The performers we love to watch onstage are those who deliver high-caliber consistency, night after night, show after show. Yet they also stay alert and agile enough to be able to spin the unexpected, unscripted moments, even mishaps, into something purely delightful.

The audience attending the first night of previews for Olney Theatre’s joyous new production of Kinky Boots was witness to just such a golden moment when Solomon Parker III, starring as the fabulous drag queen Lola, grabbed one of those kinky boots with so much enthusiasm that it slapped the actor upside the head.

“That was not rehearsed, and Solomon just made this wonderful bit out of it,” says the show’s director, and Olney artistic director, Jason Loewith. “I don’t know how you explain that, but just a certain confidence. You can’t rehearse that kind of confidence. Of like putting on drag and becoming a person who is completely secure in her own skin. So much so that you can whack yourself in the head with a boot onstage in front of a live audience, and turn it into a hilarious bit.”

“That’s what experience on the stage gets you,” says Parker. “Everyone saw what happened. I’m not going to make it seem like you guys are stupid. I care about you guys too much, people spend too much money for me to sit there and pretend like I’m perfect, and that’s a good lesson for life. It’s like, people can see you a lot more than you think they can, so be real. And I think that’s just what I was doing. I was just trying to be real.”

Keeping it real on professional stages around D.C. for the past decade, the Silver Spring native has reached new heights in what he’s dubbed “The Solomon Experience,” high-kicking into a role made famous on Broadway by Tony-winner Billy Porter. Playing opposite Vincent Kempski as Charlie Price, Parker serves up a saucy but sweet Lola who leads her drag Angels in bringing new hope to Charlie’s struggling shoe factory, and their industrial small town.

A statuesque singing and dancing queen in vinyl thigh-high boots, Lola marks a top-tier challenge for any musical theater performer, and Loewith had several reasons to entrust Parker with the task. That included Parker’s experience performing in drag.

“He’s been doing drag for the past three years,” says Loewith, noting Parker’s drag persona, Echinacea Monroe. “So he already has that experience. He has an incredible drive and ambition. He has been in this show before, but not as Lola, so he knows it really well. I think that he has a great connection to this character and the story that it tells. But beyond that, Solomon walks into the room with a joy and a brilliance that is what you want somebody playing Lola to bring in the room. And the fact that he can already do cartwheels in heels, that’s just the icing on the cake.”

When not cartwheeling in heels, Parker has been lighting up stages consistently in a variety of roles. In the past year alone, he was a featured player in Ford’s Theatre’s world premiere musical Grace, starring Nova Y. Payton.

Next, he appeared as Harpo in Signature Theatre’s superb The Color Purple, also led by Payton, who’s been nominated for a Helen Hayes Award for both shows, while Parker received a Helen Hayes nomination, his second, for The Color Purple, alongside several other cast members, including Frenchie Davis who played Harpo’s wife Sofia.

“I’m hoping I win that award,” says Parker. “And if I don’t, I hope that one of my sisters in the show wins, or my wife wins.” And beyond that, Parker dreams big for the next phase of the experience, the next unexpected opportunity to spin into gold.

METRO WEEKLY: So, “The Solomon Experience” — is that the experience you’re having, or is that the experience you’re giving?

SOLOMON PARKER III: Ooh. It’s both. It’s definitely an experience I like to give, because self-confidence and being really honest and outgoing is a big tenet for me, and anyone who knows me knows that to be true. And I like to just make sure that I’m giving that energy to people, giving that permission to people to see that you can do whatever you want, honestly.

MW: Where does Lola fit into your experience?

PARKER: First off, it’s a dream role. I think a lot of queer, Black, male actors — a lot of queer actors, in general — don’t get the chance to do authentic stories because the business likes to make homosexuality palatable by having straight people play it a lot of the time.

Lola’s such a part of me, because I have been doing drag for three years — I’m a professional drag queen. I am someone who, right now in my life, has been given a really big opportunity. And I’m always being asked to push myself and really present myself in the best way. Lola fits into it because I think she wants to give love to the audience and make sure that everyone in the show feels just as good as she feels, too.

MW: I was just talking to Jason Loewith who said he thinks that you have a real connection to the part. I took that to mean beyond just drag. So do you feel a special connection to Lola?

