THE ARTISTIC RANGE OF YUSEF SEEVERS

“It was the first time I jumped without a plan!”

Yusef Seveers knew he needed a change, but he didn’t know how it would happen. 

Fate intervened. In 2023, a musical at the 5th Avenue Theatre would lure him into the Emerald City, and let’s just say he never looked back! Since officially making Seattle home, Seevers has lit up multiple theater and opera stages with his rich baritone voice and his warm energy. 

I remember seeing him on stage for the first time at the Intiman Theater’s production of Black Nativity. I was absolutely mesmerized and thought, “Who is THAT and where did he come from?” Well, we’re all about to find out! I recently sat down with him for dinner and a conversation at Marjorie in Seattle’s Central District, and his journey is just as remarkable as his immense talent. 

Yusef in action. Courtesy of the artist.

ANGELA: You were living in California when you booked your first show in Seattle?

YUSEF: Yes, I was teaching there for 5 years through the pandemic, and after that 5th year, I knew I had to go. I didn’t feel artistically fulfilled. So I had five cities: Detroit, New York, LA, Chicago, and Seattle. During that time, my friend Portia, we went to college together 15 years ago in New Mexico, she was like “Do you want to send in a tape?” [for 5th Avenue Theatre] And I was like, “Sure!” The director saw it, flew me out for a callback. I sang for the Music Director, and they offered me the job.”  In June 2022, I booked Sweeney Todd at the 5th Avenue Theatre. 

ANGELA: It just feels like you’ve been here all along!

YUSEF: “I just got here, man!

When I picked Seattle, I was like, “I’m gonna do Sweeney and stay.” My partner said he was interested in going to grad school, so he just applied to UW to get his MSW. It was the only school he applied to, he got in, and then it was just about planning the move. 

ANGELA: Do you feel proud of yourself for taking that leap?

YUSEF: Yes, I do. Because it was the first time I really jumped without a plan. Most of the time, I moved to be a part of an institution of some degree, either as a student or employed by the institution, like a salaried job. And it was the first time in my professional career where I didn’t do the thing that most people tell you to do, which is like “email all the artistic directors in the city and tell them you’re coming so they know to keep an eye out for you. I didn't do none of that sh*t, not a drop, okay. And so it was really about being ready without knowing what for, which I always taught my students. I think it was my greatest asset, or my greatest sort of like a gift in that moment.

Yusef Seevers performing in Sweeney Todd, courtesy of 5th Avenue Theatre. Credit Mark Kitaoka and Tracy Martin.

ANGELA: What was the experience like doing a show in Seattle?

YUSEF: That experience, by far, is one of the moments where I really felt like I could trust life, meaning, I had no evidence that this would work out other than what I felt like, and what I know to be true about this world that I didn't build, and what I know to be true about the way good things feel. This was a big one. And if I were to write all of the stuff down on paper, there is nowhere they teach you this way.

ANGELA: It's no advice a parent would give their kid! (laughs) 

YUSEF: No advice the teacher would teach to their student. Except for me, honestly, sometimes!

“It felt like somebody punched a hole in the wall, and light was just coming through!”

ANGELA: When did you know you could sing?

YUSEF: Oh God, early, early. I was a child in my car, singing "Georgy Porgy" with Eric Bennett and Faith Evans on a cassette tape, and my mom's stick-shift Escort, driving to school with seatbelts that slid up the side of the car. And I would tell her, you take Eric's part. I'm gonna sing Faith’s! I'm gonna take the high part and the fancy part, and you hold down that melody. Okay? [laughs]

ANGELA: What was your first musical?

YUSEF: Gospel of Colonus. I  played one of the preachers in the show, okay? And it was one of the first musicals where I was like, “Oh, if it can feel like this, I want to do more. I’m with it.” I will tell you as a sidebar, that was one of the first shows contextually where I experienced what I would call a shout, like you know when you’re in church and there’s somebody who catches it, a quickening…..it felt like somebody punched a hole in the wall, and light was just coming through. 

Little Yusef on stage. Courtesy of the artist.

ANGELA: How is working as an artist in Seattle different from other places?

YUSEF: It doesn't feel the same. It feels, and mind you, I'm still getting to know this city. I'm still very like, oh, like, “Y'all plan a year in advance”. Like, outright most, you know what I mean. And there's a tight sort of group of artists that people pull from. And there's also a really, a really strong sense of commitment to the people who are in this city.

ANGELA: Any unusual pre-show rituals?

YUSEF: Yes, I lay on the ground. That's a non-negotiable for me.

Sometimes I do it when I first get to the theater, it's an important piece, feeling gravity and remembering that there are forces that we cannot see and cannot really quantify, other than all this sh*t that is still on the ground. And it's not by our making that this sh*t sits on the ground. I spend at least 10 minutes, mostly clearing, like mostly forgetting my laundry, trying to let go of the things I thought I could fix before call time, sort of making space for what is available within the play for me to be sensitive to.

ANGELA: You teach West African Dance at Midtown Square. How has [West African] dance shaped you as an artist in musical theater?

