Kevin Mambo’s journey to the stage reads like a global prelude to a richly textured career. Born in Zimbabwe, raised in Canada, and educated in Los Angeles at USC, Mambo’s trajectory launched the moment he graduated. He was cast in the long-running soap The Guiding Light and relocated to New York City to inhabit the role of Marcus Williams from 1995 to 1998. He refers to that formative period as his version of grad school — albeit being nominated for three Daytime Emmys (and winning two) isn’t the usual track record for an MFA graduate.
Since those early soap days, Mambo has built an impressive résumé across stage and screen, with roles spanning Off-Broadway to Broadway, to television and film—each marked by a steady, serious commitment to craft.
Now, he returns to the stage in We Are Gathered, the latest work by Tarell Alvin McCraney at Washington D.C.’s Arena Stage. Prior to opening night, Mambo took a moment, from the calm of his dressing room, to speak with Stage and Cinema’s Gregory Fletcher.
GREGORY FLETCHER: How did We Are Gathered come about for you? Were you involved with it prior to this production?
KEVIN MAMBO: I was invited by Tarell to do a reading/workshop over the summer. Tarell and I met some years ago when I was doing Fela! on Broadway. And ever since, we wanted to work together. This was the project that finally gave us that opportunity.
FLETCHER: I loved the production of Fela!. I wonder if it should be revived sometime soon.
MAMBO: Given the climate that we’re living in, not just in America, but globally, I think his words and his commitment to social action and to social justice are just as relevant today as the time when he was making music.
FLETCHER: I hope prospective producers feel the same way.
MAMBO: I hope prospective producers of a revival of Fela! know I am ready.
Kevin Mambo in Fela! Photo by Monique Carboni.
FLETCHER: You’re currently working with director Kent Gash. How has that collaboration gone?
MAMBO: He’s an incredible director, very thoughtful, very gracious. He has such an immense vocabulary. It’s been a wonderful learning experience. And he’s put together a very touching, intricate piece of art. His sensitivity, his density, his ability to reach across genres — all within the span of a few sentences — he’s perfectly suited for Tarell’s genius.
FLETCHER: What attracted you to Tarell’s work?
MAMBO: Not only do I appreciate Tarell’s grounded surrealism, but I am in awe of his deft and nuanced understanding of human nature.
FLETCHER: Do you relish the rehearsal process? I’m guessing you get so much more from a theater director and playwright than in TV and film.
MAMBO: Well, we have more time in the theater to rehearse, but the mediums have different demands. A director in television has so many things spinning, between the actual mechanics of the production, producers over their shoulders, making sure that actors are where they need to be. And once that day is done, those scenes are done. In theater, we get to do a lot more sculpting and crafting. The time we have in theater gives us the opportunity to create things that are much more delicate and intricate.
FLETCHER: How does that affect your preparation for each medium?
MAMBO: I will spend more time alone preparing to do TV because you don’t often get a chance, outside of the table read, to get to work with your fellow actors. So, you must come in with your own set of ideas and motivations, which hopefully are in line with the director’s. Unless of course you’re in the project spanning six months to a year, then there’s much more of a sense of a grounded continuity. Most often, if you have a guest spot, you’re in and out, and even if you have a supporting role, you can be in and out, based on what the priorities are. In theater, we have the time to work thoroughly and in much greater detail.
FLETCHER: How many weeks of rehearsal did you have in D.C.?
MAMBO: About three weeks, and that’s credit to Kent being able to keep the amount of text and the quality of the work together moving forward. But we also have preview performances, which gives us an additional opportunity to shape and rehearse during the day prior to the evening’s performance.
FLETCHER: That’s sounds better than “in and out, that’s a take, thank you and goodbye.”
