With around 100 in attendance, actor Wayne Cook, accompanied by bassist Glen Fong, brought to life the poetry of Langston Hughes on Feb. 19 at the Beale Library, in celebration of Black History Month.
Various poems from the years of Langston Hughes, including “Crosses,” “Dream Differed” and Hughes’ first published work, “The Negro Speaks of Rivers,” were sung at this profound performance.
“While living in Los Angeles in the early ’90s,” Cook said, “I performed in the play ‘Mulatto’ and looked up more of Langston Hughes’ work.” Cook then took what he had learned from Hughes and continued to perform since the late ’90s.
Hughes was born in Joplin, Miss., on Feb. 1, 1902, a short drive west from Springfield. At age 13, Hughes began writing poetry after he moved back home with his divorced mother in Lincoln, Ill. Hughes died of complications from prostate cancer on May 22, 1967.
When asked how Cook steps into the mindset of the character of Hughes, Cook stated that coming onto the stage barefoot like Hughes, “[had an] earthy feel, so I needed to feel the earth and the stage beneath my feet.”
According to Poets.org, “Hughes’ primary influences were Paul Lawrence Dunbar, Carl Sandburg and Walt Whitman.” When asked about other idols Cook had, “[Besides Langston Hughes], my idols would be Sidney Poitier and James Earl Jones. James Earl Jones is my favorite actor.”
Cook resides in Sacramento, with his primary work at the California Arts Council. Cook also is a published author. He wrote “Center Stage: A Curriculum for the Performing Arts,” which is used by many drama and theater teachers across the United States.