De'Lon Grant Returns to SpeakEasy Stage for Provocative Two-Hander

For New York-based actor De'Lon Grant, his role in the upcoming SpeakEasy Stage production of "A Case for the Existence of God" is something of a homecoming. He had previously appeared with the company in "The Scottsboro Boys" where his performance of Haywood Patterson won him an IRNE Award and an Elliot Norton Award nomination.

For three-and-a-half years De'Lon toured as Berry Belson in "Jersey Boys," which he followed with his Broadway debut as Bob (and numerous others) in "Come From Away." Amongst his other Boston credits are "Invisible Man" at the Huntington and "Big River" at the Lyric Stage.

In "A Case for the Existence of God," written by Samuel D. Hunter, two men from divergent backgrounds find themselves joining forces as they seek different goals. Keith, his character, is an uptight mortgage broker who is confronted by Ryan, a white, straight slacker with a seemingly impossible dream: to buy a plot of land that once belonged to his family that he sees as his first step in mending his broken life. Keith has his own dream: to adopt a child; but a late minute obstacle may keep this from happening.

"The two processes depicted in the play – getting a loan, adopting a child – turn out to be similar, at least for men who, for different reasons, are outsiders to the systems that control their fate...," wrote New York Times theater critic Jesse Green in his rave review when the play opened in New York nearly two years ago. Green opened his review by calling "A Case..." a "must-see heartbreaker of a play." From all reports, it might be smart to bring a hankie.

EDGE spoke with Grant about being back at SpeakEasy, how he connected with his character, and how he connected with co-star Jesse Hinson.

EDGE: Welcome back home. As a staple in the Boston theater scene for many years. How does it feel to be back?

De'Lon Grant: It's really nice. It feels like coming back home. It feels comfortable and supportive. Professionally, I cut my teeth here after grad school, so I feel welcome, and SpeakEasy Stage Company is home to me.

EDGE: Tell us about your Broadway journey.

De'Lon Grant: After I left here, I toured with "Jersey Boys" for three and a half years. When that ended in 2016, I was in New York auditioning, and I was actually on my way back to Boston to perform at the SpeakEasy in "Shakespeare in Love" when the audition for "Come From Away" came up the day I was going to catch the train to come back here for some prep work. I auditioned for "Come From Away," and I got the gig within two weeks because they needed an immediate replacement.

EDGE: "A Case for the Existence of God" sounds like a religious play.

De'Lon Grant: It does, doesn't it? I think the title is really interesting. It asks a question more than puts a statement of what the show is about. I am sure when Samuel D. Hunter, who is the writer, comes to see the show I'm sure there's going to be a lot of questions for him about the title. From my perspective, it's about asking whether you are religious or not. I'm fairly agnostic. I do believe that something is up there, I don't know what it is and I'm okay with not knowing. So, whether you're an atheist or one of the monotheistic religions, whatever you follow, it just asks what is God to you. I believe it is more about people and connection. Let's come and see how you can find it in this play. At its base, it's about two people trying to connect. With art and most things, it's about human connection and anecdotes. Anecdotes are about connection and seeing people. We all need to be seen, heard, and taken care of.

EDGE: What was it that stood out for you about the story?

De'Lon Grant: Goodness. I'm not a parent, but whenever I see a father with a small kid, I melt. I don't know that fatherhood or parenthood is something that's in my immediate future. That ship is probably sailed. I am a very single person, but I swoon when I see a man with a baby or kid. I don't know why that is, but I think it's because the narrative that we are fed, especially as young people, is that the mother is the caretaker. The mother is the one that's the most connected to the kid. But I rarely see a connected dad on stage.

It was also interesting to see these two men who are dealing with fatherhood connect in an intimate and very platonic way. I'm a gay man and It's rare that I'm in a relationship with another man that is this intimate and doesn't have anything to do with romance. I find this to be beautiful, and I think asks more of us. We don't see men being this vulnerable. We don't see men say that they need other people in this way.

EDGE: When you got the script for the show, what was your entry point into the character?

De'Lon Grant: That's a great question. I don't think I've ever been asked that. I would say physically there's something I respond to, but if a character has a full arc and if there's something that changes for the character, especially three-quarters of the way through where you see that there's a rupture in the play that needs to be repaired. That happens to my character, Keith. When there's something that's let out in the story or some information that they're struggling with, and they finally can release that. I do think we come to the theater to see life in a very truncated period and to see the extremes of life in all respects of it. I think an arc for a character, and that rupture and repair, are really important for me.