PARKER: Yeah, I do. I have a father, and I’m actually named after my father, I’m Solomon Parker the third, and while I’m grateful that he always pushed me to perform, when I started doing drag, he did have a conversation with me that was like, “I love you and you are part of me, but seeing you dress up like a woman has been really hard for me to swallow.” And that honesty is appreciated, but I have a really good career, I have really great friends, I have such a strong circle of people who love me and care about me that it’s like, “Dang, the person that I’m named after, who gave me permission to be myself all the time, sees me. I’m sorry that I’m challenging your perception of me, but my femininity is a strong part of me.”

So there’s a big connection to that. And also, I hold my masculine energy very sacred, and I love to present that. I love that people see me — I’m a 5’10”, 200-pound black man — and are like, “Oh, he’s strong.” I get “Aggressive” sometimes. I get those words that are put on us, but I embrace it.

And all the power that I have as a man, when I’m in drag, I get to access the powers that Solomon isn’t allowed to access. When I’m Echinacea, tapping into my femininity is just so great. Being allowed to acknowledge that I have a nice ass, being allowed to flip my hair and actually have hair on, and not just do that pretend thing that gays do where they just flip. I give myself permission to be masculine and to be feminine, and I think Lola does, too, and it definitely builds a really great connection to the character.

MW: Do you hear from any other people about this issue of Black masculinity in the community, and that it’s some surrender to show any hint of femininity for a man, especially for a Black man? How do you confront that when it’s not just your father, but coming from other people?

PARKER: How do you confront that? It’s a part of life. I am so frigging privileged and grateful that everyone I’ve met in my life has pushed me to perform and to be myself. I just stand very full in myself. I stand very strong in who I am. I can’t remember the last time someone told me that I’m not supposed to be doing anything. I honestly don’t. I don’t deal with that.

But just speaking to what you were saying about being a Black male on the general scale, we are fortunate to live in a time where gender expression, mental health, are all being discussed. A lot of Black men, I think, have had the pressure to provide, but also there’s just been a lot of pressure, historically, on the Black community. And the foundation of a Black family, I always say, has been the greatest detriment that slavery caused us.

Slavery, they literally were ripping our families apart, siblings, mothers, husbands. And then it gets into the eighties, when they started creating all these housing policies, you weren’t allowed to have a man in the house if you were a woman who wanted to get assistance, so then there’s another level.

And then there’s the thing of wanting to appear strong, but never having the tools and resources from society to actually make you strong and propel you. So there’s all this resentment, and I see that a lot in my dad and a lot of the Black men that are in my family. I can see that — and I don’t mean to get too personal or too sensitive — but I can see that the system that’s been created to keep Black men down has affected a lot of people in my life.

And I’m grateful to have the Black women in my life to be the pillars of strength and be the head of the household and tell me, “It’s okay to feel your feelings. Thank you for speaking to me.” I’ve done my mom’s makeup, I’ve done my grandma’s makeup, I’ve done my cousin’s makeup. So that strength and power that Black women have given me helps me to love my manhood and myself, as a whole.

MW: Does Lola reflect those women that you know?

PARKER: Yeah! It sucks that Lola doesn’t get to talk about her mom at all, but I feel like Black boys and they mamas — hopefully, you have a good relationship with your mom, you can understand — it’s like I talk to my mom every day.

MW: I talked to my mother yesterday, yeah.

PARKER: I be telling her too much. I tell her too much, because I want her to just know me for all of who I am. I think Lola’s connection to womanhood is amazing, and it shows in her relationship with characters like Pat, it shows in her relationship with Lauren, the opening of Act II is all about what a woman wants, that’s the name of the song, and it’s one of my favorite numbers to do because I truly, truly do love women, as their protector, as their brother, as their sister. I love them, love them, love them, women in general.

MW: Of course, Lola/Simon says that they love women, too. I have a question about that, but I’m going to get to that later.

PARKER: I already know where you’re going.

MW: Right. But first, I saw that you performed in a prior production of Kinky Boots. When did you do that and what part did you play?

