TDF Stages

The Tony nominee talks about helming Walden, Liberation and the Broadway premiere of The Last Five Years

---

Whitney White understands the importance of listening. In fact, she considers it a key quality in a leader. The in-demand director, who earned a Tony nomination for her Broadway debut last year with Jocelyn Bioh's Jaja's African Hair Braiding, is helming three major New York productions over the next six months… and that's in addition to her work as an actor, musician and writer. But this season, the direction's the thing as she stages Amy Berryman's sibling drama Walden, currently running at Second Stage Theater; Bess Wohl's feminist world premiere Liberation, which begins in January at Roundabout Theatre Company; and the Broadway debut of Jason Robert Brown's musical The Last Five Years starring Nick Jonas and Adrienne Warren, which bows in March.

On top of all that, she also just became an Obie Awards judge, fitting since she won the prize in 2020 for her direction of Our Dear Dead Drug Lord. That means she also has a lot of Off- and Off-Off Broadway theatregoing ahead.

Yet White seems unfazed by her jam-packed schedule, perhaps because she knows her colleagues will help her manage. And that brings her back to listening.

"You have to take the time to interview people," she says about choosing her collaborators. "Who's willing to put up with me for a bit and who's passionate about the story? How you build your teams is what makes the work live or die."

Over the last five years of directing in New York City, White has assembled a trusted network of writers and designers she calls on time and again. The Last Five Years will be a Jaja reunion with set designer Davd Zinn and costume designer Dede Ayite. And White tapped her Jordans set designer Matt Saunders for Walden, which also marks the sixth show she's done with costume designer Qween Jean.

"Whitney really brings out the best in her team," says Jean. "To be able to assess and take in everyone's contribution is deeply important as a director. Every design element truly has a lot of character specificity and that is achieved from listening to her collaborators. She listens and then she responds."

White's attention to detail is crucial since she tackles a stunning array of projects that require the creation of diverse worlds and tones: plays and musicals, dramas and comedies, genre-defying shows in tiny black boxes and starry Broadway productions.

Playwright Berryman says it's been "thrilling" to work with White on Walden, about two sisters reuniting after embarking on radically different paths. One is a NASA astronaut (Zoë Winters) recently returned from space, the other (Emmy Rossum) abandoned a STEM career in favor of an eco-friendly existence in nature with her partner. White describes the play as "a clarion cry to be present with the ones you love. One woman has to decide between starting a family or giving her life to science, and her choice is very inspiring to me."

As for White's directing style, Berryman says, "she goes after what she wants, she expects excellence from everyone around her, and even when she's pushing us to do better and go deeper, she brings so much love into the room."

And she listens. "You've got to listen because theatre takes so many people giving you their time," White explains. "And every great writer, whether it's Jocelyn Bioh or Amy Berryman, is always listening, always trying to get it right."

White says making sure her collaborators feel heard helps empower her. "It's a reality that, statistically, most of the people I work with have not had a Black female director," she says. While she believes her résumé speaks for itself, she still "encounters this doubt at times." When that happens, "I try to listen to people, because if you can make people feel comfortable, then usually things improve."

Although White did not consciously set out to direct a trio of shows this season that center on complicated women making difficult choices, Walden, Liberation and The Last Five Years all check that box, and she's thankful for that. "For women, our personal struggles are huge battles," White says. "There're so many television shows, films and plays that make our struggles look small, and I'm sick of that."

Liberation feels particularly personal to her. Based on a true story, Wohl's play explores the lives and legacies of a group of women who came together in the Midwest during the 1970s to try to make the world more equitable. For White, who grew up in Chicago, aspects of Liberation remind her of her mother and three aunts—the four women who raised her. "They showed me how to put my lipstick on, how to carry myself with pride, how to deal with really hard times with your head up high," White says. She views Liberation as "a reminder that women have been fighting for a very long time to live the lives we deserve with dignity."

The Last Five Years tracks the disparate journeys of two lovers: emerging writer Jamie (Jonas) and wannabe actor Cathy (Warren), who struggles to obtain professional and romantic success, especially when her partner's career takes off.

"I've always loved Cathy, and I think that Adrienne Warren's going to bring her to life in this new way," White says. "I love all my characters, but I have special insight there. I'm happy I get to explore my experience through all of these different women."

White is also excited to direct her first musical on Broadway, especially since she's a musician herself. "It gives us a shortcut, more language to share," she says about working with The Last Five Years creator Brown and hints that there will be some new elements added to the show.

When asked if she has any advice for aspiring directors, especially women of color, she says they should remember what sparked their dream. "Everyone is drawn to theatre-making for a reason," she says. "Don't lose track of what turned you on in the first place and inspired you to do this." And be sure to see—and work on—as many shows as possible. "Keep filling your well!" White's is certainly overflowing this season.

---

TDF MEMBERS: Go here to browse our latest discounts for dance, theatre and concerts.