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from NOVEMBER 2022
In Search of Herself
Author Shana Ross finds her birth family, who are members of the Navajo tribe.
By ZACH McKENZIE Photo by ALEX ROSA
Discovering she was adopted at the age of 7 was just the beginning of a journey of self-discovery for Shana Ross. The author, whose full-time career has made her a titan in the Houston fitness scene, is celebrating the debut of her memoir, Tribeless: Discovering the Truth about Nature vs. Nurture as One Woman Finds Her Birth Mother. On page after page, Ross weaves pivotal moments of her life to create a tapestry that provides hope to people in various stages within the adoption system. It’s a story of the resilience of the queer community, and a call for everyone to lean into the unknown and pursue their ambitions before it’s too late.
“I’ve always enjoyed writing, and I thought I would write a book one day. I just didn’t think it would be my life story!” Ross says with a grin. “I really felt that there were many things I could share that could end up helping a lot of different people—not just those who are adopted.”
While recounting the parts of her life that she wanted to feature in her book, Ross paints a picture of a typical East Texas upbringing—church on Sundays, riding horses with her father who served in World War II, and a community that had conservatism ingrained in its fabric. Regarding certain memories that paint her family in a less flattering light, Ross knew she couldn’t sugarcoat her truth. “The hardest thing was recounting the story [of my coming out], because I had a pretty tumultuous upbringing,” she admits.
That’s a bit of an understatement, as the stories she shares reveal just how dangerous coming out to non-affirming families can be. “I had to tell my story, my truth,” she says. Ross didn’t allow her relationship with her adoptive parents, which ebbed and flowed throughout her life, to alter the narrative. “I wanted my parents to be seen not as monsters, but as people struggling with their own things.”
Houston in the 1980s is the nostalgic setting for much of the book, as Ross writes fondly of her time hanging out at Babylon and dancing at The Parade. “I was in Houston during the onslaught of HIV/AIDS, and I worked in the community a lot. We all felt hopeless; we felt helpless. There was so much going on, and the community was so close, so tight-knit,” she recalls. “In some communities, you would say ‘Montrose’ and you would get a sneer, because it was known as ‘the gay ghetto.’ But there was such a community, because we were all we had. The bar scene was like a big backyard barbecue—everybody was family, everybody was a part of it. I loved it, I absolutely loved growing up during that time,” she adds. “I miss that sense of community that we had back in the ’80s.”
Toward the latter part of her memoir, the fitness guru details the years-long, emotionally taxing process of ultimately deciding to search for her birth family. “The whole thing was terrifying, because there were so many questions. The main one in my head was, ‘What if my birth mother was raped? What if I’m a product of rape?’ The thought of bringing that up to her and having her face that all over again was horrifying,” Ross says. “When I decided to move forward, there was a whole other list of fears, like ‘What if she rejects me?’ I had to come to terms that it was a possibility. And that happens many times. People will go to find their birth families, and they’re completely rejected. I had to figure out if I was going to be able to handle that.”
It isn’t much of a spoiler to say that Ross ultimately did find her birth family— members of a Navajo tribe— and that she met her sisters, cousins, nieces, nephews, a stubborn half-brother, and her beloved mother who fondly refers to Ross as “my baby girl.”
“I knew that I had to [find my family] because there was a whole culture that I had been taken from. I felt the need to know that and to get in touch with it. The last six years of learning about it have been some of the most amazing years of my life. Feeling that presence has made an enormous difference in how I view myself, and how I live my life.
“It still sometimes feels like a dream that I can just pick up the phone and talk with my mother, and she hears my voice,” Ross adds. “My sister will call and say, ‘Sister, I love you so much. I can’t wait until we see you again.’ That kind of love, affirmation, and support is very different from how I grew up. I crave it, I really crave it.”
Today, Ross resides in Houston with her wife of 35 years, Mary Beth, and visits her birth tribe in Arizona frequently. With her newfound sense of self and a connection to her birth family (as well as a reconciliation with her adoptive family), Ross looks to the future with a fresh outlook on life. She urges others who wish to seek out their birth families to do so with an open heart and mind. “With all of the DNA companies that are out there, you’re going to find people. It’s almost impossible not to if anyone in your family has ever done a DNA test, so you have to be very clear [in your own mind] that you can handle potential rejection.”
