James Stovall ’76
With the untimely death of actor, playwright, director and producer James Stovall ‘76, Gilman School — and Broadway — lost one of its brightest stars. Stovall died of heart failure at New York Presbyterian Hospital on September 25, 2010. He was 53. James was truly a “working actor,” dedicated to his craft and its many facets. A 27-year veteran Broadway performer, he was scheduled to appear in the York Theatre Company’s developmental lab staging of the new musical “Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda: A Jazz Musical Comedy” at the time of his death. He debuted on Broadway as a standby for three roles in legendary director and choreographer Bob Fosse’s shortlived 1986 musical “Big Deal”; he later joined Fosse’s final production “Sweet Charity.” In 2009 he appeared in the Broadway revival of “Finian’s Rainbow,” as Willie, Preacher, Second Gospeleer, and understudy for Chuck Cooper’s character, Bill. Other Broadway credits include lead roles in “Ragtime” (as a replacement in the lead role of Coalhouse Walker Jr. after appearing in the Los Angeles and Chicago companies); “The Life”; “The Rocky Horror Show”; and, “Once on This Island.” Off-Broadway credits include “Dessa Rose,” “Stars in Your Eyes” and “Romance in Hard Times.” James was also involved in cultural arts at large. He lent his talents to community events such as the African Burial Ground National Monument and the American Museum of Natural History’s Kwanzaa and Black History Month celebrations. He served as artist-in-residence at the Dwyer Cultural Center; he was a founding member of the Actor’s Fund New Leadership Committee; and, he gave four years of service as executive director of Ministry of the Arts & Culture at the United Palace Theatre in Harlem, home to “Nativity: A Life Story,” which he co-wrote, produced and directed. James’s parents, mother Ella, a music teacher in Baltimore City Schools, and father Rev. James Stovall Sr., pastor
of the Full Gospel Church of Cooksville, Md., determined that their son would be educated in an academically rigorous environment, which led them to Gilman. “When Jimmy and I were at Gilman, there were probably only 10 or 12 African-American students, so we all became very close,” said classmate Michael Austin in a Baltimore Sun obituary. “What you remember about him was that voice.” “That voice” was evident from the time James was very young. His mother Ella recognized his musical gifts by age four. He began studying voice and piano at the Peabody Conservatory as a child. When he was 13, he joined the Urban Musical Theatre, based at Morgan State University, where his first dance teacher was Debbie Allen, who was then a student at Howard University. A 1981 graduate of Morehouse College in Atlanta, where his classmates included Spike Lee and Samuel L. Jackson, James received his Equity card during his sophomore year while performing at the Alliance Theater. His first major directing job was in Atlanta, directing “Black Nativity” by Langston Hughes. The play is now an Atlanta holiday tradition. Following his father’s footsteps, James was also an ordained minister. James Stovall is survived by his father, Rev. James Stovall Sr.; sister Donna Stovall Jefferss and nieces Micaela Morales and Domanique Jefferss.
spring 2011
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