We speak to its writer, Tony-winning actor (Seven Guitars) Ruben Santiago-Hudson; "Law & Order" actress S. Epatha Merkerson, who stars as Rachel "Nanny" Crosby; and its director, George C. Wolfe, a two-time Tony winner (Angels in America: Millennium Approaches; Noise/Funk), who makes an impressive behind-the camera debut.

Wolfe elicits exquisite performances from a stellar cast, including Jimmy Smits, Jeffrey Wright, Henry Simmons, Louis Gossett Jr., Ernie Hudson, Delroy Lindo, Rosie Perez, Macy Gray, Charlayne Woodard, Kathleen Chalfant, Liev Schreiber, Patricia Wettig, Mos Def and Santiago-Hudson.

The movie is based on Santiago-Hudson's one-person autobiographical play, in which he performed more than 20 characters. It began at the Off-Broadway Public Theater (commissioned by Wolfe, its artistic director) and received a 2001 Obie Awards' Special Citation. When he toured in the show, Santiago-Hudson received a 2004 Helen Hayes Award as Lead Actor, and the drama tied for Best Play.

Santiago-Hudson, who often spoke about his childhood memories, was encouraged by Wolfe to write them down. The two have known each other since Jelly's Last Jam, the 1992 musical that marked the Broadway debuts of both actor and director.

Which experience — the "Lackawanna" play or movie — has been the bigger thrill for the actor-playwright? "I can't say yet," he claims. "I have not seen the film with an audience." However, Wolfe isn't buying that: "He's lying, lying! Of course, he's going to say, 'Me performing.'" I suggest that perhaps Santiago-Hudson's reply was due to modesty. Insists the director, "Too late for that!"

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Indeed, Ruben Santiago-Hudson has scant reason to be modest. In addition to having turned his esteemed stage piece into a sensational teleplay, which brings to life the colorful, fascinating parade of characters who enriched his childhood, the Tony winner can currently be seen on Broadway in August Wilson's Gem of the Ocean.

Come March, he co-stars with Halle Berry in the ABC-TV movie, "Their Eyes Were Watching God." "It's taken from a novel by Zora Neale Hurston and is a coming-of-age story, set in 1906, about a woman trapped on a farm. I play the first black mayor in America, who sweeps her off her feet and takes her off the farm, but I don't show her the love she needs."

Later in the year, he plays African-American chemist Dr. Percy Julian on PBS. "Dr. Julian achieved many things, but always said that it was half of what he could if he didn't have to fight racism." Santiago-Hudson just bought the rights to a novel that he's turning into a screenplay, is finishing a new play and working on a sitcom. Also, he and his wife, singer Jeannie Brittan, are raising eight-year old twins. The schedule sounds hectic but seems better than waiting for the phone to ring. "I wouldn't do that anyway. If it was the case, it couldn't be the case. I'd have to go write something, do something, volunteer," he claims.

I tell him how much I liked "Lackawanna Blues," and add that it transcends race. "You can really see that when you tour it," he responds. "It's amazing. People from different cultures know this experience and know this person [Nanny]. I always thought everybody had this person, until someone walked up to me and said, 'I never had her, and I always needed her, wanted her, and finally you gave her to me.'

"My whole life, I've been telling stories about this woman who was a rock. I so selfishly wanted her to just be mine, but that was impossible, because she belonged to everybody. I've talked about these incredible people who seemed to have nothing but had so much to offer me."

The movie's cast reads like a Who's Who. "I could do the movie again with a completely different cast, and it would still be a Who's Who. The funny thing is that I forget that that's Jimmy Smits or Lou Gossett or Jeffrey Wright. It's kind of corny, but I forget that these are wonderful actors. I get caught up into the community in that house.