PARKER: That was at Toby’s Dinner Theater in 2019, right before the pandemic, from 2019 to 2020. We actually closed down March 20, 2020. I think that’s when everything shut down. We closed then, and I was just covering Lola, which, for me, let me know that they knew that I could do it. But I was one of the Angels because I’m a really fierce dancer, and that pre-Covid twinkness that I didn’t realize that I had until now, with a little hindsight. I was kicking and splitting, and the person who played Lola, his name is DeCarlo Raspberry, he’s one of my really good friends, and he wasn’t going to be no Angel. He wasn’t going to be an Angel and was so amazing as Lola. So that was the first time that I touched the show.

MW: I was going to ask you, how do you feel you might be a different performer now than you were then, but it’s not that long ago.

PARKER: Well, 2020 was, now, it’s three years ago.

MW: Yeah, actually a lot has happened since 2019.

PARKER: A lot has happened since then. I definitely feel like I’m more grounded as a person, more grounded in who I am and as a performer, I’ve been working in the D.C. area for nine years now. So I’m just really grounded in who I am.

And I honestly am happy I didn’t get the part the first time, because this time it really is mine. I’ve been doing drag for three years now, as opposed to before, I just was a Drag Race fan who could split and sing and had my MT chops. But I don’t know if, in a regional production, there has been an actual professional drag queen to play the part. I don’t know if that happens often. So I’m just more grounded in Solomon as the whole person.

MW: I’ll look into the drag bonafides of other performers. I know one, because we just had J. Harrison Ghee on the cover of this magazine, and they did drag before doing Lola.

PARKER: Oh, they did? I didn’t know that. Okay. Well, hold on, let me rephrase that. The other drag performers that have played the part could attest that having a knowledge of drag, it genuinely helps you. Because when I started drag, I just was like, “Oh, I’m a really fierce performer, I know how to dance, I’m gay, I can lip sync.” Drag is like you are every single part of your production. You do the music, you do the costumes, you do the lights, you do the hair, you do the makeup, you figure out when you’re booked. And that hustle mentality obviously translates to theater, but when you’re the talent, you don’t have to think about X, Y, and Z. You don’t have to think about what the setup of the space is going to be. You don’t have to select the songs that you’re going to be performing, actually. So it just really is perspective on drag as a career, and not just as an aesthetic, that I think helps me with the character.

MW: Now we’ll get to that question about the character. Lola famously does not have a romantic interest in this show, and though a lot of people assume the character is gay, the movie doesn’t specify. And I think the musical’s book doesn’t really specify, but I’ve seen performers specify. How does your Lola identify, if she identifies as one way or another?

PARKER: I think that if it’s not in the text, then it’s probably none of your business. This is my first time verbalizing and actually saying this, and actually having the thought connect: I think it’s not supposed to matter who she sleeps with, and it’s supposed to matter how she makes you feel. I do not think the character is straight. I hate that idea and that concept.

I know Billy [Porter], when he originated the role, fought against that being what was seen. I don’t think that Lola is straight, but if there was a sexuality to it, I don’t think that she is averse to anyone based off their genitalia, necessarily. But I just don’t think it’s supposed to matter. I connect to the queer part of it. I consider myself genderfluid, I consider myself gay, but I’m still open to all types of people, trans, cis — but I don’t think it’s about who she’s putting her tuck in.

MW: That makes me want to ask what, I guess, is a personal question. Are all the Angels tucking? Is everybody going full-on drag for this show?

PARKER: [Mock screams.] Yes. Okay. Yes, yes. Make it sound extreme. Yes, everyone’s tucking. But off the record, tucking is different to each person.

MW: Is that off the record? Can that be on the record?

PARKER: Yeah. It’s just different for each person. It’s different for each person.

MW: I bet it is. Now something about the love interest thing — there not being one — I felt in the movie it was a cop-out. And I don’t necessarily read it that way in the show, but as a queer person, I don’t know, it feels like something is missing to me. How do you respond to that?

PARKER: I think that love shows itself in a lot of different ways. I do think Lola is queer. I think it’s undeniable that, as someone who plays with gender and who obviously surrounds themself in queer spaces, and that’s where they find home, I think that it’s clear that Lola is gay and queer.

If the people who wrote the show and started the material, the white people who are probably straight and all that stuff, don’t want that to be the truth, then they’re denying the truth of what they’re trying to create, if that makes sense. I definitely don’t ignore the fact that it’s not stated if she is gay or trans, even, or what her gender identity is, but again, it’s like you know she’s a part of our family, you know she’s a part of our community.

