Jon Mark Beilue: The Bright Lights of Broadway

WT 'saved' Sams, whose journey finds him in 'The Lion King'

There have been many special moments for Tara and Russell Lowery-Hart since their paths with Christopher Sams first crossed about 20 years ago, but sitting in the audience at the Minskoff Theatre at 1515 Broadway in New York City on Aug. 29 is hard to top.

"We were pretty emotional," Tara said. "It was pretty incredible. The most incredible thing was he seemed to be really enjoying it. He didn’t seem overly nervous or scared, but really comfortable. There was so much pride and so much relief honestly watching your kid doing something like that."

For the theater, the lights don’t come any brighter than Broadway. Sams was an overnight sensation 20 years in the making. He had won the part for Mufasa, the former king lion, in "The Lion King."

"For all of us, including our two other kids, it was surreal," said Russell, who has been the president of Amarillo College (AC) since 2014. "But it’s also been a 20-year journey. So it was emotional for all of us, not just because he made his Broadway debut, but this was part of how hard he worked and it was 20 years to get to this point."

It was a 20-year journey that really took root at West Texas A&M University, where Sams found his purpose and a new family at almost the same time.

In the late 1990s, Lowery-Hart was an assistant professor of speech and director of the forensics teams at WT. The forensics team was in a tournament near Houston. Sams was competing for a local community college.

Lowery-Hart saw Sams’ talent, and knew a four-year university likely awaited after community college. So he enthusiastically planted the seed that Sams should continue his education at WT and be part of the forensics team.

That’s what Sams did, but little did anyone know of his crumbling home life back in the Houston area, that he and his family had basically severed ties. There were times he slept in a car while going to school.

At WT, that first semester in 1999, he became an integral part of the forensics team with an eye on drama and theater. He lived in the dorm, a considerable step up from a car. Then came the Christmas holidays.

"He thought over the Christmas holidays, he could stay in the dorm," Tara said. "He didn’t realize the dorms closed. He had nowhere to go."

Currently at AC, groundbreaking programs that Lowery-Hart started helped the economically disadvantaged. Those ideas of a hand-up did not suddenly begin when he became AC’s president.

"I told him, 'Come home with us,’" Russell said.

And he did. But it became more than a holiday stay. The Lowery-Harts began to learn of his ostracization from family in bits and pieces. Tara also had several miscarriages. They took him in on a more permanent basis, thinking perhaps he might be their only one.

"Chris is not legally adopted," Tara said, "but he’s ours. He’s ours."

'WT prepared him for success’

On campus, Sams branched out into WT’s drama and theatre program. It was there, under theatre director Royal Brantley, that he found his niche.

"WT saved Chris Sams," Tara said.

Sams began to audition for roles within the Branding Iron Theatre, and it didn’t take Brantley long to know what talent had come his way.

"Chris in the late 1990s and early 2000s was part of a group of students who were incredibly talented," he said. "I’ve been doing this a long time, and there are kids you just remember. My God, he was just loaded with talent, and I know that can be a subjective term.

"But Chris back then had this amazing voice for speaking and singing, and he moved incredibly well."

He played the physical role of Puck in Shakespeare’s "A Midsummer Night’s Dream," where Brantley said he smoothly met the physical demands. He used his strong classical voice in "Cabaret." And he took on the role of Judas in "Godspell."

"Royal explored that talent, and Chris will tell you that WT prepared him for success," Russell said.

But it’s hard to keep them on the farm when they yearn for the city. Sams left his new home before graduating for New York. The bones of would-be performers are scattered all across competitive New York, but Sams persevered. He found work on two national tours, in an ensemble in "The Color Purple," and the lead of Coalhouse Walker in "Ragtime."

Not long after Sams left WT, the Lowrey-Harts had two children of their own — Campbell in 2001 and Cadence in 2003.

"Chris has been like a brother to our children," Tara said. "They see him as their brother. He was a grown man when he came to us. He’s like a son to us, but he’s also an extremely close friend."

Sams, 38, was performing on the theater equivalent of Triple A baseball — very high up the ladder, but not quite the Big Leagues — until now. All the while, he’s overcome two meniscus tears in his knee and discovered he’s diabetic.

"The Lion King is a great fit for his talent," Brantley said. "This is not a surprise for me. This did not come out of left field. To use the baseball analogy, it came right down centerfield, through the infield and to home plate. That’s how talented he is."

Through WT and through a nurturing second family, Sams found what all want to find - that sweet spot, that calling.

"Chris is an amazing soul," Russell said. "He’s most at peace on stage and most intellectually engaged on stage. Everything he does comes from an intellectual and emotional place to educate and embrace the message.

"And for him, it’s a safe place. No matter what’s going on in his life, the stage has been his safe place."

 Do you know of a student, faculty member, project, an alumnus or any other story idea for "WT: The Heart and Soul of the Texas Panhandle?" If so, email Jon Mark Beilue at jbeilue@wtamu.edu.

—WTAMU—