Activist James Baldwin gets his props in stage production

BRAIN DAYE

Gerald Hazelton portrays James Baldwin in “By Any Other Name: An Opus for James Baldwin.”

James Baldwin’s legacy is coming to the stage. 

“By Any Other Name: An Opus for James Baldwin” plays through June 14 at VAPA Center, 700 N. Tryon St. Tickets start at $28.52. Playwright and director Brian Daye’s production pays tribute to leading figures from the civil rights era.

The play blends historical fact and poetic fiction about Baldwin’s impact as a Black queer writer and civil rights icon and how it’s still prominent. Daye, who is originally from Stamford, Connecticut, has been acting, writing and directing from an early age.

Daye got his start as a playwriting at a church retreat. The church wanted to draw couples to illustrate the highs and lows of marriage, so his wife suggested he write a play. 

“It was called ‘One in the Spirit,’ and I asked some of my Charlotte acting friends to join us on this retreat to perform the play. And I think to everyone's surprise, certainly mine, people really enjoyed it,” he said.
Nine years ago, Daye was inspired to take on “By Any Other Name.” Impressed by the film “I Am Not Your Negro,” he reached out to his friend and Charlotte actor Gerald Hazelton, who played Baldwin.

“I was always drawn to him as a dream role that would challenge me,” said Hazelton, who credits “I Am Not Your Negro” with inspiring him and Daye to bring the show to life. “Even after this show is over, I will continue to explore his life and will likely find new things that inspire me but for this overall story of his life I had to empathize with living in revolutionary times.”

Eight years later, Daye finished the script, earned a grant and prepared for opening night. 

The play explores conversations with Martin Luther King Jr., Medgar Evers and Malcolm X. It was important for Daye to keep the authenticity and capture the essence of who they were and what they could have meant to each other. It challenged Daye to learn who Baldwin was.

“There was so much about his life that I didn’t know and that in itself helped me broaden my craft,” he said. “Because the focus wasn’t on me, it was on Mr. Baldwin and just digging through that material and putting it together in a way that made sense and showed respect.”

In preparing mentally and emotionally to embody Baldwin’s complexity, Hazelton said, “Getting to the heart of the man James Baldwin you don't have to look far past yourself. His message, words, and life were about authenticity and uncovering the truth of ourselves. This obviously is true of his critique of America but also of one's life and navigating it in this country. I am more resolute in my aim for love and speaking truth to power, fearlessly.”

Daye insists “Baldwin loved his country, but he wasn't afraid to criticize it about its wrongs and how love is the only force that can solve anything.”

“Everyone's lens is of course different,” Hazelton added, “but if people can come away with being invigorated to live a life more authentically, challenge the country they live in because they love it, speak truth and live it, to shed myths and titles about ‘othered’ demographics, and that James Baldwin was a dope individual. I’ll be happy with that.”

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