And when she’s touching all these people’s lives, when she’s helping Charlie to connect with his father in a way that’s never happened, when Charlie’s helping her connect with her father, it’s about that kind of love. Even Charlie. He has a love interest, he does. But they don’t do anything. They get one kiss at the end, and the whole show is about me and Charlie’s friendship.

And it’s been beautiful to stand opposite Vinny, because we’ve done five shows together now. My first Equity show that I did in the area, he was in that cast, and he was actually 27, 28, which is my age now, 28, so it’s crazy to see that. But I think that’s the love that we’re supposed to see in the show, is love between men that they were not able to get from their fathers. I think that is what touches people.

MW: I thought that you and Vincent Kempski had really great co-lead chemistry.

PARKER: Oh, my god, you saw?

MW: Yeah. What are we talking about if I haven’t seen it?

PARKER: Werk! Oh my god, thank you for coming.

MW: Oh, you’re welcome. I’ve enjoyed both of you in other shows, as well as this one. So talking about the community and people outside of the community, I saw a lot of kids in the audience on Saturday, which I thought was great. I hope kids enjoyed it. There are, obviously, certain places in this country right now, they wouldn’t even want to allow children to see this wholesome, perfectly nice musical. What would you say to anybody who questions whether this is a show that’s safe for kids?

PARKER: I would respect a parent’s choice to not want to subject their kids to very normal, healthy things. But there’s this weird thing in this country where we think that when you see something gay, it turns you gay, or you see someone dressing a certain way and it makes you do that. Kids know who they are, even as they’re discovering, and they’re allowed to change. They know who they are.

If your child knows that they like things that are not assigned to their gender, maybe you should respect that, and think about the fact that we’re showing them a healthy, fun, normal way to express themselves, as opposed to what a lot of those parents are trying to do, which is restrict their child and not let them breathe, and not letting them be who they are. It makes me sad. I’m very grateful that I never had to deal with religion or any type of condemnation for who I am as a queer person, and I couldn’t imagine how that still affects people today, because I know that it hurts to know that you wanted things as a child that you were not given, and then you spend your whole life trying to find that.

And it’s safer for families to show their kids that this is what a happy gay person looks like now. This is what a happy trans person looks like now. That is a drag queen, that’s not even a trans person. To educate them so that when they’re 21 years old entering a club for the first time, it’s not the first time that they’re experiencing something that is a part of them.

MW: Well, apparently those people don’t want drag queens to exist, so they don’t ever have to explain them. Which brings me to a well-known internet troll I won’t name, who made a post about Olney and Kinky Boots hosting a drag story-time hour.

PARKER: We got notified that there was some comment.

MW: They describe it as bringing kids to a “sexual play.” I don’t know what these people think happens at drag story hours. Have you been to one?

PARKER: I have not been to a drag story hour because drag story hours are for children.

MW: Exactly.

PARKER: Because they’re for families to take their child. I’ve been to a club at 11 o’clock at night and been drunk and seen drag queens. I’ve paid my good money and gone to a show and seen drag queens. I have sat at a brunch and paid my money and my ticket to see a drag queen. But no, as a grown adult, I did not go to a place that I know is for kids, because I like when it is sexual. I like when it is grown-up and raunchy. So that’s where I am. So the drag story hours that have nothing to do with me, personally, it’s literally for kids. And I don’t have the breath to explain logic to people. It’s just, they will twist whatever we say however they want, they’ll twist whatever we do however they want. I don’t know what this country’s going to do, diva.

MW: I don’t, either. You can’t explain logic to people that just want their hate, their own–

PARKER: Reality.

MW: I don’t know what they want. Let’s move on to, as I said, I’ve enjoyed your work in other shows, but in particular, this past 12 months has been great for you. Grace was an excellent show, The Color Purple was fantastic. Congratulations on the Helen Hayes nomination for your performance as Harpo. It looks like this was a great year for you.

PARKER: It’s been fierce. It’s been wonderful. It’s been a dream come true. To originate a role in a world premiere, that was fantastic. That cast of people were really great to be a family with. Being on stage with Nova twice this year — I’ve done Ain’t Misbehavin’ with her in the past, which was one of my first big leads in the area. It’s so wonderful to be a part of this community, and to feel like a prince in this area. Because I am from here, I’m from Silver Spring, Maryland, so when I was in high school doing shows, people were like, “You’re a local celebrity.” And I’m like, “Stop it.” [Laughs.] And now I’m about to have my face on this magazine for the second time and I’m like, maybe I am.

