--Joshua Henry received Tony nominations for his work in the musicals the
Scottsboro Boys and Violet, both times playing African-American men confronting
racism in the deep south. Now the talented charmer is breaking
boundaries by taking on one of the most iconic roles in the musical theatre
canon: Billy Bigelow in Rodgers and Hammerstein's Carousel. Here Henry talks
about the challenges of playing Billy in 2018, his journey of ups and downs to
Broadway fame and what it's like to sing Soliloquy every night as a father of a
newborn son, on this week's Show People.
--How's it going Josh? -- It's going great.
-Yeah you're on Broadway. You're back on
Broadway. --Come on, back on Broadway!
I missed it.
--Yeah --I really missed it.
--Oh yeah so you were you were on the road
--I was on the road. --You were doing Hamilton.
--I've been doing --Mr. Burr
--Yes. --You've been doing that, now you're back and you're
Billy Bigelow. Now, I have to tell you you're sitting with a Carousel freak.
Okay. --Like this is my favorite show and
Billy Bigelow is my favorite character
--Of all time? --Yeah.
--So you're here. Hi. --Damn. All right.
--Well I love this role. It's a fantastic role. Do you know how many
other men would knock you down a staircase to play this role? Many of them
have sat in that chair.
--Some of them visit me at the stage-door
they're like this is my favorite role of all time
I'm like security back em up.
Yeah, there's a lot of people who
want to do this role. This is this is like one of the biggest roles, so I feel
really honored to be playing this right now.
--This was something a lot of guys
love to sink their teeth into.
--I knew this was like a huge iconic role, one of
the biggest in musical theater and that's what really excited me about it. I
love playing characters that you know they're arc is tremendous and they have
incredible songs and Soliloquy being one of the
--best songs. -- Best songs, one of the
biggest and longest, maybe the longest.
--How many minutes is it?
--Oh, I think it's like seven? At least.
Is there a lot of song longer
than Soliloquy in the musical theater cannon?
--I don't know any --So I love big
juicy roles like this and having a great time every night with this cast
--That Soliloquy, let's talk about that. I remember when I first heard that song
when I was a kid. I don't think I knew what a soliloquy was about at that time
you know what I mean? But it's such a, Billy Bigelow finds out he's gonna be a
dad right? And of course you've been performing it as you were waiting to be
a dad. We're gonna we're gonna talk about little Samson at home.
--My boy Samson --But but this guy
who's sort of a mystery suddenly finds out that he's going to be a father and
everything just sort of breaks open
--Everything changes right there. It's kind
of like a you remember in Saved by the Bell how Zach used to like pause things. He
it's like Billy's like pause world I got to think about this whole thing and then
he goes through this little journey. That's what it is I'm like I'm gonna be
a dad. Oh my gosh, yes! Wait that's hard, and could it be a girl?
--Right I love that
you compared it to Saved by the Bell. Did you actually just do that?
--I've literally
just came up wiht that. Never thought about that before but
pause hmm resume. --This is not a role
that many black actors have taken on. I don't know any.
Do you? --Nor do I.
--I mean not on Broadway --Certainly not on Broadway.
And that feels
really, I'm very honored and super grateful to have been chosen to do this
role at this time. And it's huge. It's huge it's a huge moment for for me and
for Broadway and our actors of color and I think it's you know some people come
to me at the stage door and they're like thank you for opening these doors and
I'm like well I didn't actually, I mean, I'm thankful for the moment, so that I
can sort of show people what I can do but I think about people like
--Good way to work the title in by the way Show People
--Oh-oh! I'm just off the top the dome right now.
Look at that. The doors
were opened for me by Stokes and Norm and Billy Porter and you know. So I'm
grateful to walk through these doors and sort of make a little bit of room, and
I'm hopeful for for what the future holds for actors of color and for
everyone. And I think Broadway is huge in that way in that they do things that
have never been done before and take chances. So I'm, you know, not to go back
to my last show, the famous one, but I'm not throwing away my shot on this one.
--Yeah yeah and it's what I was thinking is really interesting is that
so many the opportunities you've had on Broadway, by the way, two Tony nominations
and and you've been phenomenal and every show I've ever seen you in, but so many
times you're actually your characters are commenting on the African-American
experience. It's it's sort of a part of one of your story in so many of these
roles, and it's interesting that that's not at all what you're dealing with here.
And is that different for you or is every character just have their own
journey and that's sort of incidental to it?
--Well I think with this character, with with Billy Bigelow, you bring yourself to
the character. And in rehearsal, we would have these moments, and everyone would
some around the room were like well that's not the way that it was... that's
the way that it was written! But just because I bring what I
bring, it brings out a moment a little bit more. And I actually didn't think
about that in terms of you know that's my first thing being Scottsboro Boys
--Right which was a real life case, which is a real guy who existed.
