good evening from los angeles. i'm tavis smiley. tonight, a conversation with vanessa williams with 11 grammy nominatio nominations. she sold 20 million records worldwide and starred on "ugly betty." the acclaimed revival of the trip to bountiful in los angeles. she was nominated for a slew of awards. we are glad you joined us. a conversation with vanessa williams, coming up right now.

hands by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. the acclaimed play, "a trip to bountiful" began on television in 1953. last year, it was revived on broadway with an outstanding cast with cicely tyson and vanessa williams. the accolades join some 11 grammy nominations, one tony.

i'm out of breath. look at a scene from "a trip to bountiful." it's here in los angeles. >> well, it's for her own good. she's crazy! >> why do you talk like that? you know momma -- you know momma isn't crazy. stop saying things like that. >> you better do something or she's going to go out someplace. she'll get to bountiful and die from the excitement. do you know what a thing like that can cost? do you realize she had it this morning? >> you told me 100 times. >> i'm trying to tell you what you can do about it. call the police. >> i'm not going to call the police. >> you're not? i think i will. >> i'm anxious to see this with my friend blair underwood. the play was so beautiful.

the minute the play ends, i turn my phone on and my heart dropped. i came backstage to see you and miss tyson and the rest of the cast. you may recall that i was reading my phone and you walked out of your dressing room. that was the day the verdict came down in the george zimmerman trial. >> yes, yes, yes. >> remember that? >> i remember that. >> god smack. >> perfect word for it. as soon as the play ended. >> we were all backstage talking about it. i just remember miss tyson's reaction. i don't know that we expected it to be different but after seeing the play, see where i'm going with it, that verdict comes down. everybody in the theater, you almost heard a gasp. everybody turned their phones on.

while we were in the play, here comes the verdict. it said a lot about racial relations in america then. this play says a lot about it then. what do you think makes the play so enduring after all these years? >> a story of a family. it's a story about trying to go back to what makes you feel good. what makes you feel alive and the roots that you have. you know, there's one sentence that they say i just want to go back and work that dirt. she just wants to get her hands in the place where she knows, loves and has connection to. that doesn't always need to be a rural spot. it could be a city where you grew up and have lovely memories or a suburb where you have lovely memories. i grew up with two parents. my dad was a country boy who picked beans in the field and wanted to be a farmer until he

played music. his band teacher said you should teach and have a career for over 40 to 50 years. my mom was from hustle and bustle city. her bountiful is not going back to buffalo, but with the family she created with my dad. my dad always had the house on the hill, the loving memories of his grandfather and grandmother and people raising him and family. it's amazing, and different, where people find their own bountiful. >> i think the character doesn't just want to work the dirt. she wants to get away. you are working her nerves. >> i am working her nerves. >> that's why she wants to work the dirt, get away from you. vanessa on set today, you saw a clip of her character. i cannot imagine living with you every day. >> i wouldn't want to live with me. >> you play the character so

well. if you haven't seen the play, after it leaves l.a., boston. >> boston three weeks, november 20th through december 7th. >> for those who haven't seen it, tell me about your character. >> she's been married for 15 years. they are childless, which takes a toll on the marriage. they also live in a two-room apartment, not a two-bedroom, a two-room apartment. her mother is living on the couch/day bed. they are sharing some cramped space. if you can imagine not being able to have any private time with your husband and then the time that your husband is at work, you are home with your mother-in-law. your only escape is the beauty parlor or the drugstore to grab a coke. originally, it was made in 1953. horton foote talks about warton,

texas. a woman in their town was addicted to coca-cola when cocaine was in it. she waited outside the drugstore to get her fix for the day. when they talk about having their fourth coca-cola of the day, she means it. she means it and she does it. >> at this point in your career, what is the joy for you, vanessa, of playing a character like this on the stage? >> well, the joy is the ensemble. the joy is the material. is joy is the connection to the audience and to working with a legend. i mean, there's a lot of joys. a, growing up seeing cicely tyson and pitman roots, anything. she was the empitome of acting. sharing the stage and having

comic bits and emotions and having her trust me and my abilities as an actress means, i have done my work. i have reached where i feel that i'm respected by somebody i truly respected my entire life. be working with an ensemble, which brings up between blair underwood and arthur french. horton foote is one of our american play wrights that is unbelievable. it's so rich, you think it's easy to listen to. then when you get into the context, it's deep and textured and complex. i hear something new every night. >> in 1953, the original, why does this play work in black? why does it work? >> because it's about relationships. it's about relationships to your past. for instance, it's a character study. mother watts lives in the past

and relishes the past. whether it's music, hymns, that's her comfort. they don't want to talk about the past. who knows what happened in her own past. the magazines, that is her future, her reality. she doesn't want to dwell on the past. it's morbid to her. those are character studies. they are people within our own families. some people love to talk about the past. some don't want to talk about the past. >> many young actors who worked with you who learned about their craft from watching you on the set. you talk about cicely tyson earlier, almost 90 years old and still killing it every night. >> skipping on stage, skipping. >> what, as an actor, what do you take professionally from watching her work on stage every night? >> a, being professional. she's not missed a show and she has every excuse to miss a show. everyone not in the theater, showing up and doing your job is