But it’s been great, and I think one of the best parts has been getting to show my masculinity, and especially as Harpo, getting to be a man and be my version of a man, and be so connected and surrounded by such amazing Black women that had my back and who I got to show what it’s like when you have powerful women shaping you and molding you, and a version of an empathetic man that you could become. And to do all that and now, [after] parts in both those shows, to get to lead a show that is so connected to everything I stand for, and I get to be queer as fuck. It’s an honor, and it’s a great show to leave the D.C. area on. I plan on coming back. There are some productions I know that’ll be happening in the next few years that, if things work out, I would love to come back, but I’m ready for a new city. I’m moving to New York in April, actually.

MW: That’s the question: where are you going, Solomon?

PARKER: Yeah, diva! I’m going to be moving up to Manhattan. Once this show’s over, I just owe it to myself to keep the train rolling. I definitely am happy I’m doing it now, because I don’t feel like I’m some out-of-college, eager novice. Performance is what I do. Singing is what I do, professionally. I’m a professional entertainer, I’m a professional actor, and The Solomon Experience is that. The Solomon Experience is something based in love, but also based in understanding and in being a professional. I love this, and I’m ready to go to the city where it happens and make D.C. proud.

MW: Speaking of which, as you go out into the world spreading the message of D.C. theater, something I think people outside of D.C. don’t understand is how committed a theater region this is, how committed the audiences are, as well as the artists and professionals. What have been some of your best experiences that you can take with you, of connecting to the audiences here, either during a show or off-stage?

PARKER: Working with a lot of D.C. directors and artists, you take nuggets with you. I think on every show, I take a wealth of things, but I try to actionably show that what someone has said means something to me. My director for Color Purple, Timothy Douglas, would always say, “No matter where you are in the scene or what you’re feeling, do it. Be present.” It might feel like it’s the totally wrong thing to do. If you have to cough, lean into that cough, and use it and cough. Don’t fight what your body’s doing because people can see what your body is doing. And it’s just nuggets like that, I hear once and I’m like, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. It clicks.

In terms of connecting to the audience, what I’ve learned is that the audience is rooting for you. The audience wants you to succeed. Especially if they’ve seen you in something before and they’re coming back to see you in something else. That means that they definitely want you to do a good job, and that’s really comforting. You go into this industry, which is, “It’s so hard, it’s so cutthroat, you have to be so talented.” You have to be committed and you have to be nice. You’ve got to [pointing to a sign hanging on the wall behind him]: Work hard and be nice to people. I know I could go on. So that’s what I’ve learned, to just know that they are there because they want me to succeed. And just give them all you got, don’t be afraid.

MW: Those are good rules to live by. And I am rooting for you. I’m rooting for you so much that I have to say I’m sorry that D.C. won’t have as much of you, but I absolutely wish you all the best in New York. I think you’ll kill it.

PARKER: I appreciate that. Thank you, man.

MW: Will you take Echinacea to New York?

PARKER: Yeah, girl. Hopefully, I won’t have to use her to pay any bills. Hopefully, theater will do that. But she’s definitely a huge part of me. She was my 2020 baby. She gave me chances to perform when I had none, and also connected me to the D.C. drag community, which has been my favorite thing to experience in the Roaring Twenties. It’s been my favorite thing to be, like, this is my community. D.C. nightlife, I have a new lens for it because it actually is wildly rich.

I think our city gets shit on a good amount by people who live here. And I’m like, “Maybe you need different people to hang out with.” The other cities aren’t better. People have found their clans, and people have found their families, and are accepting of other people in their community, and that’s what makes it seem like it’s so great and fun. We have that here. And it’s great to be identified as a queen. I didn’t know what, you hear that as slang in the gay community, and people are like, “Oh, queen.” She’s a queen. I am a queen, and it’s nice to wear that with a badge of honor.

MW: Because I haven’t seen Echinacea, how would you describe her performance style?

