A Pittsburgh jazz great finally gets his due in Billy Strayhorn: Something to Live For

Fans of the hit Amazon period series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel may know Darius de Haas, but not by his face — he provided the singing vocals for Shy Baldwin, a fictional gay, Black performer. Soon, de Haas will play a similar, non-fictional role, only this time, audiences will see the entirety of the Broadway actor.

Pittsburgh Public Theater will present the world premiere of Billy Strayhorn: Something to Live For, a musical described as bringing to life “the remarkable true story of one of the greatest composers of all time.” Under the direction of Kent Gash, de Haas will play the title role with a major blessing — Pittsburgh native and famed multi-hyphenate star, Billy Porter, serves as the show’s producer, and, in a press release, called de Haas “the perfect person to bring Strayhorn to life.”

“To play the role of Billy Strayhorn, for me, is a once-in-a-lifetime dream,” de Haas said in a statement provided to Pittsburgh City Paper. “I didn’t expect it at all, and so being immersed so fully in this world is an indescribable, emotional, humbling, exciting thrill.”

The stage actor and singer — who previously performed in Pittsburgh back in the 1990s as part of a national tour of Once On This Island — said he comes from a family of “jazz and music artists,” adding that Strayhorn has “really always been a part of the fabric” of his musical journey.

Set to stage Tue., Sept. 19 through Wed., Oct. 11 at the O’Reilly Theater, the concept promises a rare look into the life of an influential jazz musician with local origins. Born in 1915, Strayhorn spent much of his young life in Pittsburgh, attending Westinghouse High School and studying classical music at the Pittsburgh Music Institute, according to the Billy Strayhorn Foundation website.

It was while in Pittsburgh, and surrounded by the city’s then-thriving jazz scene, that Strayhorn began seriously composing, going on to produce influential works like “Lush Life,” “Take the ‘A’ Train,” and the show’s title song, which marked the first collaboration between Strayhorn and his famous mentor, bandleader Duke Ellington (played by J.D. Mollison), who took the ambitious young pianist under his wing after the two met in the late 1930s.

Beyond his musical contributions, PPT also regards Strayhorn as having “transcended racial and sexual barriers” as an openly gay Black man who succeeded at a time when such an identity meant social and professional discrimination.

Pittsburgh has made some effort to honor the late musician, the most notable being the Kelly Strayhorn Theater in East Liberty. Still, despite his accomplishments, many feel that the “Kelly” in the name — Pittsburgh-born movie star and dancer Gene Kelly — garners far more attention than the “Strayhorn.” Those involved with Billy Strayhorn: Something to Live For see the show as a way to change that.

“People don’t know or appreciate who Billy Strayhorn was. He was an accomplished musical genius and an openly gay Black man back in the day,” said Porter. “This new musical, under the inspired direction of Kent Gash, deserves to have its world premiere in Pittsburgh where Strayhorn first discovered his love of music.”

Rob Zellers, who co-wrote the show with Gash, expands on this, calling the production a “Pittsburgh origins [SIC] story that not many people are aware of.”

“Strayhorn’s life began in the Homewood neighborhood of Pittsburgh,” Zellers continued. “His gift for composing, arranging and performing jazz took him from Westinghouse High School to New York City at the pinnacle of American jazz music. Despite his decades-long partnership with Duke Ellington where he wrote music and lyrics for some of the band’s best known work, he never received the recognition he rightly deserved.”

In bringing Strayhorn’s music to life, the production will feature a nine-piece jazz band led by Matthew Whitaker, a blind, 22-year-old “Yamaha-sponsored artist and jazz phenom” whose own story inspired a film. A self-taught musician who started playing at three years old, Whitaker has gone on to become an award-winning working film composer and musical director — you can learn more by watching Matthew Whitaker: About Tomorrow, an Emmy-nominated short documentary directed by Steven Tabakin for PBS. (Tabakin also joined Billy Strayhorn: Something to Live For in a producing role.)

Gash believes the show not only honors Strayhorn, but Pittsburgh’s Black Renaissance, a time between the 1920s and 1950s when Black music, art, and culture bloomed in the city.

“The Black community of Pittsburgh … has nurtured some of our country’s greatest musicians, entertainers and artists, from August Wilson to Lena Horne, Phyllis Hyman, Billy Eckstine and Billy Porter,” said Gash in a press release.

He adds that Strayhorn’s body of work, particularly with the Duke Ellington Orchestra, became “the International Gold Standard of America’s greatest cultural contribution — jazz,” pointing out how Strayhorn’s talent started in Pittsburgh and continued flourishing when he moved to Harlem Renaissance-era New York City.

While his early triumphs and 30-year collaboration with Ellington ensured Strayhorn’s place among the jazz greats, he also devoted his energies to the civil rights movement of the 1960s before dying in 1967 of cancer.

For de Haas, the opportunity to play the late musician feels like a calling.

“But really, in a sense, it all feels quite divine and that Billy Strayhorn’s spirit is guiding, pushing, and holding me through this,” he said.

This article appears in Sep 13-19, 2023.