"My twins, Trey and Lily, are in the movie. They play the children [of Julie Benz and Henry Simmons] who are brought to Canada [to find refuge with grandmother Patricia Wettig]." And how did Santiago-Hudson make the journey from Lackawanna to Broadway and HBO? "My life has never been a road that's been paved; I've always been an underdog. Nothing has happened normal in my life. Even now, people say, 'Why are you writing that? Nobody wants to do it.' I say, 'It'll get done.' Nanny specifically refused to let me fail. She said, 'You are going to college. You are going to be one of the first people in this city — and definitely in this rooming house — to go to college."

Winning the Tony, he says, "was an extraordinary experience, especially coming from where I came from. I always thought when you proved yourself, other things followed. I had to go right back to the drawing board and say, let me make something happen next.

"People think I have it made; I don't. I'm looking for a job every week. There isn't a pile of scripts on my desk. No one has even asked me what I'd like to write next. It would be much easier for me in L.A., but I like the life in New York [as an Upper West Sider], and the people here, and where my kids go to school. As long as I can make a living here, it's where I'm going to be."

He and Wolfe "are good friends and collaborators. George is continually an inspiration to me. What I would love to do is to continue the story [of ‘Lackawanna Blues’]. This can go on. I'd like to do several episodes for HBO."

Since he was so close to Nanny, how does he rate S. Epatha Merkerson's portrayal of the role? "It's a beautiful performance. She's brilliant."

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Nanny, a type of life force whom everybody knows or knows of, yet a unique individual, provides S. Epatha (E-PAY-tha) Merkerson an opportunity to display the width and wonder of her formidable range (only a fraction of which is used as Lt. Anita Van Buren on "Law & Order"). They should start now to polish the awards that Merkerson so richly deserves for her performance as a selfless survivor who stands up to anyone and stands out among everyone.

"The one thing that I appreciated about playing the character is that being 51 years old, I'm actually privy to the time she lived in. My folks migrated from the South; they came North for the work. I grew up in Detroit and Saginaw, Michigan — around that area. [She's the youngest of five.] There are all these great stories how we would be there for each other. Having lived among those people and during that time really sort of sweetened it, because there was a basic understanding of who this woman was, what she wanted to do, and how she went about it." Did she have role models? "The women in my family, and friends of my mother's. The character is very specific in what she has done, but there's a feeling that everyone will connect to.

"I had the opportunity to see the play with my husband [therapist Toussaint Jones], and as we were leaving, he said, 'Wow! There were a lot of people in that play.' The one through-line was Nanny, the one person [Santiago-Hudson] understood so clearly. Now, I have the opportunity to put a face on what you heard [in the play]. I had the view from his perspective, and how he had written her for the screenplay. Both of those informed how I played the character."

She believes that the cast is "fabulous," adding, "Everyone who was cast fit [their roles], although they may not have fit in my mind's eye. I was really upset when I had to come back to 'Law & Order,' because I missed working with Jeffrey Wright and Delroy Lindo. George [Wolfe] is the reason why you see so many incredible actors in this piece.

"I was so happy to do my first lead ['Lackawanna'] with George. I've known him since I've been in New York, and we had never worked together. I felt so safe working with him. Not only is he really very bright, but also he really cares about his actors. He comes to the table so full of information. You're able to work in an environment that feels really safe. I would jump at the opportunity to work with him again. When you speak to him, be sure to tell him that I gave him a big old compliment. [Laughs]."

Does she have a favorite scene in "Lackawanna Blues"? "I have a few, but my all-time favorite is the scene I do with Henry Simmons [the "NYPD Blue" actor, who plays an abusive husband]. I love any of the scenes with the boy [Marcus Carl Franklin]. He's such a bright young man, really a joy to work with, and very funny. He's one of those kids you just know has been here before. You just feel their souls are really old. His understanding of things was incredible, yet there would be moments when you could really see the little kid. Not having any kids — or wanting any — it's always fun when you work with one who's so great.

"It was a dream working with Lou Gossett, Jimmy Smits. . . ." Merkerson's also fond of "any scenes with Macy [Gray], Rosie [Perez], Adina [Porter]. It's one of those experiences that will go down in my book. Piano Lesson [the 1990 Broadway play] was that for me — working with August Wilson and [director] Lloyd Richards." Continued...