PARKER: Oh, my gosh. I would say that she has big boss energy, she’s a diva in the best way, and her talent speaks volumes. She’s representing for the dark-skinned girls with names that are hard to pronounce, and she’s a culmination of just my appreciation for all the Black women that I’ve come across in my life. And all the ones who let me dance, who invited me to sit with them at lunch, who stood up for me when I didn’t feel like I could stand up for myself, the ones I see on TV, she’s that girl and she’s a very honest part of me that love created. Once I put the eyeliner, the lip, and the lash on, it’s only love. It’s only love that I’m pouring out. She’s fierce.

MW: I love that description. I know dark-skinned girls with names that are hard to pronounce, and I support them.

PARKER: Can I also say, that’s a big thing I feel like I do here, as Solomon, too. There are some really big names in our D.C. theater family, but people who look like me, who do musicals? There’s Kevin McAllister. And then there’s me. And that’s not to discredit any of my friends that are coming up and that are building a name for themselves, because they deserve to be seen. Ricardo Blagrove, Tyrell Stanley, a lot of the men in our show, David Singleton, Robbie Duncan, all these men deserve to be seen and deserve to be getting parts.

I had an experience with a theater recently where I went to see their production and I was like, there’s no one here who looks like me. You’re doing this production that’s supposed to mimic the real world, and you’re not only making it a space where little Black boys aren’t seeing themselves, you’re erasing them.

And I don’t even think that a lot of theater producers get that that’s what they’re doing. And that’s part of why I don’t want to leave because I don’t want there to be this gap of “Where’s the guy who looks like me onstage.” Being a visible representation of an undeniably Black person, not mixed, not giving you a palatable version of what you want, an unapologetically Black, queer man taking up space — I wear that as another badge of honor, and didn’t realize I was doing it until people that I went to college with were like, “It is so good seeing you up there, man. And it’s because you’re the only person who looks like you doing it. I’m so proud of you.”

The Color Purple, half of those men came out of a certain retirement to do the show. Our Mister was from out of town, all of the men in the ensemble have other lives and other jobs that they do, and because it was Color Purple and because it was our story to tell, they came out to tell the story. But they know that this industry isn’t going to be lining up to give them roles left and right, so they are working at other theaters in admin positions, a lot of them are teachers, a lot of them are social media stars. That’s what they have to do. And I commit to this full-time so that, even when it’s not Color Purple and you need a stage full of Black men, you’re still at least going to get one.

MW: I appreciate your point that a lot of people don’t understand that sometimes, not every time, but sometimes the absence of certain faces, of certain people, it isn’t just absence, it’s like people have been erased, and you have to understand the difference between absence and erasure. So you are committed to this. When did you know that you were going to be committing to this?

PARKER: I remember the first opportunity I was given to perform. I was in third grade and my teacher was like, “Hey, we’re doing this theater festival. You should do this.” I said, “No.” Because I was that kid that had the high voice, I already had too much energy and people were like, “You’re gay,” and I would get bullied a lot so I did not want to put myself out there.

When I saw the assembly that it was being presented at, I was like, I’m supposed to be up there. I did my first show. I was the Emperor of China in Mulan, and that was when I was in eighth grade in 2007, and every day of my life since then has been dedicated to this. Every day has been dedicated to my happiness and to performing, which coincide. So a long time, I think.

MW: Now, as you head off, where do you hope your path takes you in New York and beyond?

PARKER: I know my path is going to lead me to a very illustrious and juicy and fierce acting career. I hope to tell unapologetically Black stories in the form of writing, being a vessel onstage, and through music. I have plans to be an EGOT winner. That’s my big, big goal, and that’s because I think that when you reach that status, I don’t think it means you’re the best. I think best is such a subjective thing, but I think it means that you’ve poured yourself into the storytelling medium so profusely that there’s no option but to acknowledge you and to give you your flowers.

And I hope that when all that’s done, and I have bought a house for my mom and I have a great view in my home, I hope to start a studio back here for underserved communities, to have a space to dance, have a space to record, have a space to shoot their auditions, all that stuff. So those are my three big, big, big, big dreams.

Kinky Boots has been extended through March 26 at the Olney Theatre Center, 2001 Olney-Sandy Spring Road, Olney, Md. Tickets are $42 to $95. Call 301-924-3400, or visit www.olneytheatre.org.

Follow Solomon on Instagram at @thesolomonexperience.