An Actor’s Insights

Johnathan Lee Iverson starred as George in the production of TRAV’LIN at Florida’s Winter Park Playhouse, named by the “Orlando Sentinel” as the “Best Musical of the Year.” He is most known as the youngest and first Black ringmaster in the history of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. In this interview with WKMG News-6 / ClickOrlando.com, he shares his insights on his role and the significance of TRAV’LIN.

‘TRAV’LIN: A 1930s Musical Romance’ explores epicenter of Black America, show’s star says

WINTER PARK, Fla. – The Harlem Renaissance is very much alive in Central Florida.

America’s Jazz Age is coming back at the Winter Park Playhouse as it ushers in the Southeastern regional premiere of “TRAV’LIN: A 1930s Musical Romance.”

It’s a musical that speaks the universal languages of love and comedy in a timeless era, according to one of its stars, Johnathan Lee Iverson.

Iverson plays George, a man in one of three couples the musical follows at different stages in their relationships and lives as they embrace true love, according to the theatre’s website.

Much like his character, he’s a born and bred Harlemite.

“My education was in Harlem,” Iverson said. “That grittiness and, you know, the personalities, the various cultures, even within the culture, I think that’s what’s charming about the musical as well ... You know, these are people from various places who come together in New York City, and they have a universal story, and that story is hinged on love and romance, which is a universal story.”

He went from being an ambassador of Harlem as a boy in a traveling choir to being a representative of Harlem in an Orlando theatre.

“Harlem, once upon a time, was the epicenter of Black America,” he said. “And once upon a time, it was the place you had to go to, no matter who you were, when you ventured to New York City.”

Iverson said the show, much like the New York region it represents, has people from all walks of life invested.

And Harlem Renaissance composer J.C. Johnson, whose songs were given life by the likes of Billie Holliday, Ella Fitzgerald and Duke Ellington, and his score accompany the narrative that has the house on the edge of their seats.

“I’ve never been in a musical or a play where the audience is so invested in the story ... It’s almost like call-and-response, it’s hilarious. I mean, they’re getting it. It’s like your favorite aunt watching her soap operas,” Iverson said.

Iverson said he appreciates how the show highlights the universality of human emotion without erasing the cultural history attached to it.

“There are cultural sensibilities ... they’re very subtle, some are very blatant. It’s in the dialogue. It’s in the style of the music. It’s in how the characters are adorned and how we move and how we dance with each other and, you know, certain slang we might use with each other and yet it comes off perfectly for anyone, no matter what background they come from, who’s in the audience,” Iverson said. “That to me is the feather in our cap with this marvelous production.”

The production serves an important message during Black History Month, according to Iverson.

“It’s just a reminder that we’re just human beings. We love, we get angry, we break each other’s hearts, you know, like everybody else. You know, we’re confused,” Iverson said. “We have all the quirks that any other human being may have. And I think that’s what’s resonating with audiences.”

Photo courtesy of Winter Park Playhouse.