The star of the upcoming Disney musical gives Playbill an inside look at how he likes to spend his summer.
Jelani Alladin
Marc J. Franklin
Jelani Alladin, who stars in the titular role of the upcoming Public Works stage adaptation of Hercules, is en route to New York City’s Roosevelt Island via a tram, hovering 250 feet above the East River, and grinning from ear to ear. The actor isn’t just traveling to the thin piece of land that separates Manhattan and Queens; for him, it’s a journey down memory lane.
“My mom would take us on excursions to rare places in New York that people don't often venture to,” the Brooklyn native explains. “Roosevelt Island is a little slice of heaven. If you stand anywhere on this island, you can see Manhattan around you. And as a kid, everything just seems bigger.
"[The fact that] Manhattan is an island with millions of people who have different stories and different lives doesn’t hit you until you step away and look at it," says Alladin. "We’re not too far away but we’re just far enough where you can stand and be like ‘Whoa, holy moly, that’s a big island.”
Jelani Alladin
Marc J. Franklin
Sitting on a park bench, Alladin reflects on his New York summers. “Summer in the city reminds me that anything is possible—you've just got to make time for yourself. Get out of your apartment, get out of an enclosed area, and enjoy the open air. Explore things that are outside of your norm. Take the dare. Take the leap in general. Stop playing it safe and start living a little more!”
A New Yorker who is deeply in love with his own city, perhaps it's kismet that the actor, who begins performances as Hercules in Central Park August 31, is starring in a production alongside over 200 of the city’s residents. “[The performers] are the people of New York City; they live in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens—those are my people. To be in a room with people who are just there because they love to create and it’s a passion of theirs… it’s emotional for me because I am one of them.”
“Community is the reason why I exist. My life has been made of people [supporting] me with no guarantee that something would come back to them. I think the Public Theater does that for New York City.”
Flip through photos of Jelani Alladin in Playbill's "Summer in the City" series below:
Explore Roosevelt Island With Hercules’ Jelani Alladin
Explore Roosevelt Island With Hercules’ Jelani Alladin
11 PHOTOS
For Hercules’ Jelani Alladin, the spirit of exploration summer brings allows the actor to revisit some of his favorite childhood adventures, such as Roosevelt Island. “Growing up in Brooklyn, my mom would take us on excursions to rare places in New York that people don’t often venture to,” Alladin recalls.
Marc J. Franklin
Located in the middle of the East River, Roosevelt Island is more than just a piece of land between Manhattan and Queens to Alladin. “It’s a little slice of heaven,” he laughs.
Marc J. Franklin
Jelani Alladin
Marc J. Franklin
“If you stand anywhere on this island, you can see Manhattan around you. As a kid, everything just seems bigger. [The fact that] Manhattan is an island with millions of people who have different stories and different lives doesn’t hit you until you step away and look at it. We’re not too far away but we’re just far enough where you can stand and be like ‘Whoa, holy moly, that’s a big island.”
Marc J. Franklin
For Alladin, summer means more than just revisiting childhood destinations; it’s about getting out and seeing New York City at large. “You've got to make time for yourself. Get out of your apartment, get out of an enclosed area, and enjoy the open air. Explore things that are outside of your norm. Take the dare. Take the leap in general. Stop playing it safe and start living a little more!”
Marc J. Franklin
“Spring is the rebirth. Then in summer you get to just relish in it and revel in that sort of wonder. Summer in the city reminds me that anything is possible.”
Marc J. Franklin
Jelani Alladin
Marc J. Franklin
For Alladin, who recently began rehearsals for the Public Works production of Hercules, that same sense of wonder infiltrates his creative process. “My mind feels freer in the summer. I’m like ‘Oh, I’m just going to take a walk outside and learn this scene or sing this song to myself.’ And everyone is in a better mood naturally when they have sunlight in their lives, so I think the creative team as well as the other actors are more game to [explore and say], ‘let’s just jump.’”
Marc J. Franklin
Sitting in the park in Roosevelt island, Alladin reflects on his journey to Hercules, especially in a production that will feature over 200 New Yorkers from all five boroughs. “My life has been made of people giving back to me with no guarantee that something would come back to them. I think the Public Theater does that for New York City. [The performers] are the people of New York City; they live in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens—those are my people. To be in a room with people who are just there because they love to create and it’s a passion of theirs… it’s emotional for me because I am one of them.”
Marc J. Franklin
