Voice and inspiration: An evening with Jennifer Holliday

by Michael J. Solender

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Picture by Jennifer Holliday

June 9, 2011

Wells Fargo presents
An Evening with Jennifer Holliday
Charlotte Symphony Orchestra
Charles Floyd Guest Conductor
Fundraiser for the United Negro College Fund 
Saturday June 25th 8:00 P.M. 

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When Jennifer Holliday steps onto the stage at the Belk Theater on Saturday, June 25, her Charlotte audience will benefit in seeing and hearing a different performing artist than they may think they know. Holliday’s familiarity for most has come from the celebrity of her Tony Award winning performance in the long running Broadway smash, Dreamgirls. Some thirty years after the beginning of her incredible run, a more mature, grounded, and confident Holliday brings not only her voice to the stage, but her passion and commitment to serve others and an inner calm and peace that eluded her for many years.

“Fifty is definitely the new thirty for me,” laughed Holliday who I spoke with by phone recently. Just a few years north of fifty, Holliday is relaxed and clearly very comfortable in her own skin having moved to Atlanta three years ago to escape the stresses she found in New York City. “I don’t ever want to be twenty again, made too many mistakes in those days,” she said. “I celebrated five straight birthdays from twenty through twenty-four in Dreamgirls. I was thrilled to be part of Broadway history, though that was a time in my life where I didn’t feel as if I had many choices.”

Her creation of Effie White, the big girl with an even bigger voice who leads her group from obscurity to top America’s R&B and then pop charts, was in some ways a case of life imitating art. The immediate notoriety and huge box office success were unrelenting. Holiday recalled the time with a touch of melancholy. “Early in my career, it didn’t seem as if people cared for me as a person as much as a voice or someone to appear on stage and keep the show going,” she said. “It didn’t seem to matter if I was sick or depressed, as long as I made it on stage; as long as I performed I felt I was making people happy. People who see me perform now find a radically different Jennifer Holliday than I was in my twenties, and that is just fine with me.”

Her struggle with depression and multiple sclerosis has been well-documented. Holliday indicated that at this stage in her career both are in check. “Of course there is no cure for MS, you simply cope with it. Part of moving to Atlanta from New York and working the schedule that I do (no back-to-back shows and primarily solo, weekend performances) helps me get control of the stress. It’s so quiet here, and much slower than in New York. Being in Atlanta allows me to have both a professional and a very lovely personal life.” 

She was forthright about the dark days early in her career and how faith and supportive therapy has helped her to discover that success is not predicated on status or even singing, but can be found in being a good neighbor, friend, or simply someone who cares about others. 

Holliday is particularly pleased to be teaming up with Wells Fargo and the Charlotte Symphony for the evening performance that is a fund raiser for the United Negro College Fund. “I’ve been affiliated with UNCF for more than twenty years,” she said. “It is special for me to perform in a benefit and help others.” Holliday personally established a book scholarship fund together with UNCF in the name of her friend Yolanda King, who tragically passed away at age 51 in 2007. The daughter of the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., she was an active humanitarian who used her voice to affect civil rights changes in America. 

Jay Everette, Senior Vice President and Community Affairs Manager for Greater Charlotte for Wells Fargo, noted that “Wells Fargo is a national corporate partner with The UNCF. We have team members who serve on their national board and provide scholarship grants to this organization so that deserving minority students have access to higher education. Many people are not aware that UNCF provides scholarships for both Asian and Hispanic students as well as Black/African American students. Our Foundation giving has a primary focus on supporting education, so this support for UNCF is aligned with that investment.”

Everette emphasized that Holliday is a particularly special fit for the UCNF benefit. “She has supported various women’s, Black/African-American, and LGBT causes to use her fame in a positive way,” he said. “Jennifer is someone who gives back; we are thrilled to be hosting her.”

“This show is pure Jennifer Holliday and features the songs that I love to perform,” said Holliday, who brings her own arranger and musical director, Daniel Moore, with her. “Of course there will be a Dreamgirls medley and some classic jazz standards, some Broadway tunes, and some sacred music.” 

Holliday fans know that Gospel music is a staple in her repertoire. “Faith is the very basis of my life,” she said. “Giving hope and inspiration through song is the ultimate in terms of helping others.” 

For Jennifer Holliday, inspiring others seems to be something that comes naturally.

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Arts & Culture Editor: Jeff Jackson