A Heart That’s Big Enough to ‘Box With God’

Teddy Pendergrass speaks mostly in soft, quiet tones. An ability to shout out majestically may be one of his vocal trademarks, but like all great singers, he knows that you can draw a listener in just as readily with a gentle sense of purposefulness.

Pendergrass is relaxing in his hotel room here, where for the past several weeks he’s been in rehearsals for a traveling revival of “Vinnette Carroll’s Your Arms Too Short to Box With God,” an acclaimed gospel-based musical revue that ran on Broadway in the late ‘70s. Not only is this his first foray into theater, the show also marks Pendergrass’ first live tour since 1982, when a car accident left him using a wheelchair, paralyzed from the waist down and with restricted use of his arms.

On this cloudy afternoon, however, the singer looks healthy and rested. Wearing jeans, a baseball cap and a warm smile, he explains his decision to return to live performance in this manner, keeping his voice low but firm.

“Actually, I’ve been asked to do several plays over the past few years,” he says. “This was just the one I decided on. I didn’t try to analyze or intellectualize it. My heart just said, do this one.”

Pendergrass allows that this particular production, which opens at the Wiltern Theatre tonight and runs there through Sunday, seemed like a good vehicle for a vocalist with no acting experience because “it’s all singing and dancing, with very few spoken words.” And beyond that, “Your Arms” deals with a subject near and dear to him: spirituality.

“Of course I’m a spiritual person,” he says with a smile. “Most people are, in one form or another. My spirituality isn’t something that I advertise or discuss, but it’s always been part of my life.”

Pendergrass, who’s in his mid-40s, was ordained a minister at the age of 10 and cut his artistic teeth by singing in church choirs in his native Philadelphia. In his 20s, he became a leading exponent of the Philly soul scene--first as lead vocalist for Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, which scored a succession of forceful R&B; hits in the early and mid-70s and then on his own, as a purveyor of such ultra-romantic ballads as “Close the Door” and “Love TKO.”

Then came the accident--a crash into a highway divider right outside Philadelphia, followed by months of arduous therapy. Through it all, he insists, his faith was never shaken, and his determination to persevere as an artist only increased.

“Without getting too mushy about it,” he says, “I felt that I needed to prove that I could continue to be as effective as I had been. With that need came certain emotions, a whole lot of stuff that I don’t really wanna talk about. But I always maintained that I would beat it, rather than letting it beat me.”

To some extent, he’s succeeded. Since the accident, Pendergrass has released six albums. In 1984, he recorded a duet with Whitney Houston, “Hold Me,” that became one of her first Top 10 hits. Four years later, he had a chart-topping R&B; single, “Joy.”

But while he’s kept productive as a studio performer, his disability has made touring a problem. His current project provided the opportunity to dip his toes back into this arena with minimal physical or emotional stress.

For one thing, as a featured performer in a show with a limited run--”Your Arms,” which premiered in Chicago late last month, will be playing a handful of dates in only a few more cities after Los Angeles--his schedule is considerably less grueling than it was during his time as an active solo star, when he traveled more extensively and “had the responsibility of carrying the whole show by myself.”

Of equal significance, he says, is the fact that he’s being accompanied by an old pal: singer Stephanie Mills, who co-stars in the production. “Stephanie opened shows for me years ago,” he points out. “We’ve recorded and toured together, and she’s a good friend.”

Unlike Mills, who portrays the preacher-narrator, Pendergrass is featured in the show in a role not included in its original version, which Vinnette Carroll conceived and directed with assistance from composer-lyricists Alex Bradford and Micki Grant. In directing this revival, Carroll designed the new role specifically for Pendergrass.

“My character is something that we’re creating as we go along,” Pendergrass explains. “I can’t even call it a character, really. It’s a spirit--a spirit that sees all and knows all and understands whatever’s happening around it.”

Carroll, speaking by phone from Chicago after the show opened, said that Pendergrass’ own circumstances helped inspire the role. “There’s no sense of ‘poor me’ in Teddy,” Carroll insisted. “He told us all at the beginning of rehearsals, ‘I’m not sick. I’m here to work.’ In the opening piece, there’s a part where he sings, ‘I am truly blessed,’ and the audience just stands up and screams! They all love him. He’s the most talented, dynamic person I know.”

As Carroll suggests, playing a guiding spirit isn’t that much of a stretch for Pendergrass. In addition to having influenced many leading contemporary R&B; crooners with his smooth but fiery baritone, he has in recent years started his own production company in order to work directly as a mentor to aspiring young singers.

In fact, although Pendergrass can summon praise for some of today’s younger acts--among them his Philly homeboys in Boyz II Men, whom he credits with helping to mainstream soul music more in the ‘90s--he’s wary of what he views as the decreasing value placed on vocal prowess in the wake of the video revolution.

“There are so many elements to this business,” he muses. “Videos are just a small part of it. A football player proves himself on the gridiron. To a singer, the gridiron is the stage. If you can’t handle that, then you’re not really making a contribution.”

Clearly, Pendergrass intends to remain a player for a long time to come. While he’s not planning any more theatrical endeavors just yet--”The jury is still out on this one!”--he anticipates a wealth of creative activity in his future, from performing and producing new material on his own to nurturing more new talent.

“As an entertainer, you’re supposed to challenge yourself. You have to do as much as you can to continue to gain knowledge, experience and expertise. I think we’re all always looking for new and exciting things to do. Wherever that outlet is, you find it, and you use it.”

* “Vinnette Carroll’s Your Arms Too Short to Box With God,” Wiltern Theatre, 3790 Wilshire Blvd., (213) 480-3232. Tonight-Saturday, 8 p.m.; Sunday, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 3 p.m. $22-$35.