We all have something in our past that is gripping us, and 'Violet' is very much about leaving those things behind.
Joshua Henry
I was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in Canada. I left when I was three. My parents went to Miami, and that's where I grew up.
To have 'In The Heights' be my first show in New York after moving here, I remember feeling at the time like, you know, 'It doesn't get any better than this.'
I remember being in my house from when I was, like, five to when I was, like, 12. When hurricanes would happen, you just hold hands, and you say, 'You know what, we have each other. We're praying,' and this roof can literally peel off of your house.
Theater is certainly - is my first love, if I had to pick.
I'd really like to do 'Floyd Collins.' I love Adam Guettel.
'The Light in the Piazza' is one of my top three musicals of all time.
I really liked the idea of playing - I won't say the underdog - but characters who have a lot of conflict.
I love playing roles where it's not just the good guy or the bad guy.
Prior to being in 'Carousel,' I had only seen the movie. So, when I read the script, I felt like it was a lot deeper than the movie portrayed it to be.
I remember when I was rehearsing 'Scottsboro Boys,' I was in 'American Idiot,' so, every night, I was screaming, singing these high, belty Cs and Ds, and then, during the day, I would be doing these legato lines - I am very lucky that I have had the training that I have so that I could handle all of that.
I grew up playing sports, so I think of what it would be like to be in the NBA if you were a great player when Michael Jordan was playing. You could've been a phenomenal player, but you're in the Jordan era. That's the unfortunate thing about the competitive nature of entertainment. But we know what we signed up for.
'In The Heights' was my favorite show, so hip hop is something that's really close to my heart, but aside from the hip hop, there are so many wondrous things about it.
People all learn things differently, and sometimes imagination isn't considered as useful a tool as it can be in the learning process - especially in school in subjects like math and science.
Everyone's got something that they've held onto from their childhood or from a past relationship, someone who's told you what you are, and it's leaving all that behind and living a happy life and realizing that a lot of that is inside you - really uncovering that. The story - those themes - are heavy themes that everyone can connect to.
I avoided the party scene at the University of Miami. I came in to study musical theater, and I felt so behind. I literally knew nothing.
I think it's nice when you come into the room and the director has a plan, a vision of exactly what he or she wants the piece to be. Because when that happens, then you feel safe. You feel safe to make choices and to do something big and just fly because there's a structure around you.
I'm not Mr. Brooding.
I've certainly never liked the idea of being put in a box. I loved being part of shows like 'American Idiot' and 'In the Heights,' and I take pride in being able to sing different styles, not just 'Old Man River.'
You wanna work with people who you have a rapport with. You finish each other's sentences a bit creatively when you've worked together for a while.
I'm obsessed with 'Hamilton.' I've seen it, like, three times, and if I could get a weekly pass, I would.
I loved music before I stumbled onto acting.
I feel such a connection to 'Violet.'
I went to the University of Miami.
Even when I was studying musical theater in college, after I would have theory at 8 in the morning and be on crew for productions until 11 at night, from 12 A.M. to 3 A.M. I was hanging out with jazz musicians.
I think there's something special about getting a moment perfect or near perfect. In a film, you can do that.
I realized no matter how famous you are, you're still human, and sometimes you need a chicken wing!
It's really empowering when you see yourself represented in entertainment and, especially, onstage when you're talking about how this country came to be.
I play guitar; I can sing a little bit.
I love the idea of challenging what the standards is.
It's always relevant - moving forward into the future and finding out who you are. I think those themes never get stale.
Being in the bands of a hurricane, it's not like a tornado that's going to pass very quickly. It's the most serious thing that you will ever experience next to, I'm sure, an earthquake.
I've done a lot of research about the Civil Rights movement, and I'm fascinated with how difficult it would have been for a black man to show feelings toward a white woman in that time period.
I would love, love, love to do a comedy like 'Gentleman's Guide,' something farcical and fast-paced, but I also want to do something that hasn't been written yet: the story of Sidney Poitier. A lot of people tell me that I look like him.
Theatre is very cutthroat, especially here in New York!
I like directors who come ready to challenge you to ask the right questions about your character, and I know that directors appreciate that in actors as well.
The themes in 'Violet' are universal: accepting yourself with all of your flaws, moving on, and the forgiveness and freedom that comes along with that.
'American Idiot' was the hardest show that I've ever done - ever.
My first show in high school was 'The Music Man.' I was a junior. I played Harold Hill. I did the role at the University of Miami, too. I do love that musical. To do it in high school and college and then to do it professionally - I mean, come on!
My parents were very spiritual folks. I grew up studying the Bible. My dad's a Christian academy teacher. I grew up with a big spiritual influence. It's a big part of my life.
My mom works at an accounting firm; my dad's a math teacher.
History can just be so unkind as time passes.
In coming to New York, I got my first Broadway show six months after I got here. So that song, 'Movin' Too Fast,' means so much to me, knowing that feeling where it's just where you imagined yourself, but it's flying by you at a million miles an hour.
When success comes, it changes everything, so I'm interested in portraying what that's like, and I think I have a lot of connection with that.
I love being in the gym and am training six days a week; I do a lot of high-intensity interval training so that my heart rate gets really high, and I practice, as I'm doing that, taking really deep breaths, and that really helps in a song and in a style of music where you have to sing long, flowing lines.
I've been really fortunate to do several shows on Broadway; the longest run I've done is nine months, and that was 'Porgy and Bess.' The shortest run I've done was about a month and a half: my first Broadway lead in 'The Scottsboro Boys.'
What I know is that the possibilities are always endless when it comes to 'Hamilton.' It's broken several records. Audiences are really being touched by it, they're being moved by it, and they're in love with the music.