Hoping the book sparks conversation among the various communities in which Ross finds herself, she also hopes to be a source of guidance for others. “We all need to know where we come from. I think it makes us better people to understand that. Even if it’s not so good, it still helps to know who the ancestors are,” she concludes. “It helps us understand ourselves better—and in the process, to be able to relate to those around us in a kinder, more gentle way.”
Tribeless: Discovering the Truth about Nature vs Nurture as One Woman Finds Her Birth Mother is available on Amazon and anywhere books are sold.
—Shana Ross
A Gay Man’s Guide to The Nutcracker
First soloist Harper Watters’ fresh take on the classic show.
By JENNY BLOCK Photo by MITAVA SARKAR
Houston Ballet first soloist Harper Watters has been a dancer ever since he could leap across the living room as a child. And he has also been inspired by The Nutcracker ballet since those childhood days in New Hampshire.
“I choreographed a one-man version of The Nutcracker, taking props from around the house. I took the Christmas tree skirt from the attic and made it a dress, and I would turn the lights off and just have the spotlight from the chandelier in my living room.”
His parents soon gifted him a VHS tape of The Nutcracker (the movie starring Macaulay Caulkin) that saw a lot of use. “It could be the hottest day of summer, and I would still watch The Nutcracker—especially the snow scene.”
While Watters was dancing at a local dance studio as a kid, he was finally cast in a Nutcracker production. “And I’ve been doing it ever since,” he says. That includes 26 shows in two years at the Walnut Hill School for the Arts in Massachusetts—and at least 35 times each year during the 12 years he’s been with the Houston Ballet.
And though he was cast in smaller parts at first, he says, “I’m really lucky. For the past five or six years, I have danced the Prince. I kind of graduated each time from different roles.”
As Houston Ballet’s only Black first soloist in 20 years, Watters has worked with the very best choreographers and has performed across the US and the world, including in Guatemala, Canada, Germany, France, and Switzerland.
Here are five fun facts about Stanton Welch’s Nutcracker production at the Houston Ballet, which premiered in 2016: • Over 70,000 people see the show each year. • The Christmas tree grows to 39 feet tall. • 75 pounds of faux snow covers the stage. • 450 sq. ft. of synthetic rat hair and more than 4,000 yards of netting are used. • The show includes 61 adult dancers and over 300 young dancers; 95 musicians rotate in the orchestra pit throughout the run; 36 stage hands, 16 dressers, 6 hair/makeup crew members, 3 costume maintenance supervisors, and a laundry manager all work behind the scenes.
We caught up with Watters ahead of the November 25 Nutcracker opening at downtown’s Wortham Center to find out more about the production and his role in it.
Jenny Block: Do you continue to enjoy dancing in Nutcracker year after year? Harper Watters: I do. It’s a fantastic opportunity to check in with your technique, to check in with your dancing, to see how you
can revisit something to improve on it, [and decide] what you want to focus on this time. Each year, there’s a newfound confidence I find with it.
How have things changed at Houston Ballet when it comes to The Nutcracker?
When I first joined Houston Ballet, we had Ben Stevenson’s version, which is a real classic. It’s really traditional. And when the Stanton Welch production debuted, they really turned up the glam. They really turned up the effects and the drama and the production values.
Just like the dancers, audiences return to The Nutcracker year after year. Why do you think that is?
I feel like The Nutcracker is the Disney classic of the ballet world. It’s like The Lion King. It’s like The Little Mermaid. It’s the magic. People have a connection to it being on a holiday. It’s a tradition. I think it’s really nostalgic, as well.
How do you keep that magic going year after year, and show after show?
It’s really about hearing stories of audience members and the children, and seeing how they respond to it. Ninety percent of the time, it’s someone’s first time ever coming to the ballet. Knowing that is what motivates me to keep up the magic and to not just go into autopilot. Also, these young girls and boys are really going for it! Knowing that they are makes it so that we want to, as well.
Many of the dancers, including you, dance numerous roles in a single performance of the show. How on earth do you do that?