--Yes, absolutely. But this character, you know, at 19 around the 1900. Billy Bigelow
yeah he didn't have much education you know he got by on his charisma and one
of the people in history that I thought about for this character was Blackjack
--Blackjack Johnson
--Cause he's a famous boxer I mean heavyweight champion. He
just kind of did whatever he wanted to do, and he got by on his charm and his
talent. And you know he dated white women,
which at the time was not a was not
accepted. So I sort of thought thought about him when I was thinking about
Billy Bigelow, but yeah, he's certainly ahead of his time.
And it's interesting to bring that energy into a piece like this without
changing a lot, you know, without changing words and lyrics and things like that.
--There's been a lot of talk about doing this show today. The MeToo movement the
Time's Up movement. Billy Bigelow is abusive character in the plot.
--Yeah --Kind of
is a guy who lashes out right? And maybe he just... I mean you don't see much of it
on stage, but you hear about it. What is it like for you to explore that today,
and what's it been like for the production?
--Well, it's hard. I mean, it's
it's hard for me to you know to reckon with I think when you're playing this
character, the fact that he is abusive and violent.
I'm not those things, so but along with that violence, which we don't shy
away from you know he loves his wife and his child so much. And I think that's the
what's the biggest challenge with this role is there's things are so
intertwined. And Rodgers and Hammerstein
I think did a great job of creating such
a complex character that has to reckon with those two things and I think that's
why it's such a beautiful journey to take on. It's I love playing roles that
they're not just the good guy or the bad guy. How do we ride that wave, you know,
throughout the night? And that's my that's my challenge in this role.
--Critiques of the show have been difficult for me to listen to sometimes
as a fan of the show because the show is deals with these things.
--Right. Is there a
second chance? Can you bounce back from something so heinous, you know? Can
you be redeemed? That's a really big question that I think you know in 1945
we were asking, and you know maybe people a little uncomfortable. And now we're
asking, and it's okay to be I think it's a good thing to be a little
uncomfortable and to ask these really hard questions in the theater. And that's
why Roger and Hammerstein were ahead of their time.
--Okay we're gonna take a quick
break. We're gonna be back. We're going to talk more about my favorite musical ever
written Carousel.
[music]
[music]
--And we are back with Josh Henry.
So how's that Jessie Mueller? How's she
doing? --The pits!
--She is your Julie Jordan. She's a queer one, Julie Jordan
--She sure is.
She's incredible like I can't even. When we just started working together, I had
to talk talk about Beautiful and Waitress and
--You had to have
your fanboy -- I had to yeah I was like, look you're
gonna sit here and you're gonna take this.
She's so humble and just like ahhh. I
was like strap you in this chair. You're
just gonna take this for five minutes. --I gotta get this out of my system!
--Okay? She's absolutely incredible to
work with. She's an amazing actress and singer and just a chameleon. She can do
anything. She's so sweet and so generous and you
know really a solid woman. And I think she's got this really spiritual thing
about her, which I really dig and I think you know talking about Carousel before
we went and did this we were very excited about not backing away from the
spiritual aspect of this, and bringing it out even more. So I'm loving loving her
loving having her as my Julie. --Speaking of spiritual sounds like you had a
pretty spiritual upbringing right?
--Yeah. --Let's dig into this a little bit.
You actually were what born in Winnipeg?
--Yes --So why were your parents in
Winnipeg? -- So my parents were in Winnepeg
--Give me the life story. -- I'm gonna give you the full
before behind the musical. So after my
parents left Jamaica they went straight to Canada.
had my sister, my brother and I. I was the youngest, and I stayed there till I was
three and then we moved down to
--Are there a lot of Jamaicans in Canada?
--Yes! --Okay.
--Yeah man. Big Jamaican population.
--[laughs]
--[speaking in Jamaican dialect] All the Carribean people go up
See that's like something my dad
Ya, man, all of them! -- I love it. Do the rest of the interview like that.
--Three years old and I went down to Miami Florida. And we wanted
to be they wanted to be closer to home, and yes. But my parents were very
spiritual folks, you know? -- Right what's your dad's name?
--Zadok. -- Cool name
--Have you ever heard that name before?
--No. --Neither has
I've never heard anyone say that name.
--It's literally the only person you've ever met with that name?
--It sounds like a character from
like Star Wars or something right? --Exactly
--But apparently he was like some high priest in the Bible. So I grew up you
know studying the Bible and you know that's a big influence on me.
