Soprano performs Aretha Franklin’s hits
Nova Y. Payton will take center stage at Signature Theatre this month to sing some of Aretha Franklin’s famous tunes, with some surprises.
Photo Courtesy of Signature Theatre
Nova Y. Payton’s first exposure to musical legend Aretha Franklin was as a child, when her mother would sing along to Franklin’s songs on the record player. The first song she remembers hearing was Franklin’s powerful 1967 cover of Otis Reddings’ “Respect.”
“[Franklin’s music] always felt like church to me,” Payton, 46, said. “Her voice always just screams church, gospel, and she would always kind of put that feel on her music.”
Now, decades later, the Washington, D.C., native is honoring Franklin, who passed away in 2018, by creating and starring in “Respect: Aretha Franklin,” a celebration of Franklin’s music at Signature Theatre. Running from August 11 to 30, the show will feature Payton’s renditions of some of Franklin’s most popular songs, including “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman,” “Amazing Grace” and “Think.”
Franklin, regarded as the “Queen of Soul,” was an 18-time Grammy Award-winner and is widely considered one of the greatest performers in American music history. She performed at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s funeral and for former President Barack Obama and Pope Francis.
Curating a performance that honors Franklin’s indomitable legacy is no small task.
“Aretha is an icon,” Payton said. “There has never been anyone like her before.”
Preparing for the Cabaret
Payton, a soprano, has appeared on PBS on the American Pops Orchestra series and in concerts in the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. She’s been in tributes to Franklin before, but this next show requires a bit more curating on her part, she said. “It’s been a hard, hard task to try to figure out how I really want this.”
To prepare for the show, Payton said she has been diving into Franklin’s catalogue, deciding which songs to sing and how to perform and connect them to one another. Payton said she’s still in process of choosing the set list.
“There are certain songs that I just have to do because she’s just well-known for them, and then there are songs that I’m tussling with,” Payton said. “Do I want to introduce songs that are not as well known, just to leave the audience with something to go back and say, ‘Oh wow, I didn’t know she did that song’ or ‘Now this is making me want to go and turn on an Aretha Franklin CD’?”
Three-concert series
Payton has experience performing in Signature’s Cabaret series, a “more intimate, concert-like performances with typically only one or two performers and musicians performing songs within a theme,” according to Signature’s website. Three cabaret performances take place during a season.
Payton stressed that she hopes to honor Franklin’s work and her music while also expressing who she is through the music.
“Our job as artists is to be able to express ourselves in a way that people can leave with who we are as artists as well, so I want people to be able to get to know me, also in a different light,” Payton said.
Payton wants people to come out of her performance “feeling like they’ve been to church,” she said, just like how she felt all those years ago, hearing Franklin for the first time on her mother’s record player.
“I would love for people to just come and be immersed in the beautiful music of Aretha, and go back down memory lane with me, and then bring it on forward,” Payton said.
“Because she definitely was an icon, and she was also a trendsetter, and she didn’t take no for an answer. So I would love for people to come and just sit and enjoy and be on the ride with me.”
Respect: Aretha Franklin will be on stage at Signature Theatre from Aug. 11 through Aug. 30. The next Cabaret performance, “Something Wonderful: Broadway’s Leading Ladies,” will begin on Sept. 8. Tickets for all three Cabaret concerts are $150. Purchase tickets online at sigtheatre.com, call the box office at (703) 820- 9771 or visit in person at 4200 Campbell Ave., Arlington.