I feel like the skill of memorization and repetition is really important. And it just starts from how we start our day. If you’ve ever watched a ballet class, you see the teacher just kind of giving the combination [of dance moves], and you have about 30 seconds to pick it up. It’s really built into our daily lives to just start memorizing—to have this repetition. Nutcracker is extremely iconic, and Stanton has made these moves that are so musical that you can turn the music on and it just happens.
Are there any comical moments in this particular production?
Instead of the traditional Mother Ginger, Stanton has interpreted it in a new way [with a character] called “French”—a French man who is coming to eat, and all the Houston Ballet School students are chefs who frantically prepare his meal for him. [The comedy] begins when they present him with escargot and it’s just not to his liking. And it ends with the man frantically chasing after the ambassador frog with a fork and knife. So it’s a really comical number!
To those who say ballet in general, and perhaps The Nutcracker in particular, is not for them, what do you say?
I feel like ballet is “the minority” of the arts world. It’s the underrepresented, underappreciated one. But it is thought-provoking, and it is art. And I would encourage people to come and enjoy it and support it and be open-minded to it. It’s like a warm hug. I would be hard-pressed to believe they wouldn’t enjoy it, or at least enjoy parts of it, because Houston Ballet is just that good.
What: Houston Ballet’s The Nutcracker When: November 25 to December 27 Where: Wortham Theater Center, 501 Texas Ave. Info: Call 713-227-2787 or visit houstonballet.org.
Unsinkable Talent
Houston-born Tye Blue on Titanique, his off-Broadway musical parody of Titanic.
By RYAN M. LEACH Photo by AARON JAY YOUNG
New York City is abuzz about Titanique, the off-Broadway musical parody of the 1997 movie Titanic. The show is also a love letter to Celine Dion, whose contribution to the soundtrack of the blockbuster movie, “My Heart Will Go On,” is equally as famous as the diva herself. A hit show about a hit movie featuring a hit song (and songstress) seems like a hat on a hat on a hat of hits. It has been so successful that it has extended its run multiple times and is now moving to a larger venue.
This titanic-sized feat for any off-Broadway show in the Big Apple can all be traced back to Houston’s homegrown, multi-talented Tye Blue, who co-authored and directed Titanique. “The show’s success has been a great surprise, but also expected. Because of the response to the many iterations of the show when it was in development, we knew that people would like it if we could get a proper rehearsal and some publicity,” says Blue, reflecting on the long journey to getting Titanique on the stage.
Blue, 42, was born in Richmond, southwest of Houston. Eventually he moved to Needville with his family, where he attended Needville High School. An active kid in student organizations like speech, debate, and theater, Blue focused primarily on playing the saxophone. After graduating, he attended the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston to study music with a focus on saxophone.
But a seed had been planted just before he left for Massachusetts when he saw a professional production of The Phantom of the Opera in San Antonio—his first introduction to the theater beyond what he had experienced at Needville High—and it made an impression that would change his life. He decided to double-major in sax and voice, and was accepted into the Berklee program after auditioning.
“I had never sung, but I knew I could carry a tune,” says Blue. I started singing in Boston, and was getting more traction as a singer than as a saxophone player. I was cast in a singer showcase during my first semester. I felt drawn to musical theater, and I pivoted from being an instrumentalist to a vocalist.”
Eventually, he left Berklee to matriculate in the musical theater program at Sam Houston State University, where he earned his degree. He also started to develop as a director while working on his acting and vocal talents, and he directed a handful of mainstage shows before graduating. Blue eventually landed a role at Theatre Under the Stars in Houston, where he made a connection with Adam Lambert while performing as his understudy. Lambert (pre-American Idol fame) encouraged Blue to come to Los Angeles, where Lambert would connect Blue with his manager. Blue did just that, and eventually landed roles in international tours of Hair and Rent.
“It became obvious to me that I needed to move to New York, so I moved there and acted for a while,” Blue explains. “I went to an audition for [director] Stafford Arima and got far along, but I eventually got cut because I couldn’t dance. When I was leaving, he sent his casting director running after me. He told me I didn’t get the job but asked if I would be interested in an assistant director position, because—stupid me—I had listed all of my directing credits on my acting résumé. It turned out to be a happy
accident, though, because it started me on a trajectory of directing commercial projects. I did about fifteen productions under Arima for about four years, and realized how fulfilling it was to utilize all of the tools in my toolbox—the planning, the design, management, leadership, staging, choreography. I was able to synthesize a bunch of random skills, so it was very eye-opening.”
