VIDEO EXCLUSIVE: Cleo King Reflects On Her Favorite ‘Chicken & Biscuits’ Moments On Broadway

Cleo King reflected on her favorite moments while starring in the new Broadway show Chicken & Biscuits during her new uInterview.

READ CHICKEN & BISCUITS REVIEW HERE!

King, known for her television role on Mike & Molly, plays Baneatta Jenkins Mabry, who must face family chaos after gathering for the memorial service of their patriarch, the much-beloved Pastor Bernard Jenkins.

“The whole idea about this show — it’s about family! And it doesn’t matter whose family because we can all relate to all of it — that’s the thing about this show — it’s about family,” King told uInterview founder Erik Meers. “My favorite scene in the show is the three sisters when we go to the funeral. There are two sisters the whole show — we go to the funeral and then there are three of us at the end because my character gets to clean up her mess.” 

According to the actress, one of her top moments occurs when the audience gets to see sisters Baneatta and Beverly repair their relationship.

“You know a lot of times we don’t get to see people, you know, clean up their stuff in a show. Now she doesn’t clean up all of it, but boy does she do a 360. So that sister scene, the ‘Ha Ha Hallelujah—’ I love that scene so much because so many times in our community we don’t apologize to one another. So many times we don’t, but Baneatta does get to apologize to Beverly, who is played by Ebony Marshall Oliver. So I really love that moment that we just get to be with Natasha Yvette Williams where we all get to come together and talk it through.”

King said that the story isn’t a “black story, a white story, it isn’t an anything story — it’s a family story.” The actress has shown her belief in the power that family holds over many characters in the show.

She talks about her character’s conflict with Logan, played by Michael Urie, the boyfriend of a Jenkins Family son and brother.

“Baneatta is upset with her son for bringing Michael Urie’s character, the white guy, to the funeral, because she says he knows better, bringing him to this funeral, and embarrassing her on a day like this. So, not only is he being gay, but he’s being gay and bringing this white boy to the funeral.”

The Mike & Molly actress also discussed what she believes to be the moral of the play. “The message of the show is, I think, people are people, but we can all come around. Because that moment Baneatta turns to her sister and asks for a hug, her sister says that’s all she wanted in the first place. For me it says, clean up your mess – we may not get this time again.”

Editor’s note: Shortly after this interview, it was announced that Chicken & Biscuits would end its run early on Nov. 28, due to a brief-Covid-19 shutdown. Get tickets to the final shows here!