“Jelly’s Last Jam” is a stage musical that first debuted at the Mark Taper Forum in 1991. The book of the show was written by George C. Wolfe with lyrics by Susan Birkenhead. It is a fantastical theatrical homage to jazz music’s first composer, Jelly Roll Morton.
Morton, a Creole native of Louisiana, even alleged he invented jazz. His compositions are largely used in the musical along with several arrangements by Luther Henderson.
On June 2, the Pasadena Playhouse opened its production of “Jelly’s Last Jam” starring actor and singer John Clarence Stewart as the lead. Stewart is best known for his television roles in “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist,” “P-Valley,” and “Marvel’s Luke Cage.”
Stewart was first introduced to the stage when he was invited to a high school theater class by a classmate. He said he originally wanted to be a football player and even received a high school scholarship to play.
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However, Stewart didn’t feel he had the size or skill to move forward with the sport. Football may not have been in the cards for him, but the theater was a space where he felt seen and heard.
“It felt like, ‘Oh, this is what that guy on the football field feels like when he runs faster than everybody else and makes a touchdown’ – I never experienced that feeling,” said Stewart.
He then attended Columbus State University in his home state of Georgia where he received a theater scholarship, and ultimately earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in performance theater.
Beyond Columbus State, Stewart worked regionally in Georgia as a part of the Kaiser Permanente Theater Program.
“The first time I was paid to act was that, and it was the first time I was in a community of actors,” said Stewart. “My goal became to just be a working actor and build a life in Atlanta.”
But Stewart would soon make his way to the Broadway stages of New York. He said life in the “Big Apple” was very different from the “Peach State.”
“It was a culture shock,” remembered Stewart. “I’ve never been so emersed in such a melting pot of a place.” Some of Stewart’s New York theater credits include, “Choir Boy,” “Fit for A Queen,” and “Kind Souls.”
When it came to television, Stewart was reluctant about transitioning to the small screen for the fear of lessening his value as a serious thespian.
He said, “I just wanted to be known as a real actor – I just wanted the respect of my peers. I wanted them to be able to go like, ‘There’s an actor, right there.’ I felt like if I was in a television or film space that would somehow fraction or lessen that, and that was naivete on my part.”
Now, Stewart is enjoying his flourishing career in television, and he is continuing his work on stage in the Pasadena Playhouse production of “Jelly’s Last Jam.”
Stewart said his role of Jelly Roll was challenging because he had to unravel the “why” behind who the man was as a person. “There are things he does in the play that are not very kind. Not very honorable,” explained Stewart.
He continued, “But because of the structure of the play – how it’s made – you get to see who he was before. You get to see why he became that, and you also get to see, most importantly in my opinion, you get to see him held to account.”
Stewart said you will not get a watered-down version of Jelly to make him more palatable to audiences.
“It’s human. It’s visceral. We all have the capacity, in my opinion, for any and everything, and in doing that it makes redemption that much [sweeter],” said Stewart.
Stewart revealed that he didn’t know much about Jelly Roll Morton before the play, and that most people are unaware of his legacy, which plays into an overarching dialogue in the show.
“Unfortunately, this echoes part of the show itself, and echoes parts of so many people who have been brilliantly Black, and they have been forgotten – written off – coopted out of their contribution,” said Stewart. “Their stories, their impact in the larger story of history.”
Stewart pondered about how everyone wants to be remembered, but what is even more interesting to him is by whom do they want to be remembered.
One of the underlying themes of “Jelly’s Last Jam” is colorism. Stewart says this play sparks a difficult conversation the Black community must have about the subject.
“Whether we want to take responsibility for it or not. Whether we want to act like it’s present or not – we can hide with our heads in the sand all day, but it is what it is,” said Stewart.
“The play is the really unapologetic and unabashed way in which Jelly weaponizes who he is to hurt the people around him,” he added.
Stewart explained that Jelly was wounded by his family and because of his pain, he inflicts pain on others.
The show is packed with some heavy themes, but the messaging is laced in vibrant jazz melodies, tap dance, and humor so it does not come off as too heavy.
“The only way you can swallow truth is with joy,” said Stewart. “The thing about the Black experience is that most times deep pain and deep joy are very close.”
This is Stewart’s first time leading a show of this magnitude, and he believes “Jelly’s Last Jam” is something he, the cast, and crew believe in.
For more information and to purchase tickets, visit https://www.pasadenaplayhouse.org/event/jellys-last-jam/.
