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.

Joshua Henry

Categorized in : You Yourself Country Talking

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.

moving-on forgiveness freedom moving

We all have something in our past that is gripping us, and 'Violet' is very much about leaving those things behind.

behind things leaving past

History can just be so unkind as time passes.

just time-passes time history

I feel such a connection to 'Violet.'

connection i-feel feel violet

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.

you childhood relationship life

I realized no matter how famous you are, you're still human, and sometimes you need a chicken wing!

chicken you matter sometimes

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.

learning imagination science people

I play guitar; I can sing a little bit.

sing guitar i-can play

I love the idea of challenging what the standards is.

idea i-love standards love

I'm not Mr. Brooding.

mr brooding

It's always relevant - moving forward into the future and finding out who you are. I think those themes never get stale.

think you future moving-forward

I went to the University of Miami.

university miami

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.

will you experience serious

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.

you house remember hands

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.

woman man black time

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.'

river loved man pride

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.

me gentleman love people

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.

you together work people

Theatre is very cutthroat, especially here in New York!

here new theatre new-york

'The Light in the Piazza' is one of my top three musicals of all time.

top three light time