Ron Nyswaner’s exquisitely crafted work of queer historical fiction, Fellow Travelers, is a compelling and deeply moving epic miniseries that takes in the Lavender Scare of the 1950s and follows its repercussions in the lives of those directly affected through the following decades, taking in the post-Stonewall period of liberation in the 70s up to the devastation of the onset of HIV/AIDS in the 80s. Jelani Alladin and Noah J. Ricketts, who star alongside Matt Bomer and Jonathan Bailey, both give outstanding performances in the eight-part series which is based on the novel by Thomas Mallon. Alladin portays Marcus Gaines, a Langston Hughes admiring journalist covering Congress in the 1950s who meets the enchanting drag performer Frankie Hines, played by Ricketts. Portraying these characters and their evolving relationship over four decades, both actors deliver beautifully nuanced and impactful work. Read our full review of the series.
With the first six episodes of the Golden Globe and Critics Choice Award-nominated series now streaming now on Paramount+ with SHOWTIME in the United States—new episodes launching every Friday and also airing on Sundays at 9pm ET/PT on SHOWTIME—Jelani Alladin and Noah J. Ricketts speak exclusively with The Queer Review’s editor James Kleinmann about taking on their roles, the series’ exploration of the intersection of being Black and queer men in America, their favourite style era in the series, Matt Bomer and Jonathan Bailey becoming chosen family, and their favourite LGBTQ+ culture.
You were both in the Broadway production of Frozen, with Noah understudying then taking over the role of Kristoff, which you originated Jelani. How well did you know each other before you worked together on Fellow Travelers?
Noah J. Ricketts: “Extremely well!”
Jelani Alladin: “Maybe too well! Noah feels like a brother to me and we’ve had that relationship from day one. Oddly enough, something really horrible happened in Denver when we were doing our out-of-town tryout for Frozen. I developed a tiny vocal pre-nodule and had to leave the show on the opening weekend to rest. So Noah had to go on as Kristoff with no rehearsal. So that bonded us immediately!”
Noah: “You know how massive that production was and when you’re building these things from the ground up it takes a village, so you become forever connected with these people. Jelani and I immediately bonded, so when we got the call saying that we were going to chemistry read with each other for Fellow Travelers we didn’t tell each other on purpose so that we could surprise each other on Zoom. Our chemistry read quickly turned into a kiki and we probably ended up doing our acting scene only once. Our chemistry is real, it happens on screen and off screen, and it was such a joy to work with Jelani for those six months in Canada on Fellow Travelers.”
Jelani: “Yeah, it’s just a shame that Noah’s not pretty, you know what I mean?! It’s like hard to look at his face!”
I loved every moment of Fellow Travelers, it’s the kind of miniseries that my parents used to watch about straight people when I was a kid. What does it mean to each of you to be part of such an epic piece that centres queer characters and queer history?
Jelani: “For me, this is revolutionary. I’ve never in my life come across a character like Marcus or a character like Frankie. So it wasn’t a case of, ‘Oh, it would be really cool if I got this part’, no, I had to get this part. I had to be the vessel for this story, to honour the men that have come before us, and who have made incredible sacrifices and who fought incredibly hard for us to have the liberties we have today. It’s important that we go back and revisit that history because if you look at what’s happening outside right now in America you kind of wonder, have you seen Fellow Travelers? Have you seen where we have come from? Why would you ever want to go back to that? Go back to living in secrecy and hiding. I feel like revealing the inner heart, the inner spirit of these men through this miniseries is a revolution.”
Noah: “I find it so interesting what you said about your parents having these epic love stories in prestigious shows that showed the arc of straight characters. When I was growing up, I always searched for myself on television and in film, it’s something that I’ve always wanted to do, and I’m telling you now I came up short. So to be given this opportunity to highlight the Black queer experience from multiple perspectives and to let Marcus and Frankie have an arc, let them fall in love, fall out of love, and go through 38 years of history is an incredible gift. I hope that the younger generation sees their history and knows how we got here today because it’s something that’s been erased from from queer culture and from American history in general. The show does a beautiful job of showcasing history and also showing us where we can go from here.”
What did you make of the way that the series deals with the intersection of Blackness and queerness?
