Waverly grad joins national Broadway tour of 'Ain't Too Proud'
Right before the pandemic hit, Waverly graduate Devin Jackson-Price was starting to ask himself what else made him happy -- because he wasn’t happy. A musical theater artist living in New York, he was bumping up against too many barriers.
Then things started to change during the pandemic with a social justice reckoning that made the theater industry re-evaluate how it did things.
Now Jackson-Price is performing with the first national tour of “Ain’t Too Proud,” a musical about The Temptations that made its way through East Lansing in June 2022. He joined the tour in December. Jackson-Price has taken on the roles of Al Bryant and Norman Whitfield and is understudying Paul Williams.
This past year has also seen him playing iconic roles in regional theater productions of “Jesus Christ Superstar,” “Kinky Boots,” “Rent” and “The Color Purple.”
“I’ve been busy this past year, which is exciting and good,” Jackson-Price said. “It has definitely manifested that I’m going to continue to do this. During the pandemic, our industry went through a change and opened their eyes.”
Jackson-Price said he auditioned for “Ain’t Too Proud” several times. The casting agents said they really liked him, but they didn’t know what track to put him or when the timing would be right.
“I read for every role in the show just about,” Jackson-Price said. “It’s always a process. You go in for a show and audition and it may not be right for you at that time. But if they continue to keep calling you in, that means they see something in you and they think that you will be a good fit for the show.”
This isn’t Jackson-Price’s first tour.
In 2017, he landed the role of Eddy Kendrick in “Motown.” In both that musical and “Ain’t Too Proud,” the Oakland University graduate said he draws on his Michigan roots.
“For me, it’s always the music and the story,” Jackson-Price said. “Also, I’m from Michigan. These people mean a lot to me and I can resonate with their stories.”
He joined the “Ain’t Too Proud” tour in Los Angeles in December, quickly learning the choreography and getting slotted into the show with seven other performers new to the tour.
“With 'Motown,' I got my contract and I knew what I was doing,” Jackson-Price said. “We were all new together. This one has some people leaving and some people staying. We have a good chunk of new people coming in to breathe fresh air into it because they’ve already been on the road for a year.”
Jackson-Price appreciates the story “Ain’t Too Proud” tells and the history it shares. While “Motown” presented many groups, this one focuses on how The Temptations transformed American music history.
“A lot of these guys in the group had some ups and downs in their lives,” Jackson-Price said. “This show touches on that beautifully in a way that is digestible for the audience. The music is timeless and part of American history. The way that Motown and Berry Gordy and the Temptations really ushered in their music let us see Black culture in a different way. It was the Civil Rights movement. (People) loved the music but once they realized (the singers) were Black and brown people, it was a different story. They catapulted a new genre that let people see us in a new light and I think that’s beautiful.”
“Ain’t Too Proud” allows Jackson-Price to show a range he doesn’t often get to do, both musically and character wise. Paul Williams, whom Jackson-Price understudies, is a baritone and the Waverly grad says he typically gets cast as a high tenor. Also, he gets to play outside his usual age range.
“When the Temptations came on the scene, they were 18, 19, 20 years old,” Jackson-Price said. “Then by Act Two, they’re older. They’re in their 30s. It covers a lot of time. Being someone who is perceived to be a younger-looking face, I don’t always read as older so to be here is a blessing. It’s exciting that people believe in my talent and what I can do.”
Seeds planted in Waverly theater program
Jackson-Price, who graduated from Waverly in 2011, didn’t start singing until he was in sixth grade. Before that he was in band, but wasn’t inspired by it so he auditioned for choir. It was there he met the people he would click with and found the talent that made him the performer he is today.
“I was like, 'oh, I think I found my group, I think I found my tribe,'” Jackson-Price said. Then he began to do musicals in high school with choir teacher Benjamin Knapp and drama director Richard Redman and realized this was what he wanted to do.
He said the adults he met in the Waverly theater program laid a foundation for him.
“This theater thing—they love it and they believe in me,” Jackson-Price said. “It’s a foundation of the fact that I’ve continued to pursue it, because we’ve had a lot of talent come through Waverly.”
His first musical was “Little Shop of Horrors” where he sang in the ensemble. From there he went on to be the Scarecrow in “The Wiz,” Motel Kamzoil in “Fiddler on the Roof” and Willy Wonka in “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.”
He thought he’d be cast as Charlie in that final show his senior year because of his youthful appearance, but the musical director insisted he had the chops for the eponymous lead.
“I had such a good time doing that,” Jackson-Price said. “Mr. Knapp’s instincts were right and I think it set me up for the trajectory of what I’ve been doing. I always read young and people see that, but I think it takes a real person to see what I can bring to something and to see beyond the baby face.”
It is something that is happening to him now, though he also acknowledges he is in a different place as he enters his 30s.
“I’ve definitely stepped into my season and have lived a life where I’m going into these roles with more understanding because I’ve lived,” Jackson-Price said. “I’m married now and life is different. I’m not a child anymore or just a college student anymore. I have more responsibilities so I can bring that to the work and understand how to approach it. A lot of your life experiences help with the work as well.”
He also wants people to know that being an actor is a lot of hard work and one that requires sacrifices. He spends a lot of time away from his husband.
“The hustle never stops,” Jackson-Price said. “I’ve been busy all year and there are these big Broadway gigs and tours, but if you’re a working actor, you’re not working in New York City, baby. You’re working all over America.”
As he performs in “Ain’t Too Proud,” a musical featuring Motown and Michigan artists, Jackson-Price said he continues to carry with him the people from Greater Lansing who nurtured him in his youth.
“The pride and support that you all have given me to go for it, the milestones that people said I would hit and getting those flowers,” Jackson-Price said, describing what has helped him succeed. “And getting those flowers because I feel that for a while, I was very shy. I was just like, I’m doing my thing—but now I am willing to accept those flowers, to be like, I appreciate you for seeing me and appreciating my talent. I don’t necessarily want to be rich and famous. I want to pay my bills and be able to go to the grocery store. I don’t want to be a role model. I just want to produce art that reflects the time and move on.”
While he doesn’t want to be a role model, he does have encouraging words for young people in Lansing who are where he used to be.
“If there’s something in their heart that they want to follow, they should definitely stick with that,” Jackson-Price said. “Everything that I said that I wanted has happened, but it happened in a way that I didn’t think it would. So be open to what may happen. It may happen in a way that you may have never seen. There have been a lot of jobs that I thought I wanted that I did not get. Maybe my feelings were hurt, but in the end, I learned that that wasn’t the job for me for whatever reason. But the jobs that I have had have catapulted me to the next and prepared me for the next step.”
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Devin Jackson-Price of Lansing on national tour of 'Ain't Too Proud'
