DANIELLE BROOKS IS sitting in a corner of the Glass House Tavern's upper level, brows furrowed, fingers furiously slashing across her phone screen. "Whatchu playin'?" I ask her. "Fruit Ninja, horribly," she says. Her eyes, once focused on dicing digital citrus and berries, now convey a winsome giddiness. Those in the know tell me this tavern is where the cast of August Wilson's The Piano Lesson goes to kick it-to decompress after the latest rehearsal, to clown, talk shit, and bond. But on this early-fall Friday afternoon, the place is buzzing with layfolk, tourists, and theater nerds sipping on midday martinis before jaunting through a Theater District recovering from pandemic woes. And then there is Brooks, dressed down in a burnt-orange hoodie and matching sweats, wearing a dark, fitted cap with a D embroidered in Collins Old English-style font. "What exactly does social media serve?" she asks with an almost familial calm during one of our conversation's many digressions. "It's dumb, entertainment," I suggest. "Well, I'm supposed to be the entertainment!" her voice skies.
Brooks, 33, has been performing for applauding audiences since starting at the age of 6 in her South Carolina church. She snuggled into viewers' hearts as the undermined inmate turned activist leader Tasha "Taystee" Jefferson in Netflix's Orange Is the New Black fresh out of Juilliard nearly a decade ago. While shooting that seven-season banger, she earned a role-and a Tony nomination-as Sofia in the musical The Color Purple (a role she'll reprise in the 2023 film adaptation). James Gunn hand-picked her as co-lead opposite John Cena in HBO Max's superhero comedy Peacemaker, which, by season's end earlier this year, proved to be one of the streamer's most viewed original programs. Oprah swears by her.
Denne historien er fra October 10, 2022-utgaven av New York magazine.
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Denne historien er fra October 10, 2022-utgaven av New York magazine.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Trapped in Time
A woman relives the same day in a stunning Danish novel.
Polyphonic City
A SOFT, SHIMMERING beauty permeates the images of Mumbai that open Payal Kapadia's All We Imagine As Light. For all the nighttime bustle on display-the heave of people, the constant activity and chaos-Kapadia shoots with a flair for the illusory.
Lear at the Fountain of Youth
Kenneth Branagh's production is nipped, tucked, and facile.
A Belfast Lad Goes Home
After playing some iconic Americans, Anthony Boyle is a beloved IRA commander in a riveting new series about the Troubles.
The Pluck of the Irish
Artists from the Indiana-size island continue to dominate popular culture. Online, they've gained a rep as the \"good Europeans.\"
Houston's on Houston
The Corner Store is like an upscale chain for downtown scene-chasers.
A Brownstone That's Pink Inside
Artist Vivian Reiss's Murray Hill house of whimsy.
These Jeans Made Me Gay
The Citizens of Humanity Horseshoe pants complete my queer style.
Manic, STONED, Throttle, No Brakes
Less than six months after her Gagosian sölu show, the artist JAMIAN JULIANO-VILLAND lost her gallery and all her money and was preparing for an exhibition with two the biggest living American artists.
WHO EVER THOUGHT THAT BRIGHT PINK MEAT THAT LASTS FOR WEEKS WAS A GOOD IDEA?
Deli Meat Is Rotten
