Onstage, Montego Glover loves MEMPHIS but offstage she sings about her green and healthy-living life in New York City!
By Tom Citrano
Don’t be confused when walking down Shubert Alley and you hear strains of a Memphis-tinged fusion of blues and rock and roll. You’re still in New York, but what you might be hearing is the exciting, original score from Broadway’s newest musical hit, Memphis. Memphis is previewing at the Shubert Theatre, in preparation for an October 19th opening. Memphis takes place in the smoky halls and underground clubs of the 1950’s. Huey Calhoun, a young, white DJ, falls in love with everything he shouldn’t: rock and roll and an electrifying black singer, Felicia Farrell. 
Montego Glover plays Felicia Farrell. Montego made her Broadway debut in The Color Purple (playing Celie and Nettie) and has traveled across the country many times, appearing in touring productions and regional theaters in a wide variety of roles. She also has an expansive list of credits in TV, studio recordings, concerts and commercials. Montego originated the role of Felicia in the initial production of Memphis at the La Jolla Playhouse. Ms. Glover lives in New York and is excited about settling back into her own home for a long Broadway run, while performing in Memphis. Montego took a few minutes between rehearsals to talk to Natural Awakenings NYC about her healthy life outside Memphis.
What role does living “green and healthy” play in your life?
I would say first and foremost a role of consciousness and growth. There’s something really rewarding about becoming even more conscious of the world around you. Of your habits and how your daily habits contributes to the health of the world around you. And growth meaning the more you grow and learn about the world, the more you know about the world and the more you care about the world. That’s certainly been the case for me.
Not that I didn’t care about the world before, I always did. But there’s been something about being more conscious of green-living and healthy-living that’s encouraged an even more deep-seated personal growth in me that I am very much appreciating. It’s something I’m very proud of. And it’s made me a better more effective human being.
How is your healthy living lifestyle different when you’re doing 8 shows a week on Broadway?
My lifestyle and work dictate a lot of it. Taking care of my body, taking care of my voice…they’re the instruments through which I do my work, that make living a green and healthy life very necessary. Otherwise I could not sustain the workload. For instance, when I’m working in the theater, 8 performances a week is a pretty intense schedule. So my life needs to be full of fresh clean water, fresh clean air, healthily prepared foods, a good amount of exercise. And when I’m doing television or commercial projects it’s the same thing. I have to keep my instrument strong, so I can do the work effectively. 
You burn up plenty of calories on stage every night. Do you still have time to exercise while you’re in the middle of a Broadway run?
I try to get in a handful of workouts every week. That’s the goal, but it doesn’t always happen, given my schedule. But I will say that being an urbanite and living here in NYC, I do a tremendous amount of walking and stair-climbing, that are built-in exercise defaults to living here. And that’s a great part of living here! I don’t always realize it until I have relatives from the suburbs visiting and they ask, ‘Are we still walking? How much more walking?’ I’m easily putting in 2-3 miles a day, just walking from destination to destination.
You’ve been a New Yorker for a long time. What brought you here?
I was born in Georgia and raised in Tennessee. Chattanooga, Tennessee is ‘home.’ It’s where I have my roots. I came to New York to start the next level of my career. I was here five years before I joined the “Color Purple” company. I came to New York City because I felt that I had spent enough time around the country, and around the world, working in my field and gaining experience, preparing myself for my life in New York. I finally woke up one day and said, ‘That’s it. I’m ready to go.’
Do you consider New York
your home now? 
Absolutely!
Is it easy being green in New York?
I think the lifestyle here lends itself to living healthier and greener. I walk everywhere. I take public transportation to get around. When I go to the market, I take my reusable shopping bags. There are farmer’s markets in just about every public park in the city, at least once a week. And they support local growers and producers of organic foods. When I visit family and friends in the suburbs, people pile into the car to go three blocks. You would never think of doing that in the city. It would never occur to anyone in New York to get in a cab for 3 to 5 blocks. You just walk!
You do a great deal of traveling for your work. What’s the first thing you do when you get back to New York?
The first thing I do when I get back in New York City is turn off the television monitors that are now in every cab, open the window and actually concentrate on the scenery around me. Whatever is happening outside the window, I take it in. It’s great!
Where do you find “Serenity in the City?”
I either go to The Brooklyn Botanical Gardens, which is just a few blocks from my house, or I visit my favorite art collections around the city. I also enjoy spending the day at home, which I hardly ever get to do! Grab a cup of tea and go up on the roof, sit down for a while and read and look at the view.
What’s your New York “guilty pleasure?”
My New York City ‘guilty pleasure’ would have to be decadent meals! Once in a while I just want the full service, every possible course available, kind of meal. You know, the kind that starts at about 6:30 and ends at about 10. I’m usually very much of a brown-bag-it kind of girl. Most of the time I eat at home and I bring my lunch to work every day. Everyone at the theater makes fun of my brown paper bags and all my little snacks that I prepare. But when I have the time, it’s nice to make a reservation and just show up and really take in all that goodness…once and a while…
Which are you…yoga or spa girl?
I’m a spa girl. My spa routine consists of at least three hours, to a half-day of services. I hardly ever go for just an hour. That won’t do. I usually check-in during late morning, for a 60-90 minute full-body massage. After that a nice Euro-facial, followed by a little reflexology and then a ‘Mani-Pedi’…And if I have time, a little light lunch at the spa is always nice.
What’s ahead for Montego?
I see more concert work, which I absolutely love doing! I see more feature films coming my way. I would love to shoot something here in New York. I love New York as a character in movies, plays and TV shows. I think it has so much to offer.
If New York is a character in your life…
What’s the current status of your relationship?
New York is my leading man.
You’re out of town a lot for your career. Do you still enjoy traveling when you have time off?
I love to travel. My top two places are the Caribbean, especially the lower Antilles, which are really beautiful. And the second is the Mediterranean…Italy and Greece. They are really gorgeous and rich in history, in a way that doesn’t exist yet in the United States. We think of New York as being one of the oldest cities in the Unites States, but then when you go to Europe, or countries in Asia, and you think ‘Oh, my God! This is history. This is age!’ And you become aware of how much of our culture comes from those other countries. It’s delightful to be there and be a part of it.
Tell us about your name?
My name is Jamaican. I’m named after Montego Bay in Jamaica.
Is your family from there?
Not a single one!
Memphis opens October 19, 2009 at the Shubert Theatre, 225 W. 44th Street, NY, NY. Tickets can be purchased at the Shubert Theatre box office or from Telecharge (Telecharge.com or call 212-239-6200). For more information visit: memphisthemusical.com.
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