Actor, Teacher, Activist, and Much More
I
f you’ve seen Back to the Future—either I or II—then you’ve seen the talents of Harry Waters Jr. ’71 in action.
Waters played Chuck Berry’s fictional cousin Marvin Berry in the “Enchantment Under the Sea” high school dance scene of the 1985 hit film. He performed the pop song “Earth Angel” on stage alongside Michael J. Fox’s character Marty McFly on guitar. “It was a great experience,” says Waters, now Professor of Theater and Dance and Associate Dean for the Kofi Annan Institute for Global Citizenship at Macalester College. “I had a live band to work with, and everyone on set was so friendly.” And he earned a Gold Record for his singing on the soundtrack. “I thought they were going to have someone else do the vocals,” he says, “but
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they asked if I wanted to sing the song, and I said ‘Sure!’”
What it means to ‘act on pitch’ Waters’ Marvin Berry performance showcased merely a couple of items in his MacGyver-like professional toolbox—which includes acting, singing, dancing, writing, directing, teaching, community activism, and higher education administration. He chalks up his multi-faceted skillset to starting his career at a time when success required a broad skillset. “It was a different time in the world, with less technology involved,” says Waters, who began his career with a dance company in New York City after attending Princeton University. “Everyone needed to be a triple threat: You had to be able to act, dance, and
sing. I like to say ‘I act on pitch.’” In 1991, his skills earned him the role of Belize in the first workshop productions of Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles. He worked with playwright Tony Kushner as a member of the original cast of the award-winning Broadway play, which was made into an HBO TV series in 2003. Waters helped develop the characters of both Belize and Mr. Lies. “I had great talks with Tony about how a Black, gay drag queen would relate to other characters in various situations,” he says. “I got to be an intrinsic part of a piece of American literature.” Waters participated in the World Premiere at the Eureka Theater in San Francisco, and then the show went to Broadway. Alas, Waters was unavailable to perform in the Broadway
