A Butler Debut—Times Two

The moment Celeste Butler took the stage as Chiffon for opening night of Little Shop of Horrors, the circle closed. Familial symmetry was achieved, bucket-list items were checked off and a different kind of harmony took center stage in the Butler family.

This Butler finally did it—made her SCR debut.

It came seven years after her brother, Preston Butler III, made his as Citizen Barlow in August Wilson’s Gem of the Ocean. with Celeste Butler in the audience that night. And, with Preston Butler returning the favor for his little sister two weeks ago, it closed a serendipitous circle.

“It was surreal, because growing up, we would put shows on together, writing our own stories, performing and recording them,” Preston said. “To see her grown up, see my little sister is doing her own thing, chasing her big dreams and see all the hard work she’s put in along the way pay off like it did for me was special.

“To be there for her like she was for me when I made my debut, you can’t write that kind of stuff.”

Well, you can tell that story and make it believable. Preston and Celeste grew up in Oceanside and migrated to acting and singing. Preston went on to Vanguard University and played basketball for two years before finding his way to the theatre.

He got his Masters, then a tip from a friend who was working in the SCR Box Office that the theatre was producing Gem of the Ocean and “you would be great for Citizen.” He wangled an audition, got a callback with director Kent Gash’s instructions to be off-book for the song you have to sing, then nailed the audition and got the part.

“That was an unreal moment for me,” he said. “To come to find out later than I got to work with L. Scott Caldwell and Cleavant Derricks, to stand on the stage with two theatre giants like them in my first-ever theatre production was an absolute dream come true.”

Meanwhile, Celeste was dipping her toes deeper with musical theatre at San Diego’s Moonlight Theatre. She joined a girl group, then majored in Music at USC. This eventually takes Celeste into the immersive theatre/funk project Brassroots District: Live in the Lot ’73. The singing was great, but she wanted more.

“I wanted to get back into all three things: music, acting and dance,” she said. “Booking Brassroots back in L.A. was the first opening to me doing musical theatre. I was going to all these shows and thought to myself, ‘Wait a minute. I think I need to get back on stage too.’”

Preston agreed, telling her “You have the voice. You have the technical skills. What are you doing?”

What she did next was “American Idol.” Celeste’s captivating voice and cheerful personality punched her ticket to Hollywood during the 2021 season, but she didn’t make the final 12. She did, however, appreciate the experience, even as tapings were done mid-pandemic, contestants wandered the hotel in masks and social distancing was the command of the day.

“Because of that, we all had a different appreciation for it to be able to do what we were doing,” she said about her and her fellow contestants. “We bonded over music and we were grateful to have that outlet to experience those things. It was very unique.”

Now, the unique circle of making your SCR debut on the same stage your brother did is closed. She is enjoying every moment of it, so much so that she said she’s trying not to be nostalgic and enjoy the moments, because she and her fellow cast members are having such a good time and don’t want to think about it ending.

She does want to think about what that closed circle means to her career, one that’s already produced performances with Diana Ross, Chaka Khan and Esperanza Spalding at the Hollywood Bowl.

“This is a really unique work environment and you don’t get that often,” she said about her SCR experience. “There’s a strong foundation here and support system that gave us so much room and freedom to express. It’s been a dream and I’ve loved every second of it.”