--Yeah, your dad was a teacher. A Christian
Academy teacher,
--Yes and still is. So I grew up with a big spiritual influence
and you know I continued to, you know, that's a big part of my life. and
that's what really attracted me to care so as well it's you know this this this
spiritual aspect of what happens in the afterlife, and just asking all those
questions.
--That is a big part of the plot.
--Yeah. -- It reminds me of Ghost, Carousel
--[laughs] Yeah --Isn't it simmilar?
I mean like it's kind of similar. Okay so then you ended up down in Miami.
-- I went to the
University of Miami. And that really opened my mind to just different
people, different religions, all types of stuff and musical theater.
--It's kind of a
party school isn't it? --Yeah
--Did you avoid all that?
--You know, I did. And the reason why
is because I came in studying musical theater. And I was so behind. I literally
knew nothing. I mean, I got into shows when I was a junior in high school, which
is really late, and people are getting into when they're like five years old so
--What show was that?
--The Music Man.
--Oh that was in high school
--That was the first show I
did in high school. --Okay Harold Hill
--Yeah yeah yeah. I did it in college, too.
I did it at the University of Miami. That was like the last musical that I did I played Harold
Hill as well. So it was a nice full circle moment.
--Would you do it on Broadway if like Scott Rudin was like let's do
The Music Man. Want to play Harold Hill?You're into it?
--I, look you got trouble, you know?
I love that little. I love it. I do love that musical. It would be interesting to do high
school, college, and then do
professionally. I mean, come on that would be really dope.
--Okay, so you really started studying and learning musicals and listening to cast
albums. --Yes, oh yes.
--Catching up
--Literally just living in the music library,
studying the shows, and learning what music theory was, when everyone around me
knew it. So that's what kept me out of.. that's one reason I wasn't into the
Miami party scene because I had 8:00 music theory and then I would stay up til 2:00
--You were too busy listening to cast albums. --I was... let's call a spade a spade.
I started like getting roles, and got very confident, and Michael McElroy came
to our school to direct me in Violet. And I was like okay. Then I had
like the template of what I wanted to be. So like all the things came together. You
know right around my junior year. --Mike McElroy
--That's pretty much
--He's a charming guy. He can sing.
he could sang.
--Come on. Yeah. Sang with a capital "ang"
Yeah. --And then
you got out of school, and you had a gig, which was Godspell.
--Yes, still with the
spiritual, right? Everything's like... --Your whole life you've been training for
Godspell.
[laughs]
--That's right. My parents were so happy that Was it
--It must have been like, Oh! The perfect. Show business.
--Of all the shows, I'm like Mom, dad, God, Godspell. They're like hallelujah!
That's when I
met Robin DeJesus, who was a little off-Broadway show called In the Heights
at the time. And he had an audition --You were in it together at Papermill
, Godspell --Yes! Yeah.
--And it was
supposed to come to Broadway, and it didn't. --Right
--But Robin was doing this In the Heights thing and he said...
--He was like you should
come in and audition for the understudy of Benny.
And I did, and that's how I got
into the In the Heights dream team. --Which is a good team to be in
--Which is a team that
I've and haven't stopped with them and I'm literally gonna be working with them
yeah....
--All right let's talk we're gonna talk more with Josh Henry after this
break.
[music]
[music]
--And we're back with Joshua Henry.
Sounds more like a two-time Tony nominee
if I say Joshua. -- Oh, well
--Josh you know Josh is a little to casual
so you're any ensemble In the Heights and then you eventually took over as
Benny.
I remembered specifically hearing a buzz
like "You've gotta see the new Benny."
Yeah, I'm serious! -- Is that right?
--And then I saw you in The Wiz. That was kind of first time you had a nice juicy,
you know, that was like --Yeah
--A nice big moment at Encores! And that production, it
was directed by Tommy Kail. It was choreographed by Andy Blankenueler
Alex Lacaimore did the music right?
It was that team, and you were the Tin Man
and I still remember you singing "If I Could Feel." "If I Could Feel," man.
--That's the song.
--Did you sing have you sang that song since?
--Oh yeah I sing it in concerts.
--That's the song -- I love that song.
--Anyway, I was like there he is. That's that guy. That's that guy everyone's
talking about, and now you're like a big fancy Broadway star.
--That's, that's --That's how it
happens that that production of The Wiz, I just want to put I always like to
always say on record, that's a great production. --That was a great production.
--Should have moved. That was a great production.
--Is it too late?
I got my tin-man shoes on right now.
--Oh yeah you do --Slide that oil right here
-- I was
like that guy has an amazing voice, and the Tin Man is jacked.
[laughs] --That's what I thought.
--The Tin Man is... --Considering he doesn't move much.
