Civil rights drama draws Mount Prospect native to Goodman

If you had asked the 13-year old Demetrios Troy what he wanted to become, the actor currently appearing in Goodman Theatre's production of "The Good Negro" would have answered, without a moment's hesitation, that he wanted to be a baseball player.

"That was my first love," Troy says. "I was playing baseball in high school."

That was back at Prospect High School. But then, like that other Troy (of "High School Musical" fame), the Mount Prospect native was lured away by the stage.

The show that did it was a high school production of "Guys and Dolls." And the role he wanted most was Sky Masterson, the musical's cool gangster character.

"I tried out for that part," he says, "but they asked me to be (comic sidekick) Nathan Detroit."

After some soul searching - baseball diamond or the stage? - Troy "ended up following the theater track."

The baseball team was "a little bummed," he recalls, but about 15 years later, Troy is now debuting at Goodman Theatre in the Chicago premiere of Tracey Scott Wilson's "The Good Negro."

The play takes place during the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s. The title refers to a search for someone to help leaders build a case against the Jim Crow laws.

"They end up finding (an African-American) woman who uses a white restroom because her child really has to go. She ends up being accosted," Troy says.

"My character is named Rutherford," he adds. "He works as an accountant for the leader of the movement. He is an idealist, but over the course of the play he sees his hero has flaws."

Troy has been preparing for this role almost from the moment he was cast last summer. He even made a trip down south to Alabama and Mississippi to get a feel for the places mentioned in the play.

As far as Troy is concerned, there is no such thing as over-preparation, especially when he knows his director is going to be the Goodman's Chuck Smith.

"The man is like a painter," Troy says. "He really finds the picture that he wants in the material. He also allows us to discover the characters and bring ourselves to the roles."

Troy's excitement extends to the Goodman itself.

"I always told myself as a little kid, I was going to work here."

And here he is.

• "The Good Negro" runs through June 6 at the Goodman Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn, Chicago. For tickets, call (312) 443-3800 or visit goodmantheatre.org.