In our latest InHerShoes, Lindsay Peoples Wagner sat down with Cynthia Erivo to talk about the iconic Black women Erivo has played — and how she feels about being so close to an EGOT
Photo-Illustration: by The Cut; Photo: Getty Images On this episode of ”In Her Shoes,” on The Cut podcast, the Cut’s editor-in-chief, Lindsay Peoples Wagner, talks with Cynthia Erivo, who is too many things to name just one. She is an English actor, singer, and songwriter; she’s not just a two-time Oscar nominee but a Grammy Daytime Emmy and Tony Award–winning performer as well. She’s known for portraying legendary women like Harriet Tubman and Aretha Franklin.
I don’t know if it was just the Tony. I think the whole thing — the performance, the show, the Tony — the whole thing changed my life. There were laser-focused eyeballs on this particular show, and that meant that I had the opportunity to branch out and do film and TV and meet some of my heroes and create a family here. It was one of the most amazing moments in my life, and I do think it was a turning point for me in my career that shifted me forward exponentially. I didn’t expect it.
ERIVO: Daunting, and I readied myself in as many ways as possible, whether it be training, reading, looking at pictures, or learning about her. As much as I could soak in about her, I did. Because I knew it was a huge responsibility to tell that story. I know that there’s pain tied to watching some of the harrowing things that she had to go through, but this is also before she is an abolitionist and a hero. This is a Black woman who had love and loss and wants and desires and deserves to be seen. And since she hadn’t been seen for such a long time in the right way, I wouldn’t have been doing my duty if I didn’t tell the story as fully as I possibly could. Some of these stories, yes, can be tough to watch, but I do think they’re important.
I realized that it’s another woman whose humanity we hadn’t met yet. We know about Aretha the musician, we know about Aretha the Queen of Soul, but we hadn’t learned about the human being that made all of those other things possible.
ERIVO: It’s very overwhelming because I didn’t expect it so soon. It still is really weird. I move through the day without thinking about it and then I’m reminded, and it’s interesting because I didn’t know that it was possible to get all those awards with one show. Essentially, that’s what happened. The Emmy, Grammy, and Tony came from The Color Purple.
LPW: Did you have any influences when thinking about what you wanted your album to look like or sound like? I feel like you like a lot of old-school music. Did you feel like you had a lot of influences there?
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