EDGE: With only you and Jesse Hinson on stage, how have you worked to build an authentic relationship?

De'Lon Grant: That's always the challenge. As actors, we're just asked to fall in love, or pretend that person's your sister or mother and to make it real. We must learn to connect very quickly. I think we're used to being open, vulnerable, and accepting of others, and doing it rather quickly. With Jesse, he's a great gift. He is a sweet, quiet, open, and empathetic person. It is easy to go there with him because I'm a talker and he's a listener and he asks great questions, and it makes me just want to know more about him. I think we have both done a really great job of grasping onto one another and trying to get to know one another rather quickly. The connection with him has been amazing and I'm truly grateful for that.

EDGE: There's so much going on in the world right now. As an actor and a queer person, do you take that on stage with you in some way?

De'Lon Grant: That's a good question. I wouldn't say I take it on stage with me, but I think that whatever I'm portraying on stage or whatever story I'm telling does have the ability to allow people to not necessarily forget about what's happening in the world, but to remind us that we do need each other. It is also a reminder that when you come to the theater and watch the characters go through the extremes of what it is to be human, we don't always get our happy ending. I never want to leave a piece of theater or art feeling like I loved it. I want to be able to say that asked a really interesting question or it moved me in some way, and I don't know why. If it moves other people in the same way, then conversations will begin. I think that's what reminds us that we're all very similar and we all need each other no matter what our background, race, ethnicity, or sex is. The ecosystem doesn't work without other people. I can't do art alone.

EDGE: Theater and photography are alike because you're constantly honing it, what do you love about photography?

De'Lon Grant: I've kind of hung my cameras up for a little bit. I'm hoping to reignite it this year. I started taking photos when I was on tour, but I didn't like taking photos of bridges and buildings. I really love taking photos of people, but I want candid photos of people. Most of my work is either lifestyle shots of people or headshots. I love finding an authentic moment in photos. A lot of the time when you get somebody in front of your camera, they're a little awkward. We're all a little awkward, so it takes about 30 minutes to settle in and get comfortable with each other. When you're just talking and hanging out that's when you get the real person to come out. I often try to make them laugh just so I can get a genuine smile, not the smile that you think looks good, but the smile that shows the essence of who you are. Photography for me is about connection.

EDGE: What kind of theater excites you?

De'Lon Grant: I want evocative theater. I want irreverent theater that has a point of view. The last show I saw here was the "Torch Song Trilogy" at the Calderwood. I really appreciated it because it's from a different time and written by Harvey Fierstein. I found it to be very moving and I responded to it. When it was written it was evocative at the time. He is talking about gay life, your relationship with your mother, and how to meet those expectations. I always want to see something that's from a different time but finds a way to push it forward. "Slave Play" is a show that comes to mind that I enjoyed seeing and it asked a lot of questions. There was a revival of "Oklahoma!" that was on Broadway a couple of years ago that was controversial. This version asked more of the material, and it had such a point of view that I left not knowing if I liked it or loved it, but I felt something, and it made me think. That's the kind of theater that I'm interested in.

EDGE: I like your life motto: "...there will always be typos." Please explain it.

De'Lon Grant: I'm terribly dyslexic, so reading and writing have always been a struggle for me. I can't tell you how many times I've sent an email or text that has had something misspelled. When that happens a friend will reach out and say, "Hey, that's not spelled right, or you missed the word there. I do feel bad about that I've misspelled something. Life has given me this challenge, but also life is imperfect. I'm imperfect. You're imperfect and we are all allowed to make mistakes. Once I gasped at that concept, I started sending it back to my friends and saying, "There will always be typos," because is a reminder to me that I am human and not perfect. It permits me to be flawed. We all strive for perfection, but everyone else will let you know where you falter. I will leave that to everyone else, and I will continue to try to encourage myself and love myself a little bit more while doing the same for others.

"A Case for the Existence of God" runs January 16 – February 17, 2024 at the Roberts Studio Theatre, Calderwood Pavilion, Boston Center for the Arts, 527 Tremont Street, Boston, MA. For more information, Follow this link