Audra McDonald is one of the greatest performers of our time. Full stop.
A venerated actress, spellbinding singer, and consummate performer, McDonald is a six-time Tony Award winner, the most of any individual, and the only person to earn the coveted trophy in all four acting categories. To say nothing of her television and film roles and her resistance-ready Twitter account, this is a woman with some serious talent.
But like many great performers, McDonald's path to success wasn't easy.
McDonald, center, and the cast of "Shuffle Along, or, The Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed" perform onstage during the Tony Awards. Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions.
The Broadway great joined Alec Baldwin on his podcast, "Here's The Thing," to talk about her rise to fame and the detour that almost ended it all.
McDonald grew up in Fresno, California, and started college at Juilliard, a world-renowned performing arts school, in New York in 1988. She chose to study classical music and operatic singing, hoping to also take classes in dance and drama too, but soon learned her intense course of study wouldn't allow for it.
"I felt lost, completely lost," she told Baldwin.
Her lack of fulfillment coupled with the pressure of being the young woman from her hometown who was supposed to "make it" weighed heavily on her. One night, it was all too much.
In the winter of her third year, McDonald slit her wrists. She quickly called the Student Affairs Director, who helped get her to Gracie Square Hospital, a psychiatric facility in the city. She noticed a few other Juilliard students there too.
"I was [at the hospital] for a month," she said. "They evaluated me and said, 'You're not going any time soon.'"
McDonald took a year off school to recuperate and later took on a role in "The Secret Garden." She returned to Juilliard and graduated in 1993. The rest, as they say, is history ... and awards from the president.
McDonald received the 2015 National Medal of Arts in September 2016. Photo by Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images.
McDonald's story reminds us depression is a monster that can be tamed, but not one that easily goes away.
Baldwin seemed surprised to learn of McDonald's depression, given the strength and confidence she has onstage. She credits that experience and her passion for art for helping her find joy and strength in dark moments.
"I realized I'm someone who suffers from depression but I learned in the years: A. how to deal with it, B. to find my joy, and C. to realize that like alcoholism, it's something you wake up every day and you say, 'Yeah that's still something I have to deal with.'"
McDonald and Neil Patrick Harris perform onstage at the Tony Awards. Photo by Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions.
That's why she's so transparent about her experience with suicide and living with mental illness.
She speaks freely about that time now, knowing it could save someone else's life. "I'm open about it because I think I'm a case of 'it gets better,'" she said.
In a fitting epilogue, Gracie Square Hospital stands right next to the OB-GYN practice McDonald attended while pregnant with her now-10-month-old daughter. The full-circle moment wasn't lost on her.
"Every time I passed it, there was a part of me just, you know, waddling down the street pregnant as can be some 29 years later. I felt such relief and joy and a sense of 'Yes, I get the big picture now.'"
McDonald and Norm Lewis join the cast to take a bow during the curtain call at "The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess" on opening night. Photo by Jemal Countess/Getty Images.
Depression, suicidal ideation, and other mental health concerns can affect anyone, at any time. But there is hope.
If you or someone you care about is having a difficult time, it's OK to ask for help from a trusted friend, teacher, counselor, or your doctor. In an emergency, you can always call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, 800-273-8255. There is help. There is hope.
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An Irish woman went to the doctor for a routine eye exam. She left with bright neon green eyes.
It's not easy seeing green.
Did she get superpowers?
Going to the eye doctor can be a hassle and a pain. It's not just the routine issues and inconveniences that come along when making a doctor appointment, but sometimes the various devices being used to check your eyes' health feel invasive and uncomfortable. But at least at the end of the appointment, most of us don't look like we're turning into The Incredible Hulk. That wasn't the case for one Irish woman.
Photographer Margerita B. Wargola was just going in for a routine eye exam at the hospital but ended up leaving with her eyes a shocking, bright neon green.
At the doctor's office, the nurse practitioner was prepping Wargola for a test with a machine that Wargola had experienced before. Before the test started, Wargola presumed the nurse had dropped some saline into her eyes, as they were feeling dry. After she blinked, everything went yellow.
Wargola and the nurse initially panicked. Neither knew what was going on as Wargola suddenly had yellow vision and radioactive-looking green eyes. After the initial shock, both realized the issue: the nurse forgot to ask Wargola to remove her contact lenses before putting contrast drops in her eyes for the exam. Wargola and the nurse quickly removed the lenses from her eyes and washed them thoroughly with saline. Fortunately, Wargola's eyes were unharmed. Unfortunately, her contacts were permanently stained and she didn't bring a spare pair.
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Since she has poor vision, Wargola was forced to drive herself home after the eye exam wearing the neon-green contact lenses that make her look like a member of the Green Lantern Corps. She couldn't help but laugh at her predicament and recorded a video explaining it all on social media. Since then, her video has sparked a couple Reddit threads and collected a bunch of comments on Instagram:
“But the REAL question is: do you now have X-Ray vision?”
“You can just say you're a superhero.”
“I would make a few stops on the way home just to freak some people out!”
“I would have lived it up! Grab a coffee, do grocery shopping, walk around a shopping center.”
“This one would pair well with that girl who ate something with turmeric with her invisalign on and walked around Paris smiling at people with seemingly BRIGHT YELLOW TEETH.”
“I would save those for fancy special occasions! WOW!”
“Every time I'd stop I'd turn slowly and stare at the person in the car next to me.”
“Keep them. Tell people what to do. They’ll do your bidding.”
In a follow-up Instagram video, Wargola showed her followers that she was safe at home with normal eyes, showing that the damaged contact lenses were so stained that they turned the saline solution in her contacts case into a bright Gatorade yellow. She wasn't mad at the nurse and, in fact, plans on keeping the lenses to wear on St. Patrick's Day or some other special occasion.
While no harm was done and a good laugh was had, it's still best for doctors, nurses, and patients alike to double-check and ask or tell if contact lenses are being worn before each eye test. If not, there might be more than ultra-green eyes to worry about.