Black Nativity, a Boston holiday tradition!

(Below is a transcript of some of the interview)
Good evening. I’m DJ Mo Wilks of The Secret Spot, and we’re taking a deep dive arts-wise from studio 8-8-9 to celebrate the joy of Christmas and the holiday season.  Musically, the season just isn’t here until we hear our musical gifts from artists you have been rediscovering, such as Donny Hathaway, Nat King Cole, and The Emotions.  But did you know there is basically a chance to witness also to get the full spirit of the holidays as well.

The 54th season of Langston, Hughes’s Black Nativity is presented by the National Center of Afro-American Artists,  and it’s running through Sunday, December 22, (2024) that’s Friday, Saturday, and Sunday shows at the Orchard Stage at Emerson’s Paramount Center, which is 559 Washington Street, in Boston. It’s been performed since 1970,  believed to be the longest running production of Langston Hughes’s Black Nativity in the history of the show.

I have the pleasure of sitting down with Adult Choral Director, Judge Milton Wright. He’s joining The Secret Spot to reflect on the show celebrating its 54th year. He’s also the narrator, and actually sings in the show. Welcome to The Secret Spot, Milton Wright.

Thank you. Thank you. Happy to be here.

Thank you very much for joining us today. I appreciate your time. Tell us a little something first about yourself,  if you may. If you could give us a little bit of background history about you.

Well, I’m originally from Miami, Florida. I came to Boston in 1968, to go to law school at Boston University. I graduated from law school, practiced law for 23 years, and I was a judge for 17 years.  But all the time, I sang. As a matter of fact, I recorded two albums while I was an attorney I recorded them down in Miami,  for Alston Records and TK Productions . One was called Friends and Buddies. Actually,  they didn’t do too well in the States, but did quite well in in Europe, and I recently was in Spain in 2023, for the Real Festival in Dubao, Spain, where I did an hour of my my album.

And I was in Germany at the Baltic Soul Festival last year, doing again, some of the numbers from my recording.  You know that I’m from a family of musicians, my sister is Betty Wright, she passed in 2020, but she’s a  Grammy Award winner.  Betty Wright. Oh, the singer.

Yes, yes, my other sister Jeannette was with in K.C. and the Sunshine Band, my brother Philip played with Junior Walker. King Curtis. My brother Charles played with Betty. Oh, my goodness, yeah,  if I’m not mistaken, I saw something. It might have been 60 Minutes. They were talking about like the anatomy of a production, and she was one of the guests, and they were describing how I think she was a singer on, “Dance With Me”. I think that’s the song. Yes, and so they were describing how she overdubbed her vocals, and she was actually in the booth, and it was. It was quite amazing. Thank you for sharing that. I did not know that.  So you definitely have music running through your veins.

Yeah. My mother played guitar. When we were five years old you were in the family group. You traveled all over Florida.  We were there at first the Wright Spiritual Singers, and then the name was changed to The Echoes of Joy. So I’ve been doing this all my life.

Very nice, very nice. So were you a singer prior to your joining this production, or were you a singer and then you joined the production after, how did you come about connecting with Black Nativity.

I’ve been on stage since I was five years old. I connected with Black Nativity because I was a member of a church, Saint Mark Congregational Church. And a number of the members of my church were in Black Nativity.  And I would go see it four, five times a year. I would go see Black Nativity. Sit in the aisle and sing with them when they march down the aisle.

And some of the casts kept saying saying to me, ‘You need to be up here with us.’  Finally I and I had done, and I had also done some work with John Ross, who was the Director of Black Nativity.  I sung at several events, and he accompanied me.

So I finally joined the cast. That was 40 years ago.  Wow! 40 years ago. Wow!

And when John passed, I became the Adult Choral Director. We sort of had to split John Ross’s contributions into three parts. He was such a fantastic musician, director, everything.  So we have Stephen Hunter on the keyboard playing what John, played.  We have Marilyn Andre as the vocal specialist, also the choral director for the children.  And I’m the choral director for the adults.