--Look... That was part of
it, right? I'm just muscle-bound. That's what the Tin Man was, but could
tap, though, a little two-step.
--That's right that's right
--Right? --But, yeah, you know it's interesting.
Like there's the Broadway careers are shaped very
strangely because like you thought Godspell would go to Broadway, maybe the Wiz will
go to Broadway. And then and then actually you know the Scottsboro Boys
was sort of your first big moment for a lot of people to see you in a new
role and a Tony nomination.
And that and that one you got because Brandon Victor Dixon,
you know couldn't do it from off Broadway, right? --That's the great thing. And
whenever people are like, any advice?
I'm like just follow your path.
You never know where it's gonna lead. Like literally I didn't know from In the
Heights how I got that with Robin and then The Wiz!
was incredible and was supposed to this, and Godspell was supposed to do this. Like
the marquee was up it just didn't happen.
--Oh, god, was the Marquee up? I forgot. --It
was all the way up, but at that time like... So the Godspell thing happened, and then
I went back into In the Heights as a swing, and I was able to, I had like
five roles that I was you know like covering. That's where I really learned
my chops. That's where I really learned how to
really be a better performer because I
had to be in charge of four or five different roles. And I needed that. If I
didn't have that, then I wouldn't be prepared for The Wiz, and then I want to
be prepared to like take my first role in Scottsboro Boys. So yeah you know I
think all these things I mean, happened for reasons that you don't know at the
time, but you take the detour and you don't you value the detour, you see all
the bits and pieces you can pick up from it, and then you take that into your next
thing. --Right. How's your wife Katherine
--Katherine is amazing. --You guys met at
University of Miami.
--Yes. We were across hall from each other and that's how we
met. And --You met in the hall?
--We met at the
elevator! --The elevator
--And I remember, I still remember when she walked off the
elevator. She's got this beautiful red hair. And, like, she smiled at me, and I was
like oh snap! [laughs]
--But I just remember it's like she
reminded me of Wendy's, like the Wendy's girl, you know?
--The Wendy's burgers? --Yeah, Wendy
which I was, still am into, but you know, I mean, but like I was like okay.
--You had a crush on the Wendy's girl? --[laughs]
--And you were eating your fries.
--Absolutely. --And your frostee?
--Wendy. So, that's how we met, and 15 years later,
you know we're here. And now
we have Sampson. He's incredible and Katherine has been a trouper, you know?
Taking care of him, you know, while I'm in previews, you know
rehearsing for all day and then doing the shows at night. And she's an
unbelievable woman.
--Sampson was born midway through previews
--Midway --Right as previews
started.
--Thankfully, you know, he's, he came when he came, and it's nice to have a
spring baby. I always thought that's that was a really good thing. Like we wanted
to have baby in spring so that we could go for walks and stuff, but it couldn't
have been a better time doing a role like this. I mean, singing a song like the
Soliloquy before was born was was one thing. Now that he's
born, like, I'm still asking those questions, you know? Like, I wonder what he
think of me? Like what does he see when he looks at
me? What am I gonna be for him? I would do anything for him. And yes. And
it's different from night to night. And sometimes the emotions really get in,
and then you have to remind yourself, You still got to sing this thing,
man. So yeah, you're riding that wave of having emotion, the real emotions from
your real life come into the song. It's pretty wild.
--So when you're when you're
home are you just like staring at him going like I made look what we made?
--Yeah I mean I look at him like this, and I'm like you you are you real? Like
seriously. --That mug
--[LAUGHS] --Is Show People with Paul real? Is it, or is
it...
--Yes, that is a real mug.
--Yeah [laughs]
--And that's the answer like.
--Yeah, I'll hold him up. I get the football
hold going and you know it would just be like just jogging around the house like, I'm...
We're silly with it. We're silly with it. It's fun.
--That's amazing. Congratulations.
--Thank you. --It's so so cool making
families. --Making families, yeah. I mean
having this moment is, I never thought I'd be I'd have a have a baby while
doing a show about being a father. The marrying of those two things is
really special.
--I'm excited you're in it. When I heard
that, I was like that's gonna be good. With that voice and Soliloquy that's
gonna be good. Because you know you have a lot of like young fans who don't know
that maybe some of the classic musicals. It's the first time they've had the
opportunity to see it. So...
--Right so that's a cool thing
--Yeah, come on out y'all. --Come on out.
--Carousel is... --At the Imperial Theatre
--We're riding this thing all the way out.
All the way
around this carousel. --Thank you so much for being here.
Thank you for wearing
your Tin Man shoes. I didn't even realize til you said it.
--Bam. --Everyone go check out
Carousel at the Imperial Theatre.
Thank you for watching. We'll see you next time.
[music]
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