For the past 18 years, John Amos has been bringing John Henry Halley to life in his one-man play, Halley's Comet.
The play will be performed this weekend at the National Black Theatre Festival. It tells the story of an elderly man who travels to the top of a mountain to catch a glimpse of Halley's comet, which he saw before when he was a child. He is eager to tell the comet what he has been up to for the past 76 years, and how the world has changed in that time.
"The character is 87, and I haven't hit my 80th year -- I haven't hit my 70th yet -- so I've got a ways to go," said Amos, who is 69. "Mind you, this character also portrays his own son at 19, so it requires some energy.... You play a myriad of characters in it."
Amos has lost track of how many times he has performed Halley's Comet over the years. He said he has performed in more than 375 American cities, as well as in England, Bermuda, Brazil and Jamaica.
But even with playing the same role so many times, he said, the role remains challenging.
"Even after all these years and performances, I still carry my script with me, and John Harris (the play's director) still gives me notes," Amos said.
He said he enjoys appearing on stage more than he does film or television.
"You've still got to bring it. You can never ever rest on your laurels," he said.
"They are tuned in to you," he said, referring to audience members. "It's live, and you can't fake it, and there is no instant replay or rewind."
He puts on about 10 to 15 performances of Halley's Comet each year, he said, "and I'm doing other theatrical productions as the opportunities present themselves."
Amos has appeared in many films and TV shows, including a recent recurring role in The West Wing. But he is best known for two pivotal roles from 1970s television, as the stalwart father James Evans in the sitcom Good Times and as the adult Kunte Kinte in the acclaimed miniseries Roots.
After so many performances, he hopes now to translate Halley's Comet to the big or small screen.
"I've done, as a performer, pretty much all I can and wanted to do as a stage performance," he said. "The next logical manifestation is either a miniseries or a feature film."
In addition to giving performances as Halley, Amos will also hold a workshop about healthful living, along with his personal trainer, Terahshea McCray.
"It's difficult to stay in shape as you get older," Amos said. "But he got me in such good physical condition, and helped me maintain my health. I'll never see those youthful days again, but at least I can ride my bicycle, ride my motorcycle, go hiking and sailing.
"I'm starting to encourage people, particularly older African-American males, to go to the doctor on a regular basis, check their prostates, check their blood pressure, know how to be on top of anything.
"Obesity and diabetes have taken us out at a disproportionate rate.
"There's a plethora of fast-food restaurants in most black communities. It is a pandemic."
Amos said he is happy to be returning to Winston-Salem and the festival.
"The Natural Black Theatre Festival is so important. What Larry Leon Hamlin envisioned and what his wife Sylvia is helping nurture is a tremendous legacy," Amos said. "We've been so left out of history, if we don't preserve the works of the August Wilsons and Dan Owens and Levy Simons, we're going to be in very bad shape about our children not knowing their true literary heritage.
"It's a gathering. I get to see these wonderful actors and choreographers, so many wonderful artists coming together and putting their egos aside."
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement