The cast of Todrick Hall's musical ‘Midnight’ on their journey from London to New York

The sung-through show tackles race and class in the 19th-century American South, and three actors — Hall, Jeremy Beloate, and Ayana George — have been with it on both sides of the Atlantic.

Summary

• Performers Todrick Hall, Jeremy Beloate, and Ayana George discuss the evolution of Hall's musical Midnight from London to New York
• All three performed in the show in both cities, and they discuss how they got cast and how their performances evolved
• The sung-through musical follows the intertwined lives of six Black and six white characters in the 19th-century South

“I sometimes think about how, when words fail, music and beautiful stories can bring people together,” said Todrick Hall, the writer, director, choreographer, and star of the new Off-Broadway musical Midnight. Currently playing at the Daryl Roth Theatre through January 3, the sung-through show arrives in New York following two sold-out engagements in London.

The musical weaves together a dozen intertwined lives in the 1800s Deep South, tracking six Black and six white characters as they navigate the rigid racial and class divides of their era. Hall, a Broadway veteran whose credits include Kinky Boots, Chicago, and the original production of The Color Purple, plays Rail, an enslaved man who enters into a secret romance with Richard, the son of his owners.

Richard is played by Jeremy Beloate, an actor and singer best known for The Voice, whose casting came about serendipitously when he and Hall connected on social media. During early auditions in Austin, Hall couldn’t find the right fit and ultimately called Beloate from the airport. Beloate, then a frustrated actor in New York, accepted the role without having heard the music.

The show’s Off-Broadway iteration reflects years of development, which has allowed the actors’ characterizations to deepen. “For this most recent version of the show, Todrick added a part to the plot where I was raised by his character’s mother,” Beloate said, explaining that the change provided a stronger foundation for why Richard wants to be “better” and “sweeter,” in Beloate's words, than his openly prejudiced father and brother.

The mutual respect between Hall and Beloate mirrors their onstage dynamic. Beloate described Hall as a close friend and mentor who helps him “become a better person,” as Rail does for Richard. Hall was equally effusive about his co-star, calling Beloate’s swooning, hypnotic voice akin to a “merman” or “siren.”

Alongside the pair, one other actor made the jump from London to Off-Broadway with Midnight: Ayana George, who plays the show’s storyteller Ethel. Midnight's three-month Off-Broadway run is its longest yet, following a one-week workshop and a two-and-a-half-week run in London. That's required a shift in stamina, said George, noting she is much more focused on preserving her vocal and physical health in New York. “In the U.K., I was a little more of a tourist even though I was there to work,” George said. “But here, I’m much more locked in.”

Hall first saw George perform in MJ on Broadway, originating the role of Michael Jackson’s mother. “When she sang ‘I’ll Be There,’ I was like, this is a woman who grew up singing in the church,” Hall recalled, noting that her “otherworldly” performance left him weeping in his seat and certain she needed to play Ethel. Over the show’s various iterations, Hall said it has been thrilling to watch George’s confidence blossom.

For George, stepping into the role of Ethel carries a personal significance. “My mom’s name was Ethel,” George said. “So for me, it’s much more than just a role. I feel like this was something that was meant for me to do.” She draws on maternal instincts and the memory of her late mother to bring the character to life, having taken a leap of faith to join the show because of that shared name connection.

George hopes audiences step away from the production with a deeper understanding of empathy, love and community, while Beloate wants people to leave “prepared to be changed for good.” Through all of its developmental milestones — and the plentiful online discourse it's sparked since its opening — the core mission of the show remains tethered to its ability to challenge the world around it.

“There’s a quote that says, ‘Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable,’ and that is what Midnight does,” George said. “I hope that anyone who comes to see it will arrive with an open mind and an open heart, ready to receive the art and allow it to be just that.”

Get Midnight tickets now.

Photo credit: Midnight off Broadway. (Photos by Valerie Terranova)