YUSEF: My first toe into the world of creativity was as a dancer. That was my first performance language. It's everything, the cultural context to physicality and expression and physical relation made me the actor. I would not be as good on stage if I weren't a West African dancer. 

ANGELA: How does that connect? 

YUSEF: I mean, the world. It’s the storytelling, the physical communication, the depth of importance, the rhythmic way in which we relate to one another, the physical exertion of an experience. Because all West African dance exists within a cultural context. We're not just dancing because we want to burn calories. We're dancing because we got fresh fish from the water. We're dancing because it's a full moon. We're dancing because there's a new wedding. We're dancing because we have to solve a conflict. We're dancing to evoke an energy of rebellion, to serve a purpose within our communities. 

And so, with that being my foundation, when I turn to a play or a musical of any kind, the world becomes like a buffet of choices.

ANGELA: You have a big show coming up! [Back at 5th Avenue Theatre]

YUSEF: After Midnight. It's a musical review, and we're doing it with a deep, sort of fine-tooth comb, and how we tell the story of an entire time period in a certain sense, 1930s Harlem. Music, jazz dance, Black, Black, Black, Black. Langston Hughes poetry…..It's a 90-minute situation, which is great for the evening. And also, you know, it's a full ride, and I play the emcee, sort of like the shepherd of interstitial type sh*t. I'm the only one with actual lines, maybe, and I sing a little bit, not a lot of it. And it's gonna be a great time. I think it's really exciting because the audience gets to be closer than they used to be. They're gonna have nice little tables up front. 

We're also going to invite the audience to participate in ways that typically aren't done, in terms of singing along, getting up and dancing, all of those sorts of things, which I don't see often at the 5th. And it's something that the patron needs. People need to feel like they can participate in play. There's such a distance between the audience and the stage that in that space, we lose the benefit. I think sometimes, the benefit of being able to gasp when something you don't think is going to happen, happens, and not feel like somebody's going to turn around and be like, “Have you ever been to the theater? Do you know what you're doing?”

Yusef Seevers performing in Sweeney Todd, courtesy of 5th Avenue Theatre. Credit Mark Kitaoka and Tracy Martin.

ANGELA: What are your hopes for the future?

YUSEF: I want to develop an early childhood somatic education program that gives people before the age of 10 some sort of sense of self and their body and the relationship to it, that's a big thing that I want educationally. I don't think it should have been grad school that taught me to enjoy breathing and being on the ground. That's way too late. That's way too late, and that's way too privatized. And if we sense that we want the rest of the world to be alive with us and to enjoy their life with us, then we have to give them the things that we know work, which is a stronger sense of physicality, a stronger sense of personal autonomy, a stronger sense of emotional regularity. There is constant evidence that all of those things are beneficial, and yet, there are an umpteenth number of hurdles to get through to having any exposure to it. 

Part of that 10-year plan, so to speak, is inviting this sort of information and guidance into the domestic space. I could teach an emotional awareness workshop, teach a somatics workshop, teach an intentionality work, so many pieces of what we give to Hamlet that we think aren't for the domestic. So hiring me to do emotional workshops in places like restaurants, places like apartment buildings, places like companies, industries where people have to relate to and service people. 

ANGELA: So the stage for you is just….

YUSEF: God, it's everything for me, it's the reason why I'll never stop doing plays, not because I'll make a fu*ck ton of money at it, but it's because of the humanity that it forces me to be in contact with, even with people I don't like and characters I don't like. Now, if I'd had this when I was 14 and was in the closet, surrounded by homophobia and misogyny and emotional repression, what could have happened? What could have happened if I had had any relationship to this sort of complex experience earlier in my life? 

ANGELA: Is there anything else you want us to know?

YUSEF: Something I want people to know is that the artistic importance and value of this community is worth investing in and is worth over-connecting with. I think sometimes it can feel like a quota of “I've connected with these two organizations, and that can be enough.” However, the interdependence of all of us is absolutely paramount, and there's no getting around that, whether you like it or not. 

ANGELA: Why do you think ARTE NOIR is important? 

YUSEF: I think ARTE NOIR is important because of their action in that very same concept, because of the spaces they choose to populate, the organizations they invest in and connect with rigorously, and the bluntness of their advocacy; sometimes people want to advocate. You know what I mean? The clarity of an advocacy can make a world of difference if you say what you want and say what you need and from whom you want it. 

A FEW MORE THINGS ABOUT YUSEF:

Hometown:  Detroit, Michigan

First Singing Solo:  "Can We Talk" - Tevin Campbell  [Preschool graduation]

Education: BFA Musical Theatre - Santa Fe University/MFA in Acting - Southern Methodist University

Favorite Musical Era: Motown 

Vocal Style:  Um…Anything!  [Angela’s opinion]

Sign:  Virgo

Hidden Talent:  Hair! Yusef does locks and two-strand twists at Soul Collective Seattle’s Central District

Yusef Seevers will be hosting ARTE NOIR's 3rd Anniversary Celebration, Fade to Black, on Saturday, September 20, 2025, at Tagney Jones Hall. You can join the fun and support our work by purchasing tickets HERE.