No Longer the 'Cute Ingénue,' Hell's Kitchen's Kecia Lewis Embraces Her Veteran Status

Having made her Broadway debut in Dreamgirls aged just 18, Tony nominee Kecia Lewis admits that she wanted to keep on being the “cute ingénue.”

Four decades later, surrounded by young performers making their Broadway debuts in Hell’s Kitchen, she has embraced her veteran status. “The kids just started calling me Mama,” she told Charlie Cooper on The Broadway Show. “It’s an honor, especially when young people want to be around you, number one; and number two, when they’re interested in what you have to say.”

Lewis, currently nominated for a Tony for her performance as pianist Miss Liza Jane, has no shortage of advice to impart to the youngins. “I would advise them to listen to those who've gone before you. I know we all want to forge new pathways, but there are things that we can learn from the past.” 

Maleah Joi Moon—also Tony-nominated for her performance as Ali in the show—has been particularly receptive to Lewis' wisdom. She has called Lewis ‘Mama’ from day one. “We have these great conversations,” said Lewis. “She’s always been one who soaks up knowledge. She’s never disrespectful… Though I can tell when her eyes glaze over and she’s had enough…”

Lewis has tried to hang with her younger co-stars—but there are limits. “I have to go bed. I can hang for a little bit and it’s like, Bye, Mama’s leaving.”

In her conversation with Cooper, Lewis talks about her favorite line in the show, singing the wrenching anthem “Perfect Way to Die,” turning down a subsidized apartment in Manhattan Plaza and the beginning of her Broadway dreams.

Watch the video below for the full conversation.