MAMBO: Yes, I prefer a lengthier, more grounded process. I work better that way. Some people are great at coming in and nailing it the first time. But I prefer having the time to work it out. Tarell has had an urgency to get this play out, and we feel that urgency and are sensitive to it. We’re living in a climate where any of our rights can be taken away. I just read about a two-year-old child with cancer being deported and dying. So, I respect his urgency to get this play out to the public. It speaks to the complexity of the times, to the complexity of what has been acceptable in terms of the LGBTQA community. People are still shocked by gay marriage, which seems ridiculous to me. So, we’re here to support folks and let them know that their voices are being heard. Representation is important. And I hope that our audiences feel represented.
FLETCHER: Are they the we in the title, We Are Gathered?
MAMBO: Absolutely.
FLETCHER: What does gathered mean to you?
MAMBO: Gathered is in the context of what we are doing, coming together to witness. Coming together to witness love. And it should be as pure and as easy as that. And yet, it is still difficult for many. In the play, we explore what it means to be in the cruising scene. There wouldn’t have to be a cruising scene if there was acceptance in the general culture. But we have people who are trying to find love in dark corners as opposed to in the light. We Are Gathered offers that light to folks. The act of witnessing is not passive, and that’s something I think people don’t understand of acceptance. It’s not passive; witnessing and acceptance are active.
Kevin Mambo as Chauncey in We Are Gathered. Photo by T Charles Erickson.
FLETCHER: You’ve been cast as the protagonist’s dad in the play. What kind of a dad is he?
MAMBO: He shunned his son, using the excuse of the Bible. But ultimately, it’s because he really does not understand. It’s new to his experience, and oftentimes, as we’ve seen particularly with our administration, instead of trying to bridge a gap, people double down. This is a father who has doubled down. But he comes to a place where he understands that this is his child. This isn’t some nameless political gesture, this is a human being — his own son. But they don’t speak for five years until they come together in the play. I’ve heard this story before from friends. Their parents have a difficult time accepting who they are. That must be devastating. But in the play, I see you, we see you, we see you as you are and love you as you are. As simple as it is, that’s very powerful, and that’s the we in the title.
FLETCHER: Yes, and the gathered is a place that gives them the same insights and changes as the dad. Wouldn’t that be a nice gift? Insights and change.
MAMBO: Yes, witnessing is a very powerful thing. To be able to offer that support. We’re often just enmeshed in our own lives, in our own problems, individually. But to be able to stop and offer support to someone and say, “I’m not only here just to see you; I see you and I support you.” This is a true act of love.
FLETCHER: You play a second character in the play, Chauncey. How does he fit in?
MAMBO: Chauncey is a very interesting character to me. He is gay and very conservative presenting. Chauncey is fascinated with the woods and the cruising scene. Ultimately, it’s because of his loneliness. He’s lonely and looking for love, more than looking for any kind of titillation or good time. The depth of what he really wants is to find that peace — that space — that love. He ends up becoming a part of “the forest” but what really drives him is his need for connection. To be in the cruising scene, it’s very quiet and private. Away from the public. How would it feel just to be accepted?
FLETCHER: Dad and Chauncey are two very different characters. Do you have a big change costume-wise between the two?
MAMBO: The costume change is minor and happens right on stage — a brilliant move that Tarell has created. I move from Chauncey and add a couple of accessories, and the next moment I’m the father in the same scene. And the energy changes completely, now focusing on this familial relationship that has so many dark areas of hurt.
FLETCHER: In what year does the play take place?
MAMBO: It’s now, and there’s an immediacy to it because we will marry couples as part of the play — breaking the fourth wall with our audience. We are all of us gathered in this show, and our audience is invited to gather with us to witness, to marry, or to renew their vows.
FLETCHER: Couples from the audience? How do you pull that off?
MAMBO: Through the theater, people have signed up. And some of our actors have been ordained and will perform the ceremonies onstage. It’s brilliant. Some nights, we’ll have more; some nights we’ll have less. And we have cake for them, their own cakes, and the celebration will start in the theater and spill into the lobby for a reception. We had a dress rehearsal yesterday, and even though it was a small house of friends and family, you could feel the energy throughout, in the round; it was an amazing feeling.
