Writer and producer Darius Thomas Jr. is making a mark on Atlanta’s entertainment scene with his Broadway-like approach to music, dance and acting. He wishes to help spark a revolution in the community and he does that through the art of theater.
Thomas brings the musical style of rap to Broadway and acts as a storyteller to bring his vision to life on stage. Rolling out spoke with this trailblazer to find out more about his company, Darius T. Productions, as well as his views on theater in the South.
What are your thoughts on the current state of theater in the South and how do you plan to change that?
Well, I feel like theater in the South is like theater in the North right now. They are just doing things that are old and revamping things. Just like Disney is doing, they are just revamping things right now. What I’m saying is I feel like we need to be creating something new versus going back to the old. They are making how much doing the same shows people have seen for 50 years? That’s annoying to me. I want to create and we need to create new. That’s my thing.
What inspired you to start your musical production company?
It was my senior year of high school when I was waiting on Kendrick Lamar to perform. Then Lin-Manuel Miranda and the cast of Hamilton came on and I was like “wait, you can rap on Broadway?” I said, “oh I’m doing that.” That was on a Monday in 2016, and on that Thursday I started writing my first lyrics. Fast forward, I put on my first musical in 2019 called, This Life: The Musical, which I also showcased again last year.
What type of shows do you produce?
Well, I can’t write a musical in Atlanta without the music sounding like Atlanta. In Atlanta, there’s not a large group like in New York, you have to go to a couple of different people. You have to go to the people that like acting and you have to go to the people that like the music, so I make the music that people not only feel but they can relate to. [It’s] something they can move with, that’s what I call the music of the people.
How does theater revolutionize Black communities?
Well, as I see it, the revolution has three aspects. The revolution is first self-love, self-understanding, and the change coming from within you. The second piece to the revolution is Black love because no matter where you go, you’re going to see Black men and women arguing on a public scale. The third is that the revolution is squashed by gentrification. Not just of the physical world, but the gentrification of your mind as well.
