With new music, TV projects, and a movie, the post-Kimmy Schmidt future is looking brighter-than-ever for Tituss Burgess.
A
BSOLUTELY NO ONE EXPECTS TO HEAR A ROUSing, soaring cover of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Free Bird.” “I didn't expect it either! That was the first time I had ever heard that song,” says Tituss Burgess, who puts his soulful spin on the Southern rock anthem in the new special episode of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. While the quirky hit Netflix show, created by Tina Fey and Robert Carlock, officially wrapped last year with its fourth and final season, they decided to give fans one last hilarious hurrah, creating an interactive special as an encore. Kimmy vs. the Reverend allows viewers a number of choose-your-own-adventure options straying from its chief plot, focused on a wedding between Ellie Kemper as Schmidt and Daniel Radcliffe as Prince Frederick. It’s all the fun, absurdist escape from reality you’d expect from the show, and becomes even more fun the further you stray, with the show’s characters popping up to chide you for making bad choices and hitting another dead end. If you play your cards right — which is to say, wrong — you might even get Burgess in character as Titus Andromedon ribbing you: “Who are you, me at Chipotle? Because you made some bad choices that are going to affect everyone!” “We filmed that last summer, so I've been anxious for the world to see it,” Burgess says, “and also eager to begin my bittersweet departure from that role [and] to embrace new ways to reintroduce myself to the people who already know me, and introduce myself to the people who don't.” While Burgess had already established himself on Broadway in the decade leading up to his work in Kimmy Schmidt, the role — which was tailor-made for him by Fey — turned him into a star. From the get-go, Burgess spawned hundreds of GIFs and memes as a result of his exaggerated expressiveness in the role of Kimmy’s over-the-top roommate and best friend. And all the attention Burgess has generated as a result of his breakout success with the show has slowly, surely started to parlay into other ventures. Those include Central Park, a new animated musical sitcom from the creator of Bob’s Burgers about a four-unit family in which Burgess gives voice to son Cole. The year will end with Burgess playing a key role in Respect, the Aretha Franklin biopic starring Jennifer Hudson. In between should come a new Netflix project. “I've been told that it will happen this year, that it will premiere this year,” but that’s the extent of what Burgess can say for now. At the very least, you can be sure to see Burgess through regular posts to his Instagram. He turns to the site whenever he feels the need to burst into song, or 36
MAY 28, 2020 • METROWEEKLY.COM
Interview by Doug Rule Photography by Jeff Mills to share a funny moment from his quiet life with his two dogs, Hans and Micah, whom he refers to as “my best friends.” “I use it mainly as an outlet for myself to be silly, and to try and put a smile on people's faces.” METRO WEEKLY: Let’s start with “Dance M.F.,” your sultry new song with a message that should resonate with all who hear it. Was it inspired or motivated by the current pandemic? TITUSS BURGESS: It's ironic — it didn't start off being about the current global crisis, because I started writing this with Dan Edenberg and Imani Coppola back in September. And I didn't know what my intentions were for the project. And at that moment, I was doing a lot of soul-searching and was trying to make sense of a rapidly changing world, so I wrote something that I could put on that would calm me down. I wasn't so much thinking about the rest of the world at the time. And by the time we had finished what we were trying to say, we were entering what we now know to be the global pandemic. I also had no intentions of releasing the song, at least not right now. I was going to wait until I had a body of music all together, and then make sense of what should go on what would be a future album. But it became quickly apparent that we were all in need of a remedy, a vaccine of the soul if you will. And so I thought, if this makes me feel this much better, if this puts a smile on my face, and I know what comes next, maybe it could do the same for listeners. So that's why I released it. MW: I like how you directly address the listener in the first verse, and then immediately tease us with
