Laying her soul bare in front of an audience of thousands, for Broadway doyenne Audra McDonald, performing can be a form of reclamation.
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Ms McDonald has won an Emmy, two Grammys and six Tony Awards, making her the only performer to have won a Tony in all four acting categories.
She's played some of the most iconic roles in musical theatre like the beggar woman in Stephen Sondheim's murderous comedy Sweeney Todd, the titular lead in Porgy and Bess, and even appeared in Disney's live action adaptation of Beauty and the Beast.
And in May, the 53-year-old soprano will bring her rich, soaring vocals to Australia.
Though her set list is mostly composed of theatre classics, each song has been carefully curated to reflect her experiences and perspectives as a Black actress.
She has previously performed You've Got to Be Carefully Taught, a song typically sung by a white actor about racism with lyrics like "you've got to be taught to be afraid of people whose eyes are oddly made and people whose skin is a different shade".
"It's a very powerful song ... and to have a Black woman sing it brings some art to the fore," she told AAP.
"It's not just reclamation, it's like, 'are you hearing it in a different way?'"
Ms McDonald says she tries to perform with vulnerability, openness and humanity to create a shared experience with the audience.
She has a close connection with many golden age musicals, and though their themes may not have aged well, she says it is important not to shy away.
For example, she entered the limelight in a 1994 revival of Rodger and Hammerstein's Carousel, a musical infamous for depicting domestic violence, and for her it is important to shine a glaring light on the abuse.
"We're in a different era now, you can't gloss over it," she said.
The actress's career took root during a pre-Hamilton era, where people of colour were generally less represented, and those who made it on stage were generally part of "colourblind casts".
"I don't like the idea of there being a blindness, so I think of it as colourful casting," she said.
"Choose to cast the roles ... don't be blind to people of colour."
The Lin-Manuel Miranda hit Hamilton does not cast just anyone as its principals, it chooses people of colour to subvert expectations of what a musical about the American founding fathers should look like.
And its success has transformed the theatre landscape, bolstering diversity behind the scenes as well.
"There's still miles to go, but we are in more of a state of awareness," Ms McDonald said.
The musical theatre legend will begin her Australian performances in Perth on Saturday before travelling to Adelaide, Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne.
Australian Associated Press