number one. she might be late due to traffic but she is there. she's got a -- a face that, as an elder i respect, but have so much wisdom listening to her rely on the faith that it will get done what it needs to get done and with the grace of god and gratitude. it's how she lives her life and embraces her talent. she went to texas where horton foote was from and inspired to write the play. she can taste the food that mother watson is preparing. she can feel, you know, what the dirt is in texas and get a, you know, an idea of what she's going to be embodying on stage. she does her homework and professional. >> somebody told me, you have to

confirm this for me. i have it from a number of people on opening night that a phone went off. were you on stage when someone's cell phone went off? >> i was asleep. i mean, i was in bed. >> on the stage? >> yes. >> i'm told -- let me put a camera here. i'm told, somebody's cell phone, as many times as they tell you, turn off your cell phone, i'm told on opening night by a half dozen people that somebody's cell phone went off and cicely tyson is so in character and so good at what she does. she's singing a song in the play. the phone goes do, do, do. the audience fell out laughing. she went on with her lines, incorporated the sound of the phone into her presentation.

>> into her hymn. >> everybody laughed. whoever the idiot was -- sorry, whoever the person was. just to be that good, with a phone going off. it didn't throw her off. she weaved it in and kept moving. >> yeah. totally in the moment. totally in the moment. >> as an actor, what do you do when a phone goes off. when you see her doing what she does every night, can you see yourself, at that age still doing this? >> absolutely. >> you can? >> she gives me hope. >> yeah? >> because again, it's written so richly. when she saw it, she wants her trip to bountiful. she wanted something that complex, that moving and challenging. absolutely. the other thing most people don't realize is she's a comedi comedian. she knows how to get laughs, how to hold, how to get the most out of a moment. that's really her gift.

>> her timing is brilliant. it's amazing. >> i can't imagine doing it without her. >> let's talk about you now. after all that you have done, at this point in your career, aside from good material, how are you making decisions about what is right for your career at this point. you have done movies, stage, television, the records. how to you make decisions about what to do at this stage in your career? >> part of it is a gut reaction. what do i want to do and does it excite me. i have one child at home now. a lot of things i would normally say i can't travel because i have four kids in school, i'm much more open to now. you know, if there's a possibility that the show goes to london, check, i'm there. i'll make arrangements for my youngest to come over and enjoy it with me. i have more flexibility now. also, different roles. i'm 51.

i'll be playing mothers. >> you still look 28. >> thank you. >> are you okay with that? are you aging gracefully? i can see you are on the outside. are you aging gracefully on the inside? are you okay with being 51 and playing different characters now? >> absolutely. there's a sense of abandonment. you don't have to try to be young and cute. you can make a choice. you can try to be hot at 50, whatever role is given to you, but you can have the ability to play something. jesse may is not well liked. i go to characters that, to me, it's a challenge. i don't want to be liked all the time. i want stuff that will move people and make them react. a lot of people say how can you talk to her and speak to her like that? i do my best to be convincing. >> you are. i didn't like you.

you were very convincing. >> speaking of being 50 and being hot, if you want to be. it's something you don't have to work hard at. have you had to work hard against that in your career because you are is gorgeous? >> um, i don't know. i mean, i think the opportunities get narrower the older you get. i don't have like a whole bunch of offers i'm saying no, no, no, yes, that makes no sense. i take what's given to me and make the most out of what i think is a good choice. i wish i could say i have feature films and recording contracts lined up. you know, stuff gets quieter the older you get. >> here did you have to make decisions not to do something because you didn't want to be seen as a vixen, a beautiful face on the screen and not

always want to be this? >> no. i have played a mother with tuberculosis. in a film, i wore no make up at all. a huge hospital bed scene with a young son with down syndrome. i have, you know, when the roles come, i embrace them, if they call to me. >> how did being a mother and having those kids impact or affect your career? >> you know, i have been a mother so long -- >> you forgot? >> my oldest is 27. >> wow. that makes me feel old. your oldest is 27. >> my whole career. i remember going on auditions and bringing melanie in a stroller and asking other actresses, can you watch her while i go in and read the thing. sure, we got your back. that's what i did. i got married at 23, had her at 24. that was part of what i did. i went in the recording studio, wait for ramon to get home, he'd watch her at nighttime.

