De’Lon Grant was born in Rhode Island, grew up in Minnesota, and spent years touring as a cast member in Broadway shows. He now calls Savin Hill his home. This month, he’s performing at the Boston Center for Arts in SpeakEasy Stage Company’s production of “Pru Payne” by Steven Drukman, playing one of the male leads – “Thomas Payne”– in the play, which runs through Nov. 16.

Payne discovered Boston when he was a student at The Boston Conservatory, where he earned a master’s in musical theatre performance after earning his fine arts degree from the University of Michigan.

The transplanted mid-Westerner has found a home in Dorchester after a long personal journey from his roots.

“I was a poor Black kid who was gay in a middle-class white straight American town for the most part,” Grant told The Reporter. “My identities didn’t match, and theatre and music really gave me a community. I could be weird and be my fullest self and I realized there were other people who were super accepting and saw me for who I was. That changed the trajectory of my life.”

After graduate school, Grant stayed in Boston because “it has a really thriving theatre community. I was getting cast and there were opportunities, so I stuck around for three years.”

During that time, Grant lived in Dorchester and worked at ArtsBoston while continuing to perform. 

“I did a show called “Big River” here and that got me some notices and then there was a year that took me out of Boston, and I did four productions and then I booked the Broadway National Tour of “Jersey Boys,”” Grant said.  “I did that for 3 ½ years. It’s the biggest gig that I’ve had to date.”

Grant then moved to New York and spent some five years performing on Broadway in “Come From Away.” Afterward, he said, he followed work back to Boston. 

“When I was thinking of moving back, Dorchester was the place I wanted to come to,” he said. “I think Boston is a pretty segregated place to live in terms of race and I feel like Dorchester, in my experience, is a little bit more of a mix and a lot more affordable. I enjoy the pace in Dorchester more than I do in Boston proper.”

Since returning, Grant has also taken on a job teaching at the Boston Conservatory.

“It being my alma mater I’m really grateful I get to come back and effect some kind of change there,” he said.

He has also gotten to enjoy the little things like riding Blue Bikes in the neighborhood and visiting local restaurants, his favorites being DBar and Harp and Bard.

Most of his time, however, has been spent on stage at 572 Tremont St. When the lights dim and the curtain opens, Grant transports to 1988 and becomes Thomas Payne, the son of “a sharp-tongued intellectual and critic” working on her autobiography. 

After Thomas’s mother, played by Karen MacDonald, begins to show signs of dementia, he must help her transition to a care facility. There Pru meets a man named Gus Cudahy, played by Gordon Clapp, and falls in love. 

Overall, the show explores questions of memory, identity, and connection.

“Even though two characters suffer from dementia in the play, it’s really about what you can find. Despite dementia, these two people find love,” said Grant. 

He added: “Stories are so much of our identity as a species. I think despite whatever you’re going through, human connection is something we all need to get passed those things. Be it family, romantic relationships, children, or friendships. It reminds us that other people and connection are one of the greatest things in this experience.”

The emotional yet funny show will run through Nov. 16 with performances Wednesday through Sunday.

Tickets are available online at https://speakeasystage.com/shows/2024/10/pru-payne/.