Broadway and Beyond: Award-winning actor Billy Porter tackles the role of director with "The Life" at New York City Center

NEW YORK -- Tony, Grammy and Emmy Award-winning actor Billy Porter is now stepping into the spotlight as a director.

The 1997 Broadway hit "The Life" gets new life this week in New York City Center's popular "Encores" series.

Porter's role is behind the scenes. He's adapted the story about sex workers, drug addicts and despair in 1980s Times Square, and he's the director.

"The creators of 'The Life,' white?" CBS2's Dana Tyler asked.

"Cy Coleman, Ira Gasman and David Newman, yes," Porter said.

"So you have the permission to reinterpret it, is that the right word, in a way? Through Black eyes," Tyler said.

"Um, yeah. Adapt. For me, it was like, OK, the space that was occupied for creators for a very long time was, were white men. I really have to be clear that these men saw us. They were our allies, just as like the Gershwins were our allies all the way back with 'Porgy and Bess.' And yet, in today's day and age, through our lens, through our modern lens, it can be problematic. The stories can be problematic, if we don't contextualize and give it a modern, contextual lens through which we can receive and understand the why," Porter said. "For me, 'The Life' and what we've done with it, what I've done with it is try to speak of the systems of oppression and erasure and caste in our world that keep the people on the margins, on the margins, you know, and I just wanted to talk about it. It's like, if there's any time to do it, it's now."

"I'm wondering in your direction, then, how, like what it is like one-on-one, say, as you're trying to get the messages out and bring it, I don't know, bring it up to date? I don't know if that's the right thing, but get the message in a clarity that it hasn't been. What are you saying, for instance, to [actress] Ledisi?" Tyler asked.

Porter guided and challenged the 14-time Grammy nominee based on what they both know -- growing up singing in church and navigating recording careers.

"Like, I have the language to speak to Ledisi from where she is. Every time she opens up her mouth to sing, she's telling a story. And so for me, literally the conversation was, all you have to do is transpose that feeling into talking. Every time you sing, you tell a story. It's the same thing," Porter said. "And to see her gears shift and to see her blossom, you know, and own the fact that she is a natural, instinctive actress who knows how to tell the story. That's been beautiful to watch."

"With [the character] Queen, [actress] Alexandra [Grey], I really felt her, the sensitivity, but also the hope," Tyler said.

"Yes, oh, thank you for saying that," Porter said.

"In everything, her body language, but especially her expressions, her eyes, and you know, that, makes me emotional, but there is hope. That's a large part of your direction," Tyler said.

"Yes. It is. It's a large part of my, my heart as an artist," Porter said. "You know, like I wrote in the show, 'Nobody's coming to save ourselves from ourselves but ourselves.' No more observation. No more privilege that allows us to be observational."

"I do know and I think part of that, which is in the book, in what you did, there is humor, there is darkness, because that is how we heal when you tap all of our emotions," Tyler said.

"Absolutely. Absolutely," Porter said. "In this particular piece, the humor comes out of the idea of I gotta laugh to keep from crying, I gotta laugh to keep from killing myself. Like we have to figure out how to do, like, that's the human spirit. That's the resilience of the human spirit. You know, so... I'm so glad, I can just tell that you really got everything that I was trying to do. And I'm really thankful for that."

Porter has been directing stage and screen for 20 years and says he can't think of a better New York debut than directing "The Life" at New York City Center. It's also full circle for him; he auditioned for a role in the musical back when he was still in college.

He adds "Encores" is a magical whirlwind experience -- eight days of rehearsals straight into nearly a week of performances, with purpose.

"What do you want us to walk out of, Black, white, seen it before, haven't seen it before?" Tyler asked.

"So I hope that it, that people leave engaged and want to and remember that it's us, we the people, who make a difference in this world. That's all I can hope for," Porter said.

"The Life" runs through Sunday at New York City Center.