Twenty-eight years ago, she was the hottest star on Broadway, famous for her passionate vocals as Deena Jones, the lead in ‘Dreamgirls.’

Now, award-winning actress and singer Sheryl Lee Ralph reflects on the theme of silence in AIDS awareness in her one-woman show ‘Sometimes I Cry,’ a powerful narrative of friends lost to HIV and AIDS.

Ralph entered the barren, dimly-lit Goldstein Auditorium stage with a piece of duct tape over her mouth.

‘I am an endangered species,’ she sang, after ripping off the tape and gasping for breath. ‘But I sing no victim’s song … I am a woman. I am an artist.’

‘Why don’t you say something?’ she asked the audience after the song, who responded in turn with silence.

Her first act was devoted to reminiscing about ‘the best days of her life,’ which wasn’t without precedence: As a star of the famed Broadway production ‘Dreamgirls,’ she enjoyed critical acclaim in ‘the iconic musical of the ’80s,’ as she put it, and was nominated for a Tony Award.

Starring in ‘Dreamgirls’ only made it harder for her to watch her friends, both in the theater industry as well as outside of it, succumb to the yet-unknown disease.

Despite the high-profile celebrities that were fortunate enough to get treatment for HIV – such as Magic Johnson – and the high-profile celebrities that weren’t – Arthur Ashe, Max Robinson, rapper Eazy E – early AIDS awareness was a tragedy of ignorance, hatred and loved ones left dying in the hands of baffled doctors.

‘But we don’t talk about that,’ she said, echoing the silence of early AIDS awareness.

Funny, confident and self-assured, Ralph kept the pace from sinking to depressing depths by punctuating her monologues with surprising humor and a sharp wit. Where she shined, however, was when she stepped into the lives of her fallen sisters.

First came a woman known as Ms. Chanel, an award-winning entrepreneur whose upper-class life was cut short by AIDS at 45. As Chanel, Ralph narrates an incident when, after losing her husband and taking countless medications just to stay alive, she finally indulges in an afternoon at a five-star restaurant when her body fails her with devastating results. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she recounted the embarrassment and shame, but Ralph (as Chanel) ultimately kept her dignity and finished the monologue to roaring applause.

Her next story revealed a character whose strength made her the polar opposite of Chanel: Known simply as Grandma, she meets her husband in sixth grade and spends the next six decades at his side, only to lose him in her mid-60s and sleep with a man who doesn’t tell her about HIV. In describing a strongly religious character, Ralph exhibited a wide range of emotions through her narrative, from hopefulness to betrayal and anger.

Through her non-profit organization, the Diva Foundation, Ralph is able to take the show on the road and exhibit more equally diverse characters.

Ralph’s appearance at Syracuse University was made possible by the Black Communications Society, as well as SEX S.Y.M.B.A.L.S.

‘I think that she’s an incredible performer and activist,’ said Shavon Green, a junior magazine journalism and Spanish major and the vice president of the Black Communications Society. ‘She’s already been awarded for her activism, so I’m very excited and happy that we were able to bring her to campus.’

HIV/AIDS is an especially pressing issue for black women, as Ralph points out – blacks comprise 50 percent of new HIV diagnoses, and black women make up 60 percent of those cases.

The figures make an impact here, as well: Onondaga County ranks as the second-highest county in New York state for HIV infections.

‘We wanted to take a look at HIV/AIDS in the black communities across the nation,’ said Mimi Reed, a senior communication and rhetorical studies and African-American studies major.

Ultimately, Ralph’s combination of moving personal anecdotes, pressing medical statistics and natural singing talents proved to be a powerful combination – and a fitting follow-up to her ‘Dreamgirls’ days, where she was active in AIDS awareness from the very start of her career.

‘It’s an artistic way expressing it versus, say, a lecture series or a series of statistics,’ Reed said. ‘I think that people will appreciate (her message) a little bit more.’

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Published on April 15, 2009 at 12:00 pm