With "Fear and Trembling," Noted Baritone Jubilant Sykes Takes the Stage in 1776

The name Jubilant Sykes may not ring a bell with theatergoers, but in the world of music, the baritone has performed all over the world in venues ranging from the Metropolitan Opera to the Deutsche Oper Berlin. He also served as the featured soloist with orchestras including the New York Philharmonic and the London Symphony. And, in 2009, he was nominated for a Grammy for his recording of Leonard Bernstein's Mass.

From March 30-April 3, Sykes will make a career leap into the world of musicals. Sykes will take on the role of Virginia-based politician Richard Henry Lee in the upcoming New York City Center Encores! revival of Sherman Edwards and Peter Stone's 1776. It's a role about which he's excited, and also more than a little scared.

Were you familiar with 1776 before starting this process?
This is totally my maiden voyage. I just read the script a couple of weeks ago, without knowing the music at all. I thought the story was great, but wondered how they were going to make it emotionally moving, because it's very heady. Then, when I heard the music and the singing, I was like "Wow."

How much did you know about your character, Richard Henry Lee?
I didn't know much about him. I knew there are schools named after him. He's actually quite the antithesis of the character in the show. He was an aristocrat and he had a lot of children. He actually signed the Declaration of Independence. But in the show, he doesn't.

What can you tell us about the way director Garry Hynes is looking at the show?
The piece speaks for itself, so she's not deviating a lot. We're wearing regular dress, and suits, so it's making it present-day in that way. The script is so incredibly written. These guys were radicals. Rebels. They were very educated and took their lives in their hands by saying they would pull away from Great Britain. These smart but average men are saying they're going to cut the ties and do it on their own. To see it that way is pretty amazing.

Given that it's a multicultural cast, does the discussion of race come up in rehearsal?
No, not really. Maybe among ourselves. We're just playing characters. There are some things in the show where there's very much an issue with slavery. It's interesting how some of the blacks in the cast are [playing characters who are] for slavery, and some are not. But it is really written along basically conservative/liberal lines, as opposed to racial lines.

What is it like in rehearsal to hear the song "Molasses to Rum," which deals with the issue of slavery and the triangle trade head on?
It's a hard listen. You hear the lyrics and you actually see this man singing it. It's not like he is an African-American telling the story. He's just telling it how he sees it. And that's really very poignant — very painful.

You're known for your singing. How are you taking to the world of acting?
With fear and trembling, but I love it. There's something very freeing about it. You just have to come in and go by instinct.