in the morning, i have my shift of being a mom. i don't know my life without it. >> yeah. when you were 23, 24, and trying to imagine the career that you wanted to create, how has it stacked up, given what you imagined? you were that age and having melanie. >> well, probably, you know, i always had space that once the dust settled and people got a chance to get over all the headlines and the judgment and the preconceptions that i would get a chance to do what i did. i had been in theater my entire life. i majored in theater in college. i did theater until i was 20 years old until i became famous. i knew, eventually, i would get a chance to do my thing. it took longer than i expected. it was ten years before i got to star in broadway, but i made it. now i have the option to do what

i want. which is great. so, um, i believed it, but it took longer. >> at this age, how do you process that? do you feel like, i don't want to put words in your mouth. do you feel resolve? i knew it was going to happen anyway? how do you process being able to do what you knew you could do and other folks wouldn't let you do? does that make sense? >> i understand. the biggest joy i have now is people respect not only the work, but the fight. some people don't have that option. have that acknowledgement. so, i have a little bit more added to, i love your work, but i love who you are. i love your strength and work as well. they make me extremely proud. they have watched me go through my journey through the stumbles and heights and they have learned from it. >> what have you learned about

yourself, given the unique fight you had to fight in your career? what have you learned from your fight? i'm asking you, what have you learned about yourself from the fight you have, not just ways but won and are winning every da? >> i have learned that family has been my backbone. being in the world and hearing so many other stories, i realize how fortunate i am with parents that believed in me. didn't say, you want to be in the arts, get a real job. so many people are broken and angry. you know this business and those people who still can't get it together and see how great their lives could be if they let the past and their stuff go away. so, i'm so happy that i'm not burdened with that whole, you know, when are you going to get a real job and really be who you are. >> so, what does vanessa

williams say to her kids? anybody wanting to be or already in the business? >> i have two in fashion and two in the music biz. >> both tough fields. your kids couldn't do nothing easier? they couldn't get a job at the post office? they had to go to fashion and music. how are they doing? >> well. my 25-year-old is about to, she just finished mixing her single yesterday. i talked to her today on the phone. that's coming out this month. her group is lion babe. it's edgy. it's her own thing. is that l-i-o-n. >> lion babe. >> all right. >> so, her stuff coming out. she's got signed to my old record company, which is crazy. she's doing her own thing, you know? then my youngest plays guitar,

sings, plays piano and she's only ninth grade. she's 14. makes movies and loves musical scores. she's got so many things she loves. it's encouraging her. >> you have creative kids all the way around. >> yeah, but i support them. i don't tell them to get a real job. music is a hard job. >> speaking of which, are you going to sing more? >> yeah. i was in san diego last month. i got a gig in chicago next month and i'll be in florida and over here in northridge in january. >> how much longer will you stay with the play? >> i will stay -- well, we finish in boston december 7th. we'll see what happens after that. the last leg, we can't go back to broadway, we conquered that. we'll see, you know.

the only other frontier would be london, if they invited us over. >> if you go to london, i'm coming. i have an excuse to go to london. >> right, right. >> as plays go, as content, as material goes, how much harder is it for the rest of your life going to be to find something this good? >> this good with this ensemble and this direction? i have to say michael wilson knew horton foote years and halle foote is one of the producers. when we did the rehearsal process, we heard stories about horton. this is what horton would have liked. we got a bible that says this is what was going on in the world in 1953. the korean war was here. this is what it would have looked like. we got a chance to see the history of where we were in

houston, 1953. we have to add, obviously,wdy doing the black called the waiting room for the bus station and that dynamic. that makes it even more realistic and kind of, you know, colors, what are production is. >> you mentioned conquering broadway, which you did. how does it feel? i'm just curious, how does it feel when you do that? so many people fight just to get on broadway and then to get there and have all these nominations and all these awards. how do you -- how do you process that? >> it's -- it's fortutive. it's surrendering to the powers that be. i had just -- i had done a show sixth park avenue. we got notice we were getting canceled. everybody is like what are you going to do? i get a phone call, how would you like to be on broadway with

cicely tyson? sure. what are you going to do? broadway. so, i mean, it was no -- it was no master plan. i was like what am i going to do? it just came. that's how cicely talked about bountiful. you know, she put it out there years ago. she gets a call from our costume designer. they are looking for you. they want to do "trip to bountiful." she's like what? it came to her. >> if the right tv gig came up, you would do tv again? everybody is doing tv these days? >> yeah. and the writing is fantastic. i would do it if it's interesting. i have been kicking around a lot of idea. we'll see what gets on. there are a lot of avenues on between netflix and cable and networks. >> things always work out for you. you have that thing. it works out for you.

>> i never stop. >> thankfully, she doesn't stop. i mentioned earlier, i saw this on broadway, "trip to bountiful." it is a wonderful performance. can't wait to get to l.a. boston, it's coming your way. vanessa is very believable. you will not like her. which means she did her job extremely well. good to have you on the program. >> thank you. >> thanks for coming by. thanks for watching, as always, keep the faith. ♪ >> for more information on today's show, visit tavis smiley at pbs.org. hi, i'm tavis smiley. join me for a conversation with melissa etheridge and her new cd, "this is me." that's next time. see you then. ♪

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