Grey Henson '08 - Belting It Out for Broadway Audiences

The last decade has moved at warp speed for Grey Henson ’08. He has gone from walking across the stage at the Macon City Auditorium to singing and dancing on Broadway. Following his graduation from Stratford, he attended Carnegie Mellon University earning his Bachelor of Fine Arts in acting and music theatre. At the start of his senior year, he began preparing for the school’s actor showcase, which was a mini-performance that acts as an introduction for the students to casting directors, agents, and other industry professionals. The end goal for any student is to land a job or agent at the end of his or her senior year.

During this time, one of Grey’s teachers recommended he audition for the touring production of the musical, Book of Mormon. The Broadway show had swept the Tony Awards just months before and there were a number of fellow Carnegie Mellon alumni among the cast. During the first semester of his senior year, he flew to New York for an audition, which turned into a second audition in December of 2011.

“I was home in Macon for the holiday break when I got the call about being cast as Elder McKinley in Book of Mormon,” remembers Grey. “I had a job lined up right after graduation, and it was not lost on me how lucky I was.”

For two years, Grey toured with Book of Mormon performing eight shows weekly. He worked alongside South Park creators and co-directors, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and under the direction of Casey Nicholaw, famed Broadway choreographer and director. He even did some guest appearances on his days off for the ABC television show “Suburgatory” while they were on tour in Los Angeles.

The demanding schedule was not the only challenge for Grey as Elder McKinley. Fellow Carnegie Mellon alumnus and actor Rory O’Malley had received a Tony nomination for his portrayal of the role, so how was Grey going to make the role his own as the originator in the touring production. “I was really fortunate that the directors gave us the freedom to create these roles for ourselves. I never tried to play Elder McKinley like Rory did, I always looked for ways to make him my own,” shares Grey, even adding baton twirling to one number that Broadway audiences never experienced.

When the role of Elder McKinley became available in the Broadway production in 2014, it was Nicholaw who offered the role to Grey. From 2012 to 2016, Grey performed in over 1,600 productions of Book of Mormon across the country before leaving the role in September of 2016.  

“When an actor leaves a role, he or she basically walks into unemployment,” explains Grey. “For me, that was exciting and scary at same time. I needed a change, and for the first time I had a chance to enjoy some time off and the city of New York.”

Grey shares that one of challenges he faces as an actor is that he does not fit into any typical role of type-casting. He is more of an in-between personality and sometimes casting directors do not know how to place him. “I was having one of those ‘when it rains, it pours’ experiences, I had not worked in about five months and then all of a sudden I had all these auditions going on at the same time.”

Casey Nicholaw was also working with actor and director Tina Fey and her husband, composer and producer, Jeff Richmond, on developing the 2000s pop culture hit movie, Mean Girls, for Broadway. “Casey asked me to read for the role of Damian Hubbard during its early stages,” shares Grey. “I really loved the role because I was Damian when I was in high school, but I knew they might take things in a totally different direction, so I walked away excited that, at least, I got to meet Tina Fey and Jeff Richmond.”

Once the script developed further, Grey was given the opportunity to audition again for the role and was offered the part in January of 2017. Not only would he be working with Fey, Richmond, and Nicholaw, but there was built-in fan base from the original Mean Girls production that could really benefit the show.

When preparing a musical for Broadway, one of the initial steps is to run it in a lab or rehearsal setting followed by a short run in an out-of-town setting for theatre reviews. Typically, a number of changes evolve to any musical during this stage of production. For Grey, this turned out to be a significant time for his character, Damian.

In the fall of 2017, the show was previewed at the National Theatre in Washington, D.C., and in the original script, Damian disappeared in the second act. One of the Washington Post theatre reviewers commented that he wanted more Damian in Act II, so the number “Stop” was added allowing the producers to not only showcase more of Grey’s character, but also, showing off his tap dancing and musical theatre background.

