Interview: From Hairspray to Gatsby, Naturi Naughton-Lewis Finds Freedom on Broadway

On Halloween, Naturi Naughton-Lewis celebrates three months as The Great Gatsby’s “confirmed bachelor” Jordan Baker. It’s been a homecoming 20 years in the making, her first time back on a Broadway stage since her debut as Hairspray’s Little Inez.

Between the national tour and her sit-down at the Neil Simon Theatre, Naughton-Lewis (just Naughton at the time) gave nearly three years of her life to that musical joy-bomb, which came to her not long after her acrimonious split with the R&B girl group 3LW. “I was a pop star just a couple years prior,” she says, remembering Hairspray as a time of transition. “It really gave me a new life and a second chance.”

Since then, Naughton-Lewis has built a successful career onscreen, starring in films like Fame and Notorious, and leading the hit TV drama Power and its subsequent spinoff for a decade. But the stage came calling again, and this time with the offer of a showstopping production number and Broadway’s most iconic pair of pants. “From Hairspray to now, The Great Gatsby, it just feels like this is the right time.”

This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.

Welcome back to Broadway, Naturi! Does it feel like it’s been 20 years?

It does actually. But at the same time it feels like coming back home. I just feel loved in this space, so even though it’s been a long time, it feels like exactly where I’m supposed to be. But my body and my voice and my stamina, particularly at first, let me know, “Oh Naturi, it’s been some years. You gotta get back in the swing of things.” And I did.

To be fair, this isn’t just any role. Getting through “New Money” is an Olympic feat.

It really is! I think of that song as three songs in one. It’s like climbing Mount Everest and then running a mile and then getting on a bicycle. It’s one of the biggest challenges that I had when I started rehearsing for Jordan Baker. Understanding how to pace myself. Once I started relaxing and taking my time, I made it my own and I’m really enjoying it now. “New Money” is actually one of my favorite things to do every night. Once you gain your strength and your confidence, you can do anything. That’s how this role has made me feel.

I found an old video of you performing in Bryant Park with the cast of Hairspray, and you looked so confident and free then too. Take me back to that time. How did it feel pivoting to musical theater on the heels of life as a pop star?  

Being in 3LW, being on the TRL tour with NSYNC and Destiny’s Child, and flying all over the world was definitely different. It was more manufactured. We were told how to dress, we were told what we were gonna sing. And because of the tumultuous breakup, I left the group very heartbroken. I was really scarred, and I didn’t want to sing anymore. Getting the part of Little Inez changed the course of my life. Every time I got to go onstage with icons like Tevin Campbell and Darlene Love and George Wendt and Aaron Tveit, it was just incredible. I genuinely did feel reborn. That video from Broadway in Bryant Park, it probably does capture just an ounce of what it was like when I was onstage. I felt like I was being shot out of a cannon as a newborn baby and I could finally feel free and showcase all of who I was.

Hairspray is definitely the right show to do if you’re on a quest for self-acceptance.

I couldn’t have gotten cast in a more appropriate show to what was actually mirroring parts of my own life. And it’s so much joy. Similar to Gatsby. I genuinely love the light and the joy of Hairspray just like I love the joy and the fun of Gatsby.

In Gatsby, you also get to be one of the only characters who dares to reject societal expectations and be herself.

I get to be me! As the character, but also as Naturi. I’m a Black woman. This is the first Black Jordan full-time on Broadway that they’ve had, and being able to bring my own attitude, flavor, persona, I appreciate that I had the freedom to find that. Jordan is different. She’s so strong and sexy, but at the same time she doesn’t need anyone to fulfill her. She’s very much her own woman. That freedom is a lot of what I was searching for as a teenager and as a young artist.

Aside from her romance with Nick, Jordan’s most significant relationship is with Daisy. What’s your take on what bonds the two of them?

[Their bond] is deeper because of who’s playing Daisy. China Anne McClain is so incredible as Daisy and we have connected in a special way as real women—as Black women on this stage playing these roles. I don’t take that lightly—the responsibility and also the blessing of that. But Daisy and Jordan, there’s parts of each other that they envy. There’s something about Jordan that gives Daisy this token of hope that she can be that free. And I think Jordan, although she likes her freedom, she recognizes that Daisy has something safe and settled. Their friendship I think is their safety net. They know how hard it is to be a woman in this time and they both empower each other.

Last question: You’ve now been back for three months. How do you think Broadway has changed in the past 20 years?

It’s actually oddly the same—the sense of community and the sense of collaboration. I think, more now than before, there are people in TV and film who are coming back to the theater because it’s how you get your life again. It’s how you refill your cup. There’s nothing like trusting someone onstage and having each other’s back. There’s no sitting in your trailer here. I get to see everyone every day, and I think that’s what makes it special. We need each other. The humanity of live theater is what’s keeping us alive.