Nina Simone was a music icon and Civil Rights activist, celebrated for hits like “Feeling Good” and “My Baby Just Cares for Me,” and her commitment to change. Her voice and vision influenced artists from Aretha Franklin to John Legend. Now, Tony nominee Amber Iman, who played Simone in her Broadway debut, brings her legacy to life in REBEL WITH A CAUSE: The Artistry and Activism of Nina Simone (Dec 7-9). Written by Tony nominee Jocelyn Bioh, with music direction by Michael O. Mitchell, Iman shares why she connects with Simone, her guiding words, and more.
When did you first hear Nina Simone? Was there something about her that captivated you from the start?
Nina’s music has always been in the ether. You can hardly walk into a Starbucks without hearing “Feeling Good.” And I’ve always responded to voices that feel like they’ve been through something. When Nina Simone sings, it’s clear that she’s seen a lot. That she’s endured a lot. That she carries the weight of the world with her. The thing I’ve always loved about her voice is that it doesn’t lie and it doesn’t hide. I’ve always identified with that.
In 2013, I played Nina Simone on Broadway in Soul Doctor. The show came to me essentially overnight. I was 26 or 27 at the time, and I felt supremely unprepared. But I quickly consumed as much background on Nina as possible – I read every book, listened to every piece of music I could get my hands on, watched every interview to understand who she was. So now, coming to her 10 years later as an adult who has lived a little bit more and been on this planet for a while longer, I have a deeper understanding and appreciation for how Nina moved through the world and used her voice.
Nina Simone was many things in music alone: “High Priestess of Soul,” Juilliard-trained classical pianist, accidental jazz star – do you think this is why it has sometimes been a challenge to understand her legacy?
Yes, absolutely. People need to be able to put you in a box so they can process you. Are you a jazz singer? Are you a soul singer? When you do more than one thing well, it shakes people’s brains up. In an effort to be popular, many artists dumb down their message and their music so they can be put in one box. I love that Nina did not do that. She did not care about that, or what people thought about her. Her mission was not to make you understand her, it was to express herself. Nina wasn’t interested in making everyone happy or painting rainbows. That wasn’t her life. Her life was hard. And it was complicated. There was racism and sexism and misogyny – she battled so many things, and she used her music to express that. She never changed who she was just to make people happy. And I admire that.
How will you approach Simone in the show? Through what lens will you be looking at her?
I’m going to be exploring Nina Simone through the lens of me: a 38-year-old Black woman in America who is still trying to figure out life. I’m going to be looking at Nina through my own eyes, as a woman who has probably experienced just an eighth of what Nina experienced in her lifetime. But I feel like I understand her. I get her. She’s very close to me. The show is going to be a kind of conversation – with incredible songs and an amazing band with horns and strings – about Nina and how her music influenced us as a society.
There’s also so much softness in Nina’s lyrics that we don’t give her enough credit for. We think of her music as rebellious, but she has so many soft and tender moments – it’s been wonderful for me to experience her as a hopeless romantic. I don’t think people leave space for Nina’s softness because she was so outspoken. In our society, Black woman are not often seen as soft. I’m excited to explore this side of her.
Can you talk about some of the songs you’ll be including in the show?
Nina has seemingly a million pieces of music connected to her and they all sparkle in their own way. Exploring her canon has been a bit overwhelming, I so appreciate her talent. I have been playing every album at home, and focusing on the songs I need to hear again. I’m choosing songs that reveal something about Nina and that speak to something in me. And I’m looking forward to seeing how we bring them alive in 2024. The audience may not know exactly which songs they’re going to hear, but I think there’s excitement in not always knowing exactly what you’re going to experience. Nina didn’t always know herself the songs she would sing on a particular night. She wanted to feel the room and consider what was going on in the world or that day in the news, and say, “Ah, this is what I need to say and sing tonight.”
Is there a lyric of Simone’s that you feel best captures her or one that resonates most for you?
It’s not a lyric, but a line of Nina’s that people quote all the time in connection with her: “It’s an artist’s duty to reflect the times in which we live.” I feel like that is what I’m most aligned with as an artist and advocate myself, and co-founder of two organizations (Broadway Advocacy Coalition and Black Women on Broadway) that allow Black people to work and thrive in the world. As I’ve gotten older, I now only want to do work in line with those words of Nina’s. That is our responsibility. As artists we have a responsibility to push society forward and lift up our communities. And I hope I’m always doing my part.
Why are Nina Simone’s songs important inclusions in the American Songbook?
Nina was unapologetically honest. She was a Black classical and jazz pianist – that’s all she wanted to be. She was forced into singing – and I think you hear that in her music – that If she has to sing, she’s going to sing the truth. I think her music needs to be included in every canon of American music. Her songs say what others are afraid to. And they speak of universal things – about wanting to be loved, needing love, falling out of love – there’s a vulnerability in the way she writes and the way she sings that is fundamental and necessary in this world.
What do you hope audiences take away from this show?
I hope this show captures some of Nina’s magic and what made her so extraordinary, as an artist and a human. I want people to come and to sit forward. I hope people take away from the evening what they need. Some people come to the theater needing an escape. Some need to sit in a dark room and cry. I hope the show leaves you moved and surprised. I hope you hear a lyric or a song you never heard before – or never heard that way before – and it catches you off guard. I hope something in the evening makes you want to go home and call someone. Or it leaves you wanting to mend a relationship. Or end a relationship. I want you to come with an open mind and open ear and open heart. And that you take away something you didn’t even know you needed.
REBEL WITH A CAUSE: The Artistry and Activism of Nina Simone – Saturday, December 7 at 7:30 PM, Sunday, December 8 at 2 PM, and Monday, December 9 at 7:30 PM. Tickets and details here.
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