By now it was 2009, and Blue’s stepdad had passed away, so he decided that he needed to come back to Houston to help his family deal with the fallout from the loss. It was during this time that Blue began a chapter in Houston’s booming gay nightlife scene. He was a valuable asset to club owners because he could create, stage, and market shows, as well as handle the talent and design. Blue had a regular gig hosting Dreamgirls at the former F Bar, and created a space for queer-oriented performance to thrive. Blue’s influence carries on today as Houston has continued to grow in that respect.
“I had a lot of really great times in Houston, hosting and recording. I started an opera. It was a great, fruitful chapter,” says Blue. “But I had unfinished business in LA. I moved back and started creating and directing parodies at a supper club. I directed six or seven musicals that picked up a lot of steam. I started to develop the relationships that I have now, which helped foster the idea of Titanique.”
He wanted to produce Titanique at the same venue where he had found success with other productions, but they were not interested. Blue sat on the idea for two years, and eventually decided to enlist some friends (and eventual Titanique co-authors) Constantine Rousouli and Marla Mindelle.
“I told them, ‘I don’t care, I am taking out a new credit card and I am producing it. Let’s start writing!’ I couldn’t stop thinking about it, and I knew on some level that I needed to do it,” Blue recalls.
His instincts were correct. The trio developed the show, and Titanique had its first public performance in 2017 at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills. The show continued to hold performances in small venues in LA and New York over the next couple of years. Each performance would build on the last, and eventually attracted the attention of producers. They finalized a deal to produce the show in late 2019, and by January 2020 they were touring venues in New York after holding a week of casting auditions.
But soon it became evident that things were not going to work out when COVID-19 hit and the theater industry went dark for the next few years. Titanique appeared to be coulé.
Blue saw the writing on the wall as the
—Tye Blue
EMILIO MADRID The cast of Titanique
world shut down, so he sold everything he had in Los Angeles and moved around the country while he waited for his industry to come back. And it did.
Titanique would eventually set sail in New York in June 2022, after several false starts due to the ongoing pandemic restrictions. After it had launched in the Asylum Theatre off-Broadway, Blue’s next challenge would be attracting a post-pandemic audience. “I’ll be honest: that first month of shows was a little scary. I would show up and there were entire rows empty and I’m thinking, we can’t survive with four empty rows in here. I know the producers had a moment of doubt because we didn’t kick off great with sales.
“Then certain people started posting about it—like [the popular podcast] Las Culturistas. They raved so hard on us multiple times. That was a big moment. Then the New York Times put out something that I thought was a little backhanded, but essentially good press,” says Blue.
He also credits the cast and an amazing PR team for attracting audiences. One event, held on a boat on the Chelsea Piers, contributed to growing interest in the show. It also helped that Frankie Grande, a cast member, has a famous sister, Ariana, who gave the show a shout-out after attending.
But a show’s success ultimately hinges on the quality of the show itself, and Titanique is brimming with talent. Aside from being co-authors, Rousouli and Mindelle are also the stars of the show as Jack and Celine Dion, respectively. (That’s right, Celine Dion is a character who hosts the show, and Mindelle’s portrayal of the pop star and her vocals is second to none.)
“We are very fortunate that Marla is a very versatile actress, and her comedic timing is unparalleled,” Blue notes. “She was in my parody of The Devil Wears Prada and Troop Beverly Hills. I was already aware of the mindblowing skill set she has as a comedian and singer. I never had any hesitation about her ability to play the Celine Dion character.”
Titanique has been extended through February 2023, and if it manages to find a home and an audience beyond that, Blue would be thrilled.
“This has been a long journey,” he says. “I almost quit many times. There have been a lot of twists and turns. There have been moments where I felt burned out, and moments where I felt hopeful. I know for sure that this project is successful, because it is the culmination of so many skills I’ve gleaned for 25 years. I never want to lose sight of the fact that everything has led to this.”
To experience the comedy genius of Titanique in New York City, buy your tickets at titaniquemusical.com.