Jelani: “I had never seen this kind of exploration of that intersection before. There was a really nice collaboration with our showrunner and executive producer Rob Nyswaner in terms of wanting to take bits of pieces of our own personal experiences and infusing Marcus and Frankie with that to make it even more nuanced, richer storytelling and I really respect that. I know oftentimes writers come to something being like, ‘this is how I see it’, but Ron was really open to our perspectives as well and I think the characters are that much better for that. I had a great time trying to infuse moments of toxicity inside of Marcus. No character in Fellow Travelers is necessarily “good”. No one is absolutely just or absolutely right. I love to portray Black characters in these spaces and I appreciated the chance to be messy, to show how you can make mistakes, and still be at the intersection of being Black and queer and showing the stakes of the world at that intersection. I think that we were really able to capture that.”
Noah: “One of the things that I appreciated the most was having multiple experiences of the Black gay experience on screen. Sometimes you feel lucky if you if you get one—if you get a Black character or a queer character—so to have two of them and for them to be very different is such a gift. I hope that it inspires TV and film to move in that direction. You see so much self-hatred in queer media and on TV and I love that Frankie loves himself and strives to be authentic. I love that he steps out of the box, regardless of how hard or not that is to do. To have that experience depicted on screen and to have the nuances of a relationship with a hyper masculine man and a guy who loves to be androgynous and feminine is such a beautiful intersection that exists in real life and one that we should develop even more as we move into the future. I hope that people see themselves in all these characters.”
I love the scenes in the Cozy Corner nightclub. Noah, what was it like doing those drag performance scenes with Chelsea Russell as Stormé DeLarverie?
Noah: “Oh my God, it was amazing! Stormé is a true historical gay icon, so if you don’t know about her look her up. The drag was really wonderful because it is a completely different era to what we know today from RuPaul’s Drag Race or mainstream drag. It was this era of class and sophistication. Bringing that to life with the candle light and the cigarettes and the smooth jazz was super fun. I did have to practice in those heels though, I’m not gonna lie! Walking down steps in those chunky heels wasn’t easy, but we made it through and it was all worth it in the end!”
Jelani: “Particularly in the “Santa Baby” scene, it was so amazing to feel the Black audience inside that scene being like, Blackity, Blackity, Black, Black, Black, Black, Black. It was like, these Black men are here to enjoy themselves, to unravel, to throw up their hands and cheer and holler. To be inside that room with that energy that day was so inspiring and it’s one of my favourite memories from set.”
One of the most powerful moments, that broke me in the best way watching this series, was when Marcus is comforting Jerome—a young Black gay man beautifully played by Jude Wilson—who has just told him that he’s HIV positive. Jelani, you as Marcus say to him over and over again, “you are innocent”. On the page it’s kind of simple, but it is incredibly moving to watch. What was that like to shoot?
Jelani: “I got a call from Matt Bomer, who is also an executive producer on this project, and he said, ‘Have you read episode eight yet? I think you should open up your email and read it now.’ I was like, ‘Why, what is it?’ When I first read that scene, my body said, ‘I don’t know if I can accomplish that. I don’t know if that is actually doable. That is a huge responsibility.’ I called him back and he said, ‘I think that you can find your way through this.’ I am so honoured to have been the vessel of strength for a character like Jerome who is HIV positive and when he reveals that information all he want wants to hear is, ‘You are innocent. You are not the issue. You are made of love. You are made of goodness. You are made of all the beautiful things that God has put on this Earth.’ To hold—Black man to Black man—to literally hold him in that moment felt like I was hugging every man who has ever died from this disease who wanted to receive that hug. So I was incredibly honoured to do that scene. It was incredibly difficult. It was a long night of finding trust in Jude’s eyes, who plays Jerome brilliantly. I went over to him and I said, ‘We’re going to find the scene here, eye to eye, you and me. Nobody else here exists. Forget the pressure of what this is and let’s have the human moment.’ I think that came through on the screen.”
It does, beautifully. I’m glad we got to talk about it, but now I’m so emotional all over again.
Jelani: “It really touches me every time I think about it and the fact that it now exists in the world as something that people can have forever.”
I imagine that sometimes when you work with a cast they feel like colleagues and it doesn’t go much beyond that. But from what I’ve seen of you interacting together with your co-stars Matt Bomer and Jonathan Bailey, it looks like you are a Fellow Travelers chosen family. Am I right in thinking that and how significant did it feel that you were four queer actors playing these queer characters?
