Marchánt Davis (‘Ain’t No Mo’ and ‘Good Night, Oscar’) on deepening ‘the humanity’ of multiple roles at the Belasco [Exclusive Video Interview]

Sam Eckmann
·4 min read
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Marchánt Davis can’t seem to keep away from the Belasco Theatre. He starred in Jordan E. Cooper’s “Ain’t No Mo’” at the 44th street haunt in December, and now just a few months later he is featured in Doug Wright’s new play “Good Night, Oscar.” “It was a lot of feelings,” admits the actor, revealing that a flood of memories hit him as he stepped back into the space, “but the machine keeps going.” Watch the exclusive video interview above.

As Oscar Levant’s doctor Alvin, Davis plays most of his scenes in “Good Night, Oscar” opposite Sean Hayes in the title role. “That character lives on a different beat, on a different metric, than the others,” explains Davis. Alvin’s beat is slow and steady like a metronome throughout the play, whereas Hayes’ Levant is more erratic and fast-paced. The actor describes this dynamic as “a lovely dance” that he gets to perform with Hayes each night.

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Davis had to embody many different rhythms during the run of “Ain’t No Mo,” as the actor was tasked with playing all the male identifying characters. Even months after the show closed, Davis admits, “I’m still learning about them.” He has a long history with the piece, having also starred in the Off-Broadway iteration in 2019, but with the move to Broadway he asked himself “How can I find even more humanity through these characters?”

There is a sequence at an abortion clinic which is perhaps the scene that has deepened in meaning the most for Davis. “During the pandemic I experienced loss in ways that I wasn’t expecting,” he reveals. That renewed understanding and closeness to loss was called upon as he played the ghost of a murdered man, pleading from the afterlife to his wife to convince her to keep their child. “Loss meant a different thing,” says the actor, and in response to that loss, a yearning for hope. “The fight to make her understand…how important this life was, how important this hope was, was far greater.”

WATCH Crystal Lucas-Perry interview: ‘Ain’t No Mo’ and ‘1776’

That heavy moment is a far cry from the opening scene, where Davis embodies Pastor Friedman and sets the tone for the entire play. The pastor presides over the spirited funeral of “Brother Right-to-Complain” and welcomes his congregation (the audience) to church. Davis encountered two camps of audience members: those who were ready to participate and vocalize, and those who were too timid to join the action. At least at first. No matter where you may have fallen on the spectrum, rest assured that Davis loved seeing both types of people in his congregation. ”It’s an extraordinary experience to watch people negotiate how they’re going to live in this space…knowing it’s not their average Broadway show,” he explains. Spotting when folks would “buy in” to the experience, and learn that it was okay to let loose during the show. “What I’m tasked with in that opening is being like, ‘hey I got you, we’re all going to go on this ride, and I promise we’re all going to learn something,’” says Davis. Amen to that.

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