The Broadway show "The Notebook" is coming to Dayton — and the director credits the Dayton arts community for her theatrical success.
The show will hit the stage at the Schuster Center from Oct. 6 to 11.
The Broadway performances were co-directed by Dayton native Schele Williams. Williams starred in major musicals before moving into directing.
She spoke with WYSO’s Jerry Kenney about her start performing in Dayton as a child, and her move to New York City.
This transcript has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Williams: Not only always something I was drawn to, but it was also my entire life. My dad is the drummer for the Ohio Players, so I always knew that you could make a career in the art, and I always knew that pursuing your dreams could bring great joy. So I never had that that moment of, you know, some parents say, what are you really going to do with your life? My parents were like if you work hard and this is what you really want to do then it will happen.
So I had great faith when I moved to New York. I was like, I'm going to make it to Broadway, and I never once questioned that. I had really incredible training here in Dayton. I was a part of the Muse Machine, and Susie Bassani and the Muse Machine were so fundamental to my joy and discovery of theater, and my love for the arts was really nurtured by the Muse Machine, and specifically Susie Bassani.
Kenney: Talk about your move to Broadway and what you were feeling as you moved away from Dayton.
Williams: Yeah, so I went to the American Musical Dramatic Academy, and my first Broadway show was Rent, which is actually coming up on its 30th anniversary. Rent opened in April of 1996, and I began the first national tour in September of 1996. And then within a year became the associate choreographer and actually made my Broadway debut during Rent. So it was an incredible time in my life working on that show for four years. And then I began my journey with Aida, and I was in the original Broadway company of Aida on Broadway. I played Nehebka and I loved it. I was there from opening night to closing night. And then after that, I began my journey as a director.
Kenney: Was it hard to get established once you got there?
Williams: My philosophy was: take every job you get. I had a professor in college that said, whatever you do, be in and around theater. I ushered. My actual first job at Rent was I sold T-shirts and hats at the merchandise stand. So when the show opened on Broadway, I was the merch girl and it really put me in a position to watch that show every day, and when I auditioned for it, I felt supremely prepared, right? And so I was very scrappy, I did what I could to learn every moment that I could. I cleaned dance studios to get free classes. I had no pride and a lot of ambition, and I wanted to learn from everything.
So whether it was like dinner theater in New Jersey or European tours, my answer was yes, because every opportunity to be on stage was an opportunity to grow. And so when I did finally get my first Broadway show, I felt that I was prepared for that moment. And I was incredibly grateful for that moment. And I had put in the effort and the time to get there.
Kenney: Based on your upbringing, it sounds like the work ethic came as natural as the desire to perform.
Williams: Yeah. I mean, seeing my dad as a professional musician, I grew up as a drummer myself, you practice every day. You want to get great. There's one way to do it. And that just requires a lot of personal work. And so that's always been my work ethic: How can I do this better? How can I do this faster? How can this be more efficient? How can I make my sounds more even? Those are all the things that you're looking at as a drummer. It's the same thing whether you're dancing or singing or acting. It doesn't happen without putting in an extraordinary amount of work.
Kenney: Let's jump back to the local arts community here in Dayton and how that prepared you for your move to Broadway and to accomplish everything you've accomplished so far.
Williams: Well, Dayton is a unique city in the fact that we have a professional opera company, we have a professional orchestra. I was a part of the Dayton Philharmonic Youth Orchestra growing up. Steve Reineke, actually, and I were in the same Dayton Junior Philharmonic at the same time, and as you know he's the conductor of the New York Pops. We went to Carnegie Hall together in high school, and played its first youth series. Muse Machine gave me the opportunity to see Yo-Yo Ma and Itzhak Pearlman for $10. It exposed me to the best musicians at the height of their craft in a little town called Dayton. I saw the touring productions come through and it is extraordinary for me to have a tour come through my city knowing that as a child I was inspired to be on stage by those tours.
I saw The Wiz when I was seven years old, and it's incredible to now direct that revival of The Wiz that just launched in Springfield last week. I know the impact of theater in towns like mine. I know what it means to these kids to see themselves and go, that's what I want to do for the rest of my life. So, as incredible as it is to have a show on Broadway, it's equally important to me to have shows touring across this country, because I know the impact of that, the art for those kids that see it.
Kenney: You co-directed The Notebook for Broadway. Give us a little bit about that story for people who may not be familiar with it.
Williams: The story is about a remarkable love and about the choices you make in life. And just like life, this show is very funny. People always think about the end of the story being the story, but it actually is the journey.
Kenney: And if the story is about the journey, how has yours played out so far?
Williams: My journey has been unexpected. I try to say yes to myself a lot. So as soon as something scares me, I think, oh, I must do that. And so I'm grateful for the challenge. I have had true love in my life and my wonderful husband of 19 years, and I have two beautiful children. My parents are high school sweethearts, and they have been together over 55 years. So it has been incredible to watch that kind of love. My mom has Alzheimer's, and so the story really echoes my mom and dad's story in beautiful ways. When my dad saw the story, he said, I feel validated. That is my life and you have given it so much dignity. I thought I was living in isolation, and you have shined that light on my story. So I love that.
