words by Michael Vorndran
This year’s Atlanta Pride entertainment line-up is a tasty buffet of fabulous treats. The cherry on top; dance music queen Deborah Cox. This woman has been pumping out booty-shaking beat after booty-shaking beat for more than a decade. The last few years has seen her shift her focus to the theater, but don’t worry she still plans on making fab music. Miss Cox took a few minutes from recording to give the low-down on her diva-self.
Fenuxe: You do a lot of prides and other LGBT events and you have a ton of gay fans. Does your connection with the LGBT community go deeper than music?
Deborah: Well, music is deep, to me, ya know, so to have such a following in the gay community is flattering because I know that they are the trend setters and they are the ones who set the standard of what is hot. I love that the fans have been so loyal throughout the years.
Fenuxe: Have you been to Atlanta before?
Deborah: Oh yeah, many time! I have just never done pride, but have been to Atlanta for different club events and radio station events.
Fenuxe: What do you love most about our city?
Deborah: Every time I go there I remember my first album. I spent like a good three months in Atlanta recording with Dallas Austin when we did “Sentimental”, “My Radio” and songs from the first album. There were some really, really great times. I remember the Waffle House. (laughs)
Fenuxe: We love the Waffle House.
Deborah: (laughs) Yeah, we were just so young and just having so much fun. I remember the late, late nights in the studio. All I remember was there were too many damn Peachtrees. (laughs) It was very hard giving directions, but really good memories when I think about Atlanta.
Fenuxe: GPS makes it a lot easier now, just so you know.
Deborah: (laughs) Right exactly. (laughs)
Fenuxe: What do you think has lead to your longevity while others have fallen by the way side?
Deborah: I think the fact that I have never compromised my integrity or the style that I loved to do, which has been R&B, Pop, Dance, Jazz. I do what I feel. I do what I love. I do the songs that resonate to me. I really kind of stick to my guns when it comes to music. I think that is why I am still here. I perform a lot. I do a lot of live shows and I show love back to the audience. I really appreciate all the fans that I have an, ya know, I don’t ever take advantage.
Fenuxe: You’re slated to do “Josephine” on Broadway. Is doing theater something you always wanted to do? Or was it just something that appeared and you were like, “Cool, I’ll do it”?
Deborah: A little bit of both. I did musicals in high school and I went to a performing arts high school. It wasn’t foreign to me, the stage and doing musicals and stuff like that. It was just a matter of what the part was. But when I did Aida it was an opportunity, really of a lifetime, to step into the role like that and do a show with Elton and Tim Rice’s music was a dream. It was like a Godsend it was just perfect timing on many levels. I jumped at the opportunity. Once I heard murmuring of producers, Ken Waissman, wanting me to do the role of Josephine I was like, “I have to do this.” It gives me the opportunity to originate a role. As an artist that is the biggest compliment to set the standard of what this woman’s life is going to be. To have me as part of that process is really, really gratifying. I am really looking forward to the show.
Fenuxe: When does “Josephine” open?
Deborah: Spring 2012. It has been a long process. The whole Broadway thing has taught me so much, especially originating a role. There are a lot of moving parts. There are a lot of people involved. The set designers, the costume designers, the director. There is a lot of work in progress. It is never really done until you put it up on stage.
Fenuxe: Will the play cover all of Josephine Baker’s amazing life or just a small part?
Deborah: It tells the story of Josephine Baker during four years of her life when she was getting ready to join the French resistance, when she was having her steamy affair with the prince of Sweden. It really shows the arch of her need for love and her distaste for racism during her upbringing in St. Louis in the early 20s. We focus on her fight and her patriotism to France and her journey of love.
Fenuxe: Is the play a mix of music, dance and traditional theater or is it mostly singing and dancing?
Deborah: We tell the story through song, but there is a lot of drama. A lot of drama!
Fenuxe: Who are your co-stars in the play?
Deborah: This amazing actor, Broadway and theater actor, named Tristan Sturrock, who is out of London. He is the co-star, but I am not sure who else has been cast in the Broadway production.
Fenuxe: Does this mean you are shifting your focus away from studio work and more on theater?
Deborah: I hope to do it all. I hope to do both. I hope to continue to maintain what I do on CDs and in music and also do the show. As an artist I get really bored very quickly. (laughs) I like to keep it moving and like to do different things. I like to keep it interesting and I don’t like to do one genre. I am doing another Jazz album. Of course I am in the studio right now trying to finish up the R&B/Pop album. We have our dance single that is brewing as well.
Fenuxe: What are the dance singles?
Deborah: A couple singles actually. One I did with Tony Moran called “Tenderness” and another one called “If it Wasn’t for Love” with Mixin Marc. I think it has been the happiest I have ever been musically, artistically, in my life. I have so many platforms to do what I love to do. Ultimately it is singing. Whatever the style is, whatever the genre, whatever that entails I am the most happy.
Fenuxe: Since you get bored very easily does the possibility of a three year run on Broadway terrify you?
Deborah: You know it is funny because I have always said that if I were to go back on Broadway to do something long term it would have to be something I loved. And I have to love the music. In the case with Aida I loved the music. I loved being there every night singing those songs. It didn’t feel mundane. This role is the most challenging because it is dancing, it is acting, heavy intense acting, and singing. So, that is not going keep me bored at all. (laughs)
Fenuxe: Thank you for taking the time away from the studio. We look forward to your performance at pride.
Deborah: I am looking forward to it. I didn’t realize the show was going to be outdoors so I am going to mix up the set a little bit.
AIDS walk is this Sunday October 16 in Piedmont Park (you can still register to walk by clicking here). In honor of that event this week’s “Take Five” will feature the two leading fundraisers on the Fenuxe Bachelor team: Broc Martin and Jay Dempsey. If you would like to donate to one (or both of them) click here. The bachelor with the most donations wins a trip to South Beach Miami, hosted by Lords Hotel & Sponsored by Delta Airlines. 
Jay Dempsey is a Georgia native who, after stints in a few other cities, settled in Atlanta in 2006 to join AID Atlanta as the Gay Men’s Outreach Program Coordinator. Though he’s moved on from AID Atlanta, he stays involved in the community by volunteering with Project Open Hand, Atlanta Cotillion and other organizations. Possibly addicted to social media, he really appreciates the small audience that laughs at the weird stuff he posts on Facebook and Twitter. And, he’s really enjoyed being part of Fenuxe Magazine’s first ever AIDS Walk Fundraising Challenge! 
