Tyler Perry Makes a Surprise Appearance at the Washington, DC Performance of “The Have and the Have Nots”

I like seeing Tyler Perry naked. I'm talking stripped down, baring his soul naked without hiding behind the mask of Madea. Saturday, Tyler Perry surprised a Washington, D.C. audience who attended the evening performance of his latest stage production "The Have and the Have Nots" by stepping into the spotlight after the curtain call to talk about his latest projects and his refreshing honesty was appreciated by those of us lucky enough to hear him speak.

What was disappointing and hilarious at the same time, is that prior to Perry speaking, there was a mad rush of patrons during the cast's final musical number to perhaps get a jump on the parking lot crush. I thought this was extremely rude considering their exodus en masse blocked the view for other patrons, disrupted the performance and was disrespectful to both Perry and the performers.

So for all those people that clamored to get home, they missed the highlight of the night -- an impromptu, stage side chat with Tyler Perry where he talked about needing to get away from the madness of Hollywood. Without getting into specifics, Perry wary of trigger-happy YouTube & Facebook posters cautiously made references to those that doubt his talent or his approach and appeared to be as open and honest about issues he's facing without providing T.M.I.

At times, the 42 year old actor, playwright, songwriter, screenwriter, director and producer being the consummate showman made sure to plug his latest efforts. But it didn't come across as overly pushy given his genuine enthusiasm and excitement about his newest works which include a DVD release of "A Madea Christmas: The Play", development of his own television network in addition to showing a clip of his upcoming take on relationships in "For Better Or Worse" which will air on a limited test run starting November 23, 2011 on TBS.

Lately, Perry has been catching a lot of flack for the casting of Kim Kardashian in his latest movie "The Marriage Counselor" and on Saturday night in Washington, D.C., Perry openly urged the audience to hear him out and defended his choice explaining that Kardashian has tremendous star power. Curiosity about Kim and her huge fan base gives Perry access to a broader audience to share the message of his movie.

Tyler Perry's other upcoming movies include a romantic comedy where he both directs and plays the lead opposite Gabrielle Union and Thandie Newton in "Good Deeds". Perry plays the title character in "I, Alex Cross" directed by Rob Cohen, a detective thriller based on the popular book series by James Patterson tentatively due to be released in 2012.

But for me, the highlight of the night was when Tyler Perry just talked about himself and urged people to pursue their own dreams. Perry shared that he's had failures and has contemplated quitting. But he realized if he gave up on his dreams, he wouldn't be able to support talented performers like the ones standing on stage with him.

Perry urged people to "Take control of the dream that God has put inside of you. Don't stop dreaming". I gotta check to see if anyone posted clips on YouTube because there were some great moments. Another great Perry-ism "The world is waiting for your vision! The world is waiting for your dream! What are you waiting for?"

In some ways, these few minutes overshadowed the previous 90 minute play and his message was more powerful because of its refreshing openness and honesty. Props to the performers of "The Have and the Have Nots" whose musical performances were excellent but the play is probably best enjoyed by die-hard Tyler Perry fans only. "The Have and the Have Nots" plays Sunday night in Washington, DC then moves onto Minneapolis, Chicago, Philadelphia, Wichita, Omaha and Kansas City through until November 27th.

My note to Tyler Perry who's taken the first step towards taking off the Madea mask in his latest movie roles is to take a cue from another successful actor/playwright Carrie Fisher and consider doing an autobiographical one man show. You're now in your forties, you have a story to tell -- a wonderfully compelling inspirational story. And the production would be cheap. You just come on stage and be naked.

You just be you, talking. Talk about what makes you mad. Talk about your haters and how you feel about it. But most of all, come and do an Oprah-like show where you talk about overcoming your fear and about following your dreams. Make it almost like a stand-up performance like Kathy Griffin where she just riffs only you don't need to be funny, you just need to be yourself. Or if you want more punch, bring along a band and musical performers to sing inspirational songs in between. Put together bits where people re-enact parts of your past or issues you're frustrated about. Just like the inspirational story of "The Jersey Boys".

So I send a message right back at you. Your own message. Don't be afraid, Mr. Perry, step out of the shadows, step out of your fear and come tell us stories -- your story. We'll be waiting. We need you. Love, from Washington, DC.