T.J. Newton, currently appearing in the regional premiere of The Secret of My Success at Theatre Under the Stars (TUTS), was born with microtia and had been deaf in his left ear until recently, when he underwent surgery to receive a bone-anchored hearing aid (BAHA). On September 16, the soon-to-be 30-year-old’s new hearing aid was activated and T.J. got to experience the cacophony and joy of our noisy world in stereo for the first time in his life.
“When the pandemic hit and masks came on, it severely affected how I, and so many hard-of-hearing individuals, lived every day,” Newton recalls. “All of a sudden, my one and only working ear was working twice as hard to hear people talking. When the masks began to come off, I noticed my hearing didn’t get any better.” This is what prompted him to see a doctor and eventually get this life-changing surgery.
“I got my hearing aid a week before we started rehearsal [for The Secret of My Success], so this entire process has been overwhelming,” he states. “In the rehearsal studio, it’s been amazing because I can hear in surround-sound for the first time. Also, hearing music at the theater or even at a movie has been such a wonderful, joyous, and overwhelming experience.”
The biggest change Newton has noticed in his hearing is the volume of sounds. “Everything sounds very loud, and I’m able to pick out things in music that I haven’t heard before,” he explains. “Listening to an orchestra, I’m hearing different instruments that I wasn’t fully aware of, and if a piano is on my left side, I can pick that up much stronger than I could before.”
Recent headlines surrounding Hadestown on Broadway revealed how the theater industry is struggling to be fully inclusive of deaf and hard-of-hearing people. “As a whole, the theater is not as accessible as it should be,” Newton emphasizes. “I will say that Theatre Under the Stars’ incredible program, The River, makes theater accessible for kids of all ages and disabilities. This is a hill I’m so happy to die on. Theater should be for everyone, and to be at a theater that celebrates that makes me extremely proud to be here.”
As a queer-identifying artist of color with a hearing disability, Newton recognizes the platform his professional experiences offer him, and this fuels his activism. He looks forward to coming back to Houston and doing a show with the kids for The River program. Also, he has successfully created the Instagram show Kiki’s Closet. “Right now, there are 40 episodes out,” he says. “I’ve interviewed 112 guests, and the majority of them are people of color because the main purpose of the show is to celebrate diversity.” His 41st episode will feature some of his The Secret of
Life in Stereo
Actor T.J. Newton on hearing everything for the first time.
By DAVID CLARKE
T.J. Newton (l) in The Secret of My Success and backstage at the Hobby Center.
My Success colleagues discussing diversity and inclusion in theater, and also focus on the new musical they are working on.
Newton appreciates that TUTS is truly fostering diversity and inclusion in their audiences. “They make sure that ticket prices are accessible for everyone,” he says. And as an artist, he sees how TUTS is also committed to fostering onstage diversity. “Getting to come to TUTS, where they prioritize diversity, has been so wonderful as a person of color,” he adds. “I’ve felt so safe in this space, not only working here last season, but also working here during The Secret of My Success. It’s a beautifully diverse company of performers, both onstage and backstage.”
After performing in last season’s production of Sister Act, Newton is enjoying his role in developing a new musical. “Having the writers here has been so wonderful because we’ve gotten the opportunity to say, ‘Hey, could we try it this way?’ or ‘How about this line?’” he explains. “Having those changes incorporated and just being able to have a conversation, whether the changes work or not, is hugely beneficial and very rare.”
The Secret of My Success is based on a 1987 Michael J. Fox film by the same title. “It’s a wonderful, campy, silly musical about fighting for your dreams,” he says. “In a post-pandemic world, we’ve changed the [definition of] what success is. We’ve acknowledged that success is more than money. Maybe success is falling in love, or more family time—and this show celebrates that.”
Newton is also excited to finally experience an Out@TUTS event. “Because of COVID restrictions, our [Sister Act] cast wasn’t allowed to go, but this year we are allowed to go,” he says. “I love the queer community in Houston. It’s wonderful. So I’m excited to celebrate musical theater with the queer community here. “My heart’s color today is a bright blue,” Newton concludes, “because the sun is out and I’m just feeling a lot of joy and happiness this week.”
Follow T.J. Newton on Instagram @tjnewtonnyc.
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