When Jarius Miquel Cliett was at Pebblebrook High School, he wasn’t positive that he would pursue a career in musical theater.
Despite being part of Pebblebrook’s magnet program, Cobb County Center for Excellence in the Performing Arts (CCCEPA), heading into his senior year, Cliett considered pursuing a degree in mechanical engineering. Outside of his chamber choir requirements, he said that during his time at Pebblebrook, he only auditioned for three shows and performed in just one.
During his final year at school, one of his advisors, Evelyn White, pulled him aside and very adamantly told him he should pursue music. But, despite little hints here and there, it didn’t become crystal clear that the stage was calling him until the end of his graduate career at Georgia State University.
“Acting and singing was just something I did,” Cliett said. “I didn’t really know that there was a full on career.”
And yet, Cliett has made a career out of being on the stage, appearing in shows like “Noel: The Musical,” “Once on This Island,” “My Fair Lady,” and more. He can next be seen in the national tour of “The Book of Mormon” playing Mafala Hatimbi. The tour will be at the Fox Theatre from June 24-29.
“The Book of Mormon” features music, lyrics, and a book by Trey Parker, Matt Stone, and Robert Lopez. The musical farce follows two Mormon missionaries as they try to spread their faith throughout a remote Ugandan village.
For Cliett, this is a full circle moment. The first time he saw “The Book of Mormon” was at the Fox back in 2018. This is the second time he will appear in “The Book of Mormon” national tour, but the first time he’ll be playing a principal role.
“Now, my face is in the program!” he said.
The first time Cliett auditioned for “The Book of Mormon” back in 2022, he didn’t have an agent (he now does). He said the most important advice he gives to young people looking to pursue a career in the arts is to not be afraid to reach out on their own.
“They’re kind of shocked,” he said about the reaction he gets. “They’re like, oh my god! You email casting directors? Yes I do! That’s even before I had an agent … booking ‘The Book of Mormon’ the first time I did it, it was all through me.”
Cliett said he thinks being able to watch the performance of Mafala during his initial run in “The Book of Mormon” helped him prepare to step into the role himself. Before this tour, the last time he held a principal role was as Coalhouse Walker Jr. in “Ragtime” at the Duluth Playhouse in Minnesota.
“Your prep is going to be the same,” he said of being in the ensemble and taking on a lead role. “You approach it the same way: with a certain amount of gratitude, a certain amount of focus, and preparedness.”
Cliett said that part of the reason he felt confident enough to pursue a career onstage was the experience of seeing other nonwhite actors inhabit the space. On his first trip to New York City, his mom took him to see “In the Heights,” Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical prior to “Hamilton.” Being a kid from Atlanta and seeing Broadway performers sing and dance to hip-hop songs helped him realize there was a place for him in the industry.
“Seeing hip-hop on a Broadway stage altered everything,” he said. “There’s a sense of things I identify [with], while also still liking ‘Ragtime,’ and classics. It’s a nice ebb and flow.”
Tickets for “The Book of Mormon” at the Fox Theatre can be purchased online.
