Renée Elise Goldsberry’s career is soaring, taking her to extraordinary places, and it shows no signs of slowing down. She has broken into feature films with roles in All About You, Sisters, and Pistol Whipped, and ever since she first appeared as a backup singer on Ally McBeal, she has been a compelling presence on television with leading roles on One Life to Live, The Good Wife, and Altered Carbon, as well as numerous high-profile guest appearances.
But the stage always calls her home. “There’s something about being on a stage,” said the star of such Broadway hits as The Lion King, Rent, The Color Purple, and the originator of the role of Angelica Schuyler in the Broadway mega-hit Hamilton. “It uses every part of you: your brain, your heart, your soul, your body, every bit of talent you can pray to God to send your way. I’m excited that as I grow older, there’s always going to be a stage where I can sing. When I was in Hamilton, I used to joke that in the second act I was eventually going to come down in a stairlift chair! That’s how I feel about theater. It’s just too good for the soul. The people who show up to see it, we’re all kindred spirits. As long as we can commune in that way, I’ll be there.”
It was on a stage that Renée’s career got its start, right here in Houston. “I was raised in Houston, and I always come home once or twice a year,” she proudly proclaimed. “I went to Duchesne Academy of the Sacred Heart and Spring Branch Middle School. I was baptized at Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church, and I’ve spent every New Year’s Eve and birthday in Houston for as long as I can remember.”
The Houston International Theater School (HITS) first set Renée on her theatrical path. “That’s where I fell in love with Broadway. When I was 8 years old, I was in Guys and Dolls, in the chorus in the back with a bunch of other kids,” she said. The same year, Houston Grand Opera came looking for child performers. “They needed a children’s company. They auditioned over at HITS, and my brother and I got to be the little urchin children in Carmen. We were the kids onstage eating oranges.”
Now, after theatrical success on an almost unimaginable scale, the Jones Hall stage is calling Renée home once again. “I’ve been travelling around the country playing this particular concert with wonderful symphonies, and it feels amazing,” she reflected. Only one thing has been missing: “What’s strange is that the people I’m closest to in the world have not yet shared this with me,” she said, but her Houston Symphony debut is about to change that.
When asked how performing her symphony show presents challenges different from her other theatrical work, she thoughtfully replied: “The biggest difference is convincing myself that it’s okay to have two hours with just Renée. It’s a beautiful thing that people will show up to sit down with me for two hours, as opposed to a character in a show they know and love.” She hastened to add that a full orchestra is on stage with her. “It’s ‘come hear Renée Elise Goldsberry.’ But it’s not me by myself at all. To pack a stage like that is the most amazing experience as a performer: to realize the joy of being surrounded by that kind of talent and that kind of artistry. And really what’s so fun is to discover how good they make anything sound.
“The beauty of this show is that audiences will hear songs they know and love from the shows I’ve done, while I also share my experiences with those songs in a very intimate setting—a beautiful symphony hall. It’s really just me and a microphone and the best musicians in the world. That the audience full of people thought it would be worth their time becomes really special and really beautiful, and it always leaves me on cloud nine. I’ve never finished a show and not been humbled and so grateful for the opportunity to do this.”
—Eric Skelly
Don’t miss Renée Elise Goldsberry at Jones Hall on September 6, 7 & 8! Learn more and get tickets.
