Broadway 2020

Photos by Camryn DeLuca

The thrill of working as a performer typically includes the uncertainty of finding the next gig to pay the bills. It takes a unique form of resilience to live with this feeling, paired with a competitive environment of fellow working actors. Solomon Parker III views this lifestyle as a privilege. Since performing in his middle school’s take on the musical “Mulan Jr.” in 2007, Parker has chased the thrill ever since. After graduating from a community college in 2016, he developed the mantra “Broadway 2020” as a goal. Parker said he’s “thinking big to make it big.” 

  • Solomon Parker adjusts his durag during a 30 minute break in between performances at the Imagination Stage in Bethesda, Maryland on Dec, 4, 2019. Parker plays a prince in the theater’s production of “The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.” (Photo by Camryn DeLuca)
  • Solomon Parker and Lauren Farnell chat before their second performance of the day at the Imagination Stage in Bethesda, Maryland, on Dec. 4, 2019. Parker and Farnell first met at auditions for “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,” and clicked in an instant. (Photo by Camryn DeLuca)
  • Solomon Parker rehearses a number from the musical “Kinky Boots” at Toby’s Dinner Theatre in Columbia, Maryland, on Nov. 18, 2019. Parker began rehearsals for “Kinky Boots” after the official opening of “The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe” at Imagination Stage in Bethesda. (Photo by Camryn DeLuca)
  • Solomon Parker holds a makeup brush in his dressing room at Imagination Stage in Bethesda, Maryland on Dec. 4, 2019. Parker plays a prince in the theater’s production of “The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.” (Photo by Camryn DeLuca)
  • Solomon Parker eats bacon, lettuce and tomato on a bagel in Bethesda, Maryland, on Nov. 13, 2019. Parker only had a 20 minute lunch break for his six hour rehearsal at the Imagination Stage. (Photo by Camryn DeLuca)
  • Solomon Parker talks with his roommate Cassandra Williams in their apartment in Silver Spring, Maryland, on Dec. 5, 2019. Williams and Parker first met when they were students at Montgomery College in Rockville, Maryland. (Photo by Camryn DeLuca)
  • Solomon Parker takes off his high heels during a rehearsal of the musical “Kinky Boots” at Toby’s Dinner Theatre in Columbia, Maryland, on Nov. 18, 2019. Parker will perform in drag in the official performances of the show, starting in January. (Photo by Camryn DeLuca)
  • Solomon Parker watches a video he took of himself in his makeup for the musical “Kinky Boots” in his apartment in Silver Spring, Maryland, on Dec. 5, 2019. His character in the show “Kinky Boots” at Toby’s Dinner Theatre in Columbia, Maryland, wears a full face of makeup, including fake eyelashes. (Photo by Camryn DeLuca)
  • Solomon Parker fans himself following a performance of “The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe,” at Imagination Stage in Bethesda, Maryland, on Dec. 4, 2019. Parker had a 30 minute break before his next performance for the day. (Photo by Camryn DeLuca)
  • Solomon Parker signs in for his second performance of the day at Imagination Stage in Bethesda, Maryland, on Dec. 4, 2019. Parker plays a prince in the theater’s production of “The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.” (Photo by Camryn DeLuca)
  • Solomon Parker signs in for his second performance of the day at Imagination Stage in Bethesda, Maryland, on Dec. 4, 2019. Parker plays a prince in the theater’s production of “The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.” (Photo by Camryn DeLuca)
  • Solomon Parker and David Singleton strut during a rehearsal of “Kinky Boots” at Toby’s Dinner Theatre in Columbia, Maryland, on Nov. 18, 2019. The cast repeated this number several times to make sure they perfected the steps. (Photo by Camryn DeLuca)

Leave a comment