“I think that’s how I got the Tony nomination,” shares Grey. “Casey Nicholaw is an amazing choreographer and I was so honored that ‘Stop’ gave me the opportunity to use my dance background with his talents.”

After Mean Girls opened to audiences in April of 2018, there was an even bigger whirlwind of excitement about the show than the original creative and cast could have guessed. “We knew the show was going to be a success, we just didn’t know the level,” says Grey. “Mean Girls, the movie, has always been so popular and a part of so many people’s vernacular, including my own. On Broadway, it took on a new life with a younger audience, who are now in high school, and form a great, young crowd who are theatre enthusiasts. Lots of folks who’ve seen the musical never saw the movie, and they are going back to watch the original after they’ve seen our production.”

Fans were not the only ones throwing accolades at the Mean Girls cast and directors. The show earned 12 Tony Award nominations, three Helen Hayes Award nominations, nine Drama Desk Award nominations, three Drama League Award nominations, six Outer Critics Circle Award nominations, and three Chita Rivera Awards for Dance and Choreography nominations. Grey himself received a Tony nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical, Helen Hayes Award nomination for Outstanding Performance in a Visiting Production, Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical, and he won the Broadway.com Audience Awards for Favorite Featured Actor in a Musical and Favorite Onstage Pair with Barrett Wilbert Weed, who plays Janis Sarkisian.  

“I didn’t expect all of the nominations and attention. As an actor, you don’t want something like that to get in the way of doing the show, because there is the pressure of giving a Tony Award-level performance every night,” shares Grey. The Tony Award frenzy filled his days with offers to promote himself and show while keeping up with the eight performances each week. There were live and phone interviews, radio and television appearances, including the Today show and Saturday Night Live, and a month-long high, but Mean Girls walked without a single Tony award. While disappointing, this did not surprise the cast. “We know we are a commercial hit, which does not always translate to awards, but it is still fun that we were recognized, and we know that we’ve got something that will run for a long time.”

That is where one of the hardest parts of Grey’s job comes into play. The challenge of keeping the show fresh and making every performance feel like opening night for each audience. It is also the gift of live theatre because the audience is the final character in every performance. Their reactions vary from show to show, so the cast responds differently each time they perform.

“I learned in Book of Mormon that as an actor in live theatre, you rely on the basics of listening and responding and your most important skill is to react accordingly. That’s really what acting is,” says Grey. “It’s a challenge, but an exciting one, and what makes live theater special. That performance is one night only, and each night that audience gets something special made only for them.”

Grey knows how fortunate he is to have already paved a successful theatre career. When he thinks back, he never consciously decided that musical theatre would be his career choice. Growing up in Macon, it was the hobby that ruled his life and he performed in every local production at school and in the community he could. He was encouraged by his mother, Paige Henson, and it naturally became what he wanted to study in college. Being accepted to Carnegie Mellon and having the opportunity to play Elder McKinley and Damian Hubbard are all experiences that have validated his decision along the way.

“I owe so much to my mom and the amazing arts community in Macon, for providing me opportunities for me to flex my muscles,” says Grey. “I’m getting paid to do what I’ve always loved doing and that’s not lost on me as adult.”

He is also grateful to Stratford and the teachers who encouraged him along the way. He was a gifted English student and was naturally drawn to Michelle Fleming and Mary Beth Gumbart. “Mrs. Fleming and Mrs. Gumbart saw something in me, even though I was different than a typical student, and they celebrated my uniqueness. That encouraged me and allowed me to be creative in ways that came naturally to me. I always loved the way they taught, spoke, and cared about me. I was also impressed all the ways they were able to get creativity out of people who had so many different gifts.”

Recognizing how creativity impacts his life daily is one of the gifts that just keeps on giving for Grey. He is a part of a show that is bridging the gap from one generation to another with a pop culture classic movie turned Broadway production. He is giving a face and personality to Damian, a character who spoke to him as a teenager, and now he has the opportunity to do the same for others today – which may be the most important role he plays.