Ask Jacquel Spivey what color he likes to wear on Wednesdays, and he’ll tell you. “It’s something bright. I love looking like a box of crayons sometimes,” he spills. “But my favorite color is sky blue. So I’m gonna put that on the table.”
It’s all about the pink right now for Spivey, who won hearts playing Usher in the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical A Strange Loop in 2022. “The great thing about A Strange Loop was that my face is the poster. If you were to look for that Tony information, you’re going to see this noggin, and that’s enough for me. And I helped [producer]Jennifer Hudson get an EGOT. I’m good with that.”
Jaquel Spivey and Auli’i Cravalho in ‘Mean Girls’ from Paramount Pictures. Image: Jojo Whilden/Paramount © 2023 Paramount Pictures.
Now starring in the movie musical retelling of Mean Girls, a bold new take on the 2004 film, one of the biggest changes is Spivey himself. He’s the first Black actor to originate the role of Damian (Cady’s confidante and bestie to Janis for Mean Girls fans in the know) in a new format.
“He’s already chubby. He’s queer. And now he’s Black … So I think he knows that he’s different. But the essence of Damian is the same,” Spivey tells EBONY.
A little church boy from Raleigh, North Carolina, Spivey was raised by his mama, his aunts and his older sister. Black women have always been the blueprint that showed him a nurturing spirit and loyalty, characteristics that aptly describe his version of Damian. “It reminds me of how my sister was protective of me and how my aunts were protective of me, especially coming into my own and into my queerness.”
And no, this movie version is not a rehash. “A remake is something that I didn’t sign up for. And I don’t think any cast member signed up for … because the original movie is already so iconic and beloved,” he exclaims.
“To me, [this movie version]shows the difference because we’re in these characters’ heads. What you can’t say in dialogue and what you can’t say in lines, we get to sing. That’s the beauty of musical theater: when you’ve run out of words to say, you find thoughts to sing. I think it’ll give a new look and a new layer to these characters. You know them, and they’re familiar, but now you have a different lens to look at them. And you get some cute little music.”
Mean Girls is now playing in theaters.
