Sweats. Yes, sweats.
That's what Billy Porter Jr., the most fabulous of fashionistas, was wearing last month when he phoned from New York City to chat about his upcoming Minneapolis concert.
SWEATS!
"I do casual clothing. I must," he divulged. "Fashion is now my job. When I'm not at work, I'm not at work." He laughed. "I have to take a break. I really do. It's a lot of effort, and it's a lot of money to wear the kind of clothes that I want to wear."
Indeed. Who can forget his black tuxedo top with a full skirt for the Oscars? Or his all-white ensemble with the feathery train for the Golden Globes? Or his Grammys getup featuring a teal Zorro hat with a fringe curtain on the front brim that opened and closed?
Amazing!
What else would you expect from showbiz's most stylish hyphenate — singer-actor-songwriter-screenwriter-playwright-producer-fashionista?
So inquiring Minnesota fans want to know: Just how many wonderful outfits will Porter wear Tuesday at the State Theatre?
"I don't know," he said while still rehearsing for the tour. "We're still working on that. There will be some." More laughter.
Regardless of how many outfits, this tour is something new for Porter — his first ever travel-by-bus tour playing back-to-back nights.
"We do the concert and then get on the bus and go to the next city," he said. "I'm excited and scared. That's just a line from 'Into the Woods.' I'm not scared."
Sleeping on the bus as it cruises down America's highways will be something new for a super-busy New Yorker who never has time to sleep.
"I don't sleep enough. I don't sleep very well. I take a white lady pill [Ambien] and get some rest when I can." He laughed. Again.
"It's really hard for me to turn off my mind. I'm really working on that. It is what it is. I'd like to sleep more. I'm going to have to get eight hours a night on this tour so I can sing this show. It's a heavy lift."
The show is a retrospective of his life and career, embracing gospel, '90s R&B, Broadway, some politics, a dance party explosion and — get this — 10 selections from Porter's forthcoming album, "The Black Mona Lisa."
"It's a celebration of life, love, hope, joy, peace. I'm bringing all the good vibes," he promised of the show. "My goal is to give the world a big bear hug. And start the process of healing through the universal language of music."
First original LP since 1997
"The Black Mona Lisa," his first album of original material since 1997, is slated to arrive in late summer or early fall. Porter described it as a mainstream pop album rooted in the disco/dance/house music culture. He cowrote all the tunes but one, working with Justin Tranter, MNEK and the late Andrea Martin, among others.
"There are a lot of different styles on this album. What makes it cohesive is me! I'm singing all of them."
Before tour rehearsals began, the prolific Porter turned in his first draft of a script for a biopic of James Baldwin. In addition to cowriting the screenplay, he will star as the celebrated writer and civil rights activist in a film based on David Leeming's 1994 biography.
Porter, 53, a Pittsburgh native who earned a degree in drama from Carnegie Mellon University, did not discover Baldwin until he was in his mid-20s.
"Nobody told me anything about him," Porter admitted. "When I found him, he really kept me alive because it was first time that I saw anybody in anything that looked like me and was like me — a Black queer man who was self-empowered and not interested in hiding and was the most intelligent one in the room always and talented and an activist. I stand on his shoulders. I wouldn't be able to be who I am in this world today had he not existed."
Porter, who studied screenwriting as a graduate student at UCLA in 2000, will do some rewriting of the Baldwin script while on tour.
"I always have to focus in many directions. I don't have the luxury of doing one thing. I never did. I'm grateful that I didn't listen to people who said you have to do one thing. I am a multi-hyphenate and I'm proud of myself."
Going for EGOT
Will Porter, who has already won an Emmy, Grammy and two Tonys, add that coveted Oscar with the Baldwin biopic?
"Everybody's so obsessed with that," he said of achieving EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony) status. "I'm doing it for the work. Don't get me wrong. Do I want an Oscar? Yes. I'm not going into this to try and win an Oscar."
Porter is probably best known for his starring role in Broadway's "Kinky Boots," which led to his first Tony and his Grammy. He won the Emmy in 2019 for his portrayal of Pray Tell on FX's "Pose." He has scored dance-club hits, most notably 2019's chart-topping "Love Yourself," and become an absolute must-see on the red carpet at A-list events.
Even speaking by phone with his slightly raspy voice, Porter oozes energy. Where does it come from?
"I get to live a life that I've always dreamed of," he declared. "My dreams have come true and continue to come true. That is energy."
Although Porter won't have time to visit Paisley Park while in Minneapolis, he relates to Prince on many levels.
"I always loved him for just being himself. He really showed me what that could look like in the world," Porter said. "Also, having the ability to stand up to power — [writing] 'slave' on the side of his face is something I understand now more than ever."
Unlike Prince, Porter is pretty open. "I say what I mean, and I mean what I say," he says.
However, he thinks he's misunderstood when it comes to fashion.
"Sometimes I read things from really nasty people about 'be a man,' 'you're the cause of the emasculation of the Black man,' all of these things. That's the biggest misunderstanding. I am a man who's choosing to not gender clothing. Clothing is not gender."
Billy Porter Jr.
When: 7:30 p.m. Tue.
Where: State Theatre, 805 Hennepin Av. S., Mpls.
Tickets: $63-$129, ticketmaster.com.
