“It feels absolutely amazing to be back in Greensboro. I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m back home.’ I had a couple of cast mates with me in the car as I drove into town, and I took them on a little guided ride through campus. This feels so good, and I know it’s just going to feel even better as I go throughout the week seeing family and former professors and performing the show here.”
Tavis Kordell Cunningham (’23 BFA Musical Theatre) is performing at the Steven Tanger Center for the Performing Arts this week, in the first national tour of the Broadway musical, Some Like It Hot, an updated stage adaptation of the 1950s Billy Wilder film starring Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, and Jack Lemmon. In it, two musician brothers, Joe and Jerry, who are down on their luck and in a bit of trouble, decide to disguise as women and hide out in an all-female band. Joe falls in love with the lead singer, while Jerry winds up on a journey to his true self.
Kordell plays Jerry/Daphne.
“I just find that to be ironic, you know, coming from a university whose tagline is ‘find your way here.’ I have found so much of myself at UNCG, which has helped me to honestly tell this story of someone finding themselves—to go on that stage and spread the story of love and respect of someone finding their own true selves.”
Kordell says that’s exactly what you can expect at the UNCG School of Theatre.
“I feel my education was individualized. I was able to really hone my craft and become the best me that I’m able to become. That’s one reason I take such pride in this program. Professors make sure that you are being the best you possible—in your art and talent, but also in being the best human being.”
It was here on the UNC Greensboro campus where Kordell’s theatre career began, even though they hadn’t always been looking for one. They were on an Animal Science track, with plans to be a veterinarian, but during a high school band trip to New York, the theatre bug bit. They began auditioning for colleges and were accepted into UNCG’s Musical Theatre program.
Then, one day, during their sophomore year, Kordell met two students who would become a part of their career journey—Christoff Hairston and Julian Kennedy. The three of them wound up in the national spotlight with the group they formed called 1 aChord.
“America’s Got Talent was amazing. It was such a great experience. Having met Julian and Christoff randomly in the caf, and then singing together and making a video that went viral, which led to us being on the show. We ended up being semi-finalists on season 16 of America’s Got Talent. It shocked my world because I felt like I was just starting. I essentially was, you know? And to see how quickly things grew in that amount of time, it gave me so much hope and faith about the future and my own individualized career. It was one of many dominoes that led me to where I am now.”
Just a few short years later, Kordell auditioned for and landed their role in Some Like It Hot.
“I booked the show while I was still in college. I literally walked from graduation right into the tour. That’s another thing about UNCG’s Musical Theatre program. It really prepares you for the industry. Especially in our senior year, professors train us for auditions. We’ll walk into class, and they’ll say sing from your book or ask us to do something from the audition packet. It really keeps you on your toes, so when you go into the audition room nothing takes you by surprise because you’ve done it before.”
Now that they’ve successfully navigated a very big, real-world audition, what is Tavis Kordell’s advice to current and future theatre students?
“Definitely strive to be the best version of yourself that you can be but allow yourself some grace. I feel like in the musical theatre industry there’s a tendency to compare ourselves, to look at what everyone else is doing when we need to just focus on the things we do best. I also think it’s important to be able to ride things out, because sometimes you’re going to want to give up. But often it’s that moment that you want to give up that is the very moment you’re going to find that breakthrough.
“I’m so grateful to have these successes so early in my career—from America’s Got Talent to the original cast of this Broadway tour. Sometimes I still can’t believe it, it’s so surreal.
“So, that’s my advice. Be grateful, be great, give yourself grace. Be kind to yourself but give yourself that extra push, put the work in, and you’ll get there.”
Some Like It Hot runs at the Tanger Center June 25th through the 29th.
Read more about 1 aChord on America’s Got Talent.
Learn more about Musical Theatre at UNCG.
Story by Terri W Relos