FLETCHER: I think this would be well received in New York.
MAMBO: In Los Angeles too—so many places because it gives voice to the voiceless, and this is a permutation of the voiceless that I have not seen in all my years in the arts.
FLETCHER: Where is your home base?
MAMBO: I’ve been living in New York since I started doing soaps right out of college. That’s where I cut my teeth in the New York theater scene, on the boards, and in the jazz clubs. For 30 years now.
FLETCHER: Your time at USC must’ve been a big change of pace coming from Canada. Was it an easy transition?
MAMBO: Not easy, but I was really driven at the time. And with youth, you don’t calculate what can go wrong, you just measure what you think can go right. I never imagined that I would get accepted to USC. The year I applied (auditioned), there were 8,000 applicants for 28 chairs, and I got one of them. By the end of my first year, I had been booked on a short-running TV series, so I just kept going, and going, and going, and the further I got, the more I kept pushing. My motto was, I didn’t come this far just to come this far.
FLETCHER: So much success, so early in life. Was it overwhelming?
MAMBO: Not necessarily from success. My first semester in LA was the Rodney King Riots, the next year was the Northridge earthquake, and my last semester was the O.J. trials. It was a most colorful period.
FLETCHER: Are you still a Canadian citizen or do you have a dual citizenship?
MAMBO: I’m working on my citizenship because, apparently now, green card holders are not safe. That’s my next step in-between productions. It’s amazing to me how many people have become so vulnerable in America, where we imagined this country to offer a haven to so many people. Currently, it is turning out to be the opposite. I’ve been here 30 years, and suddenly I’m not safe?
FLETCHER: A reoccurring question in the dialogue involves giving “a happily ever after” to another in the play. What is Chauncey’s happily ever after?
MAMBO: Chauncey’s “happily ever after” is to find the love that is free and true. In an earlier version of the script, Chauncey speaks to wanting to find the love that his parents had, even though he says, he didn’t love like they did. But in many ways, he is a traditionalist. And I have gay friends who don’t want to be part of the party scene that we in the straight world may associate with the gay culture. For the most part, I find people want the same things: to be cared for and to care for other people. They want to be loved. They want to be appreciated. And they want to be seen. And that is Chauncey too — because of his loneliness — getting trapped in the forest. I honestly believe there will be a moment where he makes his way out. It’s the loneliness that drives him. But all he really wants is to be able to look into the eyes of his partner with love. That’s it. Simply. That’s all he wants.
FLETCHER: What is Dad’s “happily ever after?”
MAMBO: Dad’s “happily ever after” is to be able to accept and love his son. And to have his son’s forgiveness for neglecting him. But he didn’t know what to do with him in many ways. There were literally years of neglect. Then, when he realizes he has neglected his son, he reconnects with him — wanting a relationship with him as a father. Neglecting your child when they need you the most must be the worst thing a parent can feel.
FLETCHER: What is Kevin Mambo’s “happily ever after?”
MAMBO: Kevin’s “happily ever after” is still in process. I’ve learned that trying to write the script ahead of time never works, but I’m definitely enjoying the ride that I’m on. I’ve had trials and tribulations of my own, but like many others, I’m looking for quiet; I’m looking for love; I’m looking for peace and hope.
FLETCHER: I hope you find it. For you, for your audience, and for us all.
On Instagram: KEVIN MAMBO (@i.ammambo); on Facebook: kevin.d.mambo
We Are Gathered
Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater
Fichandler Stage, 1101 Sixth Street SW in D.C.
ends on June 15, 2025
for tickets, call 202.488.3300 or visit Arena Stage
Gregory Fletcher is an author, theater professor, playwright, director, and stage manager. His craft book on playwriting is entitled Shorts and Briefs, and publishing credits include two YA novels (Other People’s Crazy, and Other People’s Drama), 2 novellas in the series Inclusive Bedtime Stories, 2 short stories in The Night Bazaar series, and several essays. Website, Facebook, Instagram.
