Surpassing the standards around him, Ben Vereen set the stage for many aspiring African American actors. Given a bad hand, Vereen took the opportunities presented to him and never looked back. Vereen reflects on his life as a teenager, and how the Art Academy he attended was not only a safe haven for him, but his home. Tony Award nominee and winner Vereen, a renowned Broadway star and entertainer, visited Fresno as a speaker part of the Town Hall Lecture Series, Oct. 30.
Raised in Brooklyn, NY, Vereen was soon to become one of the most inspirational African American actors to be known in the world. With talent at a young age, Vereen sang in the local church choir and later attended the High School of Performing Arts in New York. The obstacles in life that Vereen encountered never stopped him from becoming an actor; the “no” empowered the “yes” for Vereen, ultimately giving him the chance to attend the Tony Awards.
Accompanying Pianist, David Loeb, Director of Jazz Studies and Associate Professor of Music, helped Vereen bring his story to life. Loeb helped with the stand-up entertainment that Vereen sang and acted to. The songs ranged from previous musical he has starred in: Jesus Christ Superstar, Pippin and Jelly’s Last Jam. Loeb’s musical abilities assisting Vereen made all the difference; the audience was engaged with the piano complimenting Vereen’s voice.
Although Vereen recently underwent knee surgery, he was still able to partially dance, but his personality and anecdotal stories made up for it. Age has not stopped Vereen from continuing his dream and life of a Broadway actor. He is currently working on a couple of entertainment pieces and not planning to stop anytime soon.
A theme Vereen kept returning to was, “young people are the future.” Passionately he talked to the audience about his upbringing and how he was given a chance to shine with the God-given talents he was blessed with. He wanted the listeners to understand that no matter the circumstances, everything is possible.
“We are all put on this planet to go through various experiences in our life,” Vereen said. “Through our lifetime journey, there is something inside of us that is called a spirit which is guiding us along in order to help us achieve our goals in life.”
Vereen explained that the High School of Performing Arts radically changed his life; his passion came from the environment he surrounded himself in. He was encouraged to be an entertainer/dancer at a young age. The arts saved his life because prior to his activities in the theatre, he was apart of a local gang in Brooklyn. His very first production was The King and I.
“I encourage young people to chase their dreams, you never know what you will find,” Vereen said. “There is an old saying that ‘the youth is wasted on the young.’ When you find your gold, never let go of it.”
Towards the end of the oration, Vereen sympathetically asked the question, “Where do we fit in? How can we make a difference? We need to stop the madness . . ..” He explained how we {the audience, as humans} can go on with our lives while destroying each other and the earth that God created. He advises his audience to stay strong in their spiritual relationship with whom ever they believe in; that is the key to success.
The ending note Vereen left on was how we {listeners in the audience} are all kings and queens, as it says in Hebrew literature of Isaiah. Vereen’s challenge to the public was to advocate the arts and stay in school. Vereen left the crowd with this to digest:
“Remember, in the book of Genesis, it says ‘In the beginning God created . . . not manufactured.’ So why should we cut the very thing that humans are allowed to express themselves in? Keep the arts in school, but more importantly in your heart.”
One of Vereen’s points in the Lecture Hall was to learn life skills, claim your dreams, but more importantly to be true to yourselves. He advised that everyone should find something bigger: God; then give love to everyone in your path. Vereen advised to allow ourselves to become teachable, to take heed in circumstances, learn and let the talent shine. Vereen compared himself to John the baptist, paving the way for people, now he wants others to do it better than him.
For more opinions, read the Oct. 19 article, Lecture series highlights Gloria Steinem (VIDEO).
