Triple Threat,” as a universal story about getting through to the other side of life.
“It’s just one man sharing a story of being Black and gay in America living a life in the arts and all of the failings and the triumphs.”
While he was fortunate enough to follow his dreams to Broadway in New York City, he nearly squandered his chance after tearing his Achilles tendon around 2000 while on tour with “Fame.” For four years, Lane slowly lost control of his life and tumbled toward rock bottom.
Lane said “Triple Threat” spares no details on the experiences that brought him to where he is today. The Pennsylvania native bares his soul in the stage production he said “moves and sings.”
“I’m telling it like it is for me,” Lane said, reflecting back to years he lost his way. “I’m talking about lots of things that aren’t discussed outside of a one-on-one conversation. The trappings of life… drugs, sex, all of that.”
Along the way, Lane also brings to life the people who helped, hindered or even ignored him on his path to rediscovery.
No matter how dark or difficult, those experiences don’t define Lane. He used the situations that almost broke him to tell a powerful story of redemption via taking control of his own narrative and owning it.
Lane said he felt compelled to create the play because his voice — and other voices that aren’t often given cultural space — needs to be heard.
“I need to be heard as a Black person, and especially as a queer Black person. That’s why I tell the story in the way I tell it,” he said. “If you have the equipment to tell your story, at some level, you must start to tell your story.”
As a child, Lane didn’t even consider Broadway an option.
“I thought it was for people who were not Black and rich, honestly,” he said.
That changed in 1990 when he found out Robert Guillaume became the first Black man to play the title role in “The Phantom of the Opera,” taking the role over from Michael Crawford.
“Seeing a face that looked like me, dark-skinned like me, achieving something that I wanted to possibly do was very, very powerful for me,” Lane said. “So I set out to do just that.
He hopes sharing the struggles he has come up against will reach young Black, gay youth who need to see representations of themselves.
Weekend Scoop
“Somebody out there is going to see me with this space like I saw Robert Guillaume. They’ll see me and think, I can do it, too.”
“Triple Threat” runs through Sunday at Zeiders. The show will also be taped for virtual broadcasts later this summer.
If you go
When: Thursday, 7:30 p.m.; Friday, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, 3 p.m.
Where: Zeiders American Dream Theater, 4509 Commerce St., Virginia Beach
Tickets: $34–$40.
Details: thez.org/show/triplethreat, 757-499-0317.
Amy Poulter, 757.446.2705, amy.poulter@pilotonline.com