When The St. Louis Black Repertory Company opens its golden anniversary season with The Color Purple in three weeks, Kelvin Roston Jr. will become the first actor to portray Mister on a Black Rep stage. Kingsley Leggs originated the role when the musical premiered on Broadway in 2005. Both men are St. Louis natives — and both began their careers at The Black Rep.
In the early 1980s, Leggs was doing cold-call sales for a weatherproofing company when his supervisor noticed his performance background on his résumé.
“Michael A. Smith — he also worked as a stand-up comedian — told me The Black Rep had auditions coming up,” Leggs said. “He suggested that I go. I went to that audition and never looked back.”
Four decades later, Leggs has become a fixture in musical theater. He has originated two Broadway roles: Mister in The Color Purple and Curtis in Sister Act.
At the same time Leggs was developing Mister for Broadway, Roston was taking his own leap of faith at The Black Rep. He quit his job with American Airlines to accept a production assistant position that paid $200 a week.
“I was making less than an intern,” Roston said with a laugh.
By the end of that season, he was starring in the company’s finale musical, Damn Yankees — while Leggs was introducing a character that would become part of the musical theater canon.
In three weeks, Roston will step into the shoes Leggs designed when he embodies Mister for The Black Rep’s premiere.
“It’s a very daunting role,” Leggs said. “I hope actors aren’t afraid of playing him. He’s one of those roles that gets inside of you — and you have to release him. You can’t carry this guy around because he’s heavy.”
Roston nodded as Leggs spoke.
“I feel that,” Roston said. “A director, Ron OJ Parson, once told me that every show is a love story — you just have to figure out where the person’s love lies. I try to come to Mister with that. I’m grateful for the opportunity.”
Roston has played Mister before. But as The Black Rep’s first Mister, he and Leggs now share a piece of history through the role.
“I think this production is going to be legendary,” Leggs said. “I can’t wait to see The Color Purple get the Black Rep treatment.”
What is the Black Rep treatment?
“Black excellence,” Leggs said without hesitation.
Roston agreed.
“When you come in and see Ms. Tracy sitting in the room, everybody knows what the expectation is — and I love that,” Roston said. “People come in and get right into stretching because they know Heather’s getting ready to take them through it.”
For both Leggs and Roston, The Black Rep set the bar high — and they carry those standards into every role they take on, including Mister.
“The Black Rep speaks truth to culture,” Leggs said. “And the fact that they are still here 50 years later is incredible.”
It has been nearly 25 years since Roston learned the craft at The Black Rep. He has returned several times since — most recently in a co-starring role in the company’s production of August Wilson’s Radio Golf.
“He doesn’t need advice,” Leggs said. “He’s a seasoned performer. He’s going to make it his own. Just don’t be afraid of the heavy stuff.”
Leggs said it was Mister’s complexity that drew him to the role — and made him stand out in the Broadway audition room.
“When I first read for the role, I was like, ‘I know this guy,’” Leggs said. “I knew people like him. I had mean uncles. I understood the material, and that was the jumping-off point for me.”
The musical — separate from the Alice Walker novel and the film adaptation — took on a life of its own. In the 21 years since its Broadway debut, it has seen a scaled-down revival and a movie adaptation of the musical.
Leggs said everyone involved in the original staging knew they were part of something special. He shared that Mister’s redemption — present in the novel and the film — wasn’t originally planned for the musical.
“We tried three or four different songs,” Leggs said. “We didn’t decide on the one we ended up with until opening week.”
Roston and Leggs are excited to see The Black Rep celebrate 50 years — and to mark the milestone with such a beloved musical.
The production is especially meaningful for Roston because his wife, Alexis J. Roston, will make her Black Rep debut. She will play Shug Avery alongside a cast that includes Anita Jackson, Tyler White, J. Samuel Davis, Brian McKinley, Olajuwon Davis, Olivia Neal, Margery Handy, DeJuan Johnson, Morgan Taylor, Adrienne Spann and Angela Wildflower.
“She’s born and raised in Chicago, so she gets to experience The Black Rep for the first time with me,” Roston said. “Now she knows why I’m who I am.”
The Black Rep’s premiere of The Color Purple will take place September 9–27 at Washington University’s Edison Theatre. For tickets and additional information, visit www.theblackrep.org or call 314-534-3807.