Noah: “You’re totally right about that. It’s very rare that you get on a set and love everyone, but we were all on a mission together to bring this entire story to the world, to bring the truth of it, and to honour this experience together. I think that’s what brought us together as a Fellow Travelers family. I can honestly say that we love each other very deeply. I think that connection is why we were able to do those deep, emotional scenes because you look into that person’s eyes and you trust them. We trust each other because we all have deep love and respect for each other. When they called ‘Cut’, we were dancing and acting the fool, but we could only do that because we honour each other’s experiences and we were all on the same mission together.”
Jelani: “How rare to have four people who actually love who they are, who actually love everything about themselves, represent these four characters on screen. I’m of the world of that it should be the best actor for the part, but I believe that they found the best actors to play these parts, who also happen to be queer people, who also happen to love the fact that they are such.”
You’re both so stylish and I am loving your Instagrams at the moment with all the photoshoots you’ve been doing. When it comes to Fellow Travelers, the costumes are all stunning, and I wondered what your favourite look or style era was for each of your characters?
Jelani: “We’ve got to shout out our costume designer Joseph La Corte. This man is extraordinary in that he was able to bring four decades of fashion onto the screen, have them all mean something for every character, and still somehow not distract or take away. He really did a brilliant job. My favourite was the 70s, with the leather jacket, feeling badass, looking sexy with a big Afro. Also, our pop of colour on the series came in the 70s.”
Noah: “My favourite decade was the 50s because my drag looks had these big bell skirts. One specific costume that I adored was my drag look for the “Santa Baby” number. Joseph and I worked together to make this beautiful Eartha Kitt inspired look and although it was a little uncomfortable to wear, with my corset and my tights and my high heels, it was worth every second because I felt so powerful in that red. To be up there seducing the wonderful Marcus, played by Jelani, in that beautiful red outfit and that gorgeous wig, it was iconic!”
Jelani: “Nobody’s looked better in a Santa suit. Nobody.”
Noah, you’ve set the bar high this Christmas season!
Jelani: “He’s set the bar very high! Maybe Sheryl Lee Ralph as Mrs Claus at this year’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, maybe that comes close!”
What’s your favourite piece of LGBTQ+ culture, or a person who identifies as LGBTQ+; someone or something that’s had an impact on you and resonated with you over the years?
Jelani: “Right before I did Fellow Travelers, I voiced two audiobooks. One was My Government Means to Kill Me by Rasheed Newson, which was one of the most amazing books I’ve ever read. If you want an insight into a Black queer young man’s experience as an AIDS activist in the 80s, it’s a fantastic read.”
“I also got to voice the audiobook for Boys Come First by Aaron Foley, which is hopefully being made into an Amazon series pretty soon. It is the first time that I felt my contemporary experience as a Black queer body really fleshed out in a fun, hilarious, and heartfelt way. So to have the gifts of these three amazing pieces of art, including Fellow Travelers, I am now so full after being so starved for so much of my life.”
Noah: “I’m going to shout out one of my favourite drag queens of all time, the wonderful Bob the Drag Queen. When I moved to New York City, I would leave my Broadway show on a Wednesday night and rush to get to Bob’s show because of his comedic skills, but also his truth telling. The TV series that he helped to bring to HBO, We’re Here, where they go into these small towns and bring their queerness and their full selves and their authenticity is incredible. You see these beautiful backstories of pain and desperation, but also of folks just wanting to be themselves. I’m so happy that he brought that to the mainstream and used his platform for good.”
Speaking of emotional shows, that’s another one that gets me. When I was about to start watching the second season of We’re Here, I thought, I’m not going to cry this time, but I did every episode!
Noah: “It’s because you see yourself reflected in all of these people. No matter if you’re an out and proud gay man and love yourself now, we were all once those people and so it’s beautiful to see that depicted on screen.”
By James Kleinmann
The first six episodes of Fellow Travelers are streaming now on Paramount+ With SHOWTIME in the United States with new episodes launching every Friday, also airing in the US on Sundays at 9pm ET/PT on SHOWTIME, and streaming internationally on Paramount+ in Canada, the UK, Australia, Latin America, South Korea, Italy, Germany Switzerland, and Austria.
