#Grey Henson

[erikahenningsen]

tick, tick... BOOM! | February 3, 2024e | The Kennedy Center

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[seanastinhopeunquenchable]

Sean Astin and the cast of “Elf the Musical” singing “The Story of Buddy the Elf.”

Sean, playing Mr. Greenway (the mean boss) in this scene, even dances on a table!!

[killingfrankie]

MY THOUGHTS ON THE OBC CAST RECORDING OF MEAN GIRLS.

‘A Cautionary Tale’: Honestly the best start to a musical ever. I’m obsessed with this song so much it’s insane. The little ‘nice’ from Damian and then ‘thank you’ from Janis after the ‘you can’t buy integrity from the mall’ line is SO SATISFYING. So good.

‘It Roars’: The transition into this song is so seamless and perfect and it’s so catchy. It shows how separated Cady is from society and it helps make sense of who she is, why she acts the way she does and how enthusiastic she is to finally join a more “normal community/society”. Does that make sense?. I am personally thankful that it was cut from the movie and replaced by ‘What Ifs’ because I just don't think it would’ve translated well. And that’s okay! Some things are better left untouched.

‘Where Do You Belong?’: “your mother called you babygirl?” “singing ha ha ha” SO GOOD. Damian is so funny. In the musical and the new movie Damian has so much more personality and more of a backstory and it’s so good. SO MAD THIS WAS CUT THOUGH. Grey slayed this song. The introduction to Damian and Janis for Cady. Perfect.

‘Meet The Plastics’: Silly silly Cady so so so curious. The way they describe the plastics in the beginning💀so funny. “MY NAME IS REGINA GEEEEORRRRRRRGE” LITERAL FUCKING CHILLS I LOVE TAYLOR LOUDERMAN. Her intro is so fucking real. HATE the 115 line tho. Thank goodness they changed it. Mad they cut karen and Gretchen’s parts from the movie tho 🙁 GRETCHEN’S VERSE IS SO GOOD BRO. straight and to the point. Karen’s intro is so funny. I love Karen. They could never make me hate her. “That’s it! :D” kate rockwell oh how i love you. WHEN ALL THEIR VERSES MERGE IS SO GOOD. i'm personally a Regina girl so I sing the ‘heeeeeres where you belong here's where you belong.’ “NO REALLY SAY IT.” SO GOOD. “come sit with us tomorrow! It’ll be fetch!”

‘Stupid With Love’: LOOOOOOVE. I used to not really like this song but it’s grown on me a lot and I love how unhinged Erika gets. “Do you have an eraser?” “i would love to :3” cadyyyyyyyy heroooonnnnnn. SO GOOD. “jinx!” “ha ^_^ IM ASTOUNDED AND NONPLUSSED. I AM FILLED WITH CALCULUST.” I LOVE HER. this song is so good. I also personally really like Angourie’s version too.

‘Apex Predator’: i can play this song on piano. SO GOOD. i love this song so much. Have you guys seen rachel zeglers cover? Cady using metaphors to present Regina’s behaviour and her power is so clever and it’s just so fun to listen to. When janis and cady both sing “she’s queen of beasts” THEY SOUND SO GOOD TOGETHER BRO. “HOW CAN YOU OUTSMAAAAARRRRRRRT THE APEX PREDATOOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR”

‘What’s Wrong With Me?’: Gretchen :((( I feel like i cry to this song a lot. It’s just like, gretchen, honey, you dont deserve this.  “Mama called me beautiful. Dont believe her anymore, now im listening to you.” REGINA LOOK WHAT YOU’VE DONE WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS SHE’S JUST A BABY😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 the final “WHAT’S WRONG WITH ME” AND SHE BELTS. SO GOOD. translated so well on screen.

‘Stupid With Love (Reprise)’: i’ve never been a big fan of aaron but i don’t have any issues with him but this is satisfying to listen to. “So i’m swearing off of dating.” “Shit.🥲” . “hey whats the date?” “october 3rd! MY NEW FAVOURITE DAY!”

‘Sexy’: KAREN I LOVE YOU. this song translates so well onto screen from stage. Kate slayed this song and so did avantika. I love how passionate karen is about halloween. This song is such a BOP too. The beat is so addicting. “I CAN BE” ateeee. She knows who she is and she SLAYED. When she lists the costumes. Chefs kiss. The whole sex cancer bit is so good. Thank you for curing sex cancer karen! “THIS IS MODERN FEMINISM TALKING. I EXPECT TO RUN THE WORLD IN SHOES I CANNOT WALK IN.” ICONIC. PERFECT. INCREDIBLE.

‘Someone Gets Hurt’: literal chills. Like actual goosebumps. “Yes i look perfect” yes you do. I can play this on guitar. SO FUCKING GOOD ISTG. so tense. I’d give in to her immediately. She’s so intoxicating i swear to god. This song captures regina SO WELL. there’s so many astonishing little vocal moments. Taylor louderman is literally one of my favourite vocalists of all time she’s so fucking good to listen to. The amount of emotion in her voice is incredible. “IT’S FINE FOR YOU IT’S FINE TO FLIRT. AND GOD YOU’RE HOT WHY DO YOU EVEN WEAR A SHIRT.” actually fucking insane i love her.

‘Revenge Party’: this song is so fun and actually batshit crazy i love it. It really shows how creative Janis and Damian are. This for me is where Cady turns for the worst. I hate the whole theme where they fuck with regina’s weight to take her down. It’s genuinely disgusting and thats one of my only problems with mean girls. Like ik they’re all mean girls but still. Gretchens whole meltdown is so fucking funny. I love gretchen so much. The final chorus is so fun.

‘Fearless’: gretchen not being able to function without having a “boss” is iconic but also someone get her a therapist. This song is so fun. Like all of them singing about not being scared of regina and then regina coming in and changing the song to the chords of SGH and then basically warning them that she will get them back. Again, CHILLS.

‘Stop’: MY FAV ATM. SO FUN. SO MAD THEY CUT IT FROM THE MOVIE. JAQUEL WOULD’VE SERVED. So catchy and addicting i love it so much. The “stop” before giving examples hits every time. “MY GOD GIRL, HE’S JUST A GUY!” SO TRUE!!! Janis calling out Damian about Phillip is so funny. Damian going insane over phillip is so funny. “For four whole weeks i trolled and dissed her. THEN I FOUND OUT SHE WAS HIS SISTER.” CRYING ITS SO FUNNY. Then all the girls saying their mistakes. It just gets gradually more sad. “Good work ladies lets take a break” A 5-6-7-8 ! “ TAP BREAK. ICONIC. Him calling her out by saying “stop. Being glued to your phone, counting followers and likes and IGNORING YOUR FRIENDS.” and then the. “She’s leaving! JUST LIKE MY DAD!” IS SO FUNNY.

‘What’s Wrong With Me? (Reprise)’: again with the “boss” :( also having mrs george in the reprise is so funny and it makes so much sense. Bless they’re both trying so hard. “You’ll be worshipped for years.. Then she’ll turn three and everything’s wrong with me” REGINA WHAT DID YOU DO TO YOUR MOTHER 😭😭

‘Whose House Is This?’: SO addicting and fun. “WHOSE HOUSE IS THIS? ITS MY HOUSE NOW.” im so thankful kevin kind of got a song. He’s so funny. “WHOSE HOUSE IS THIS?” “IT WAS ALWAYS MY HOUSE😭” SO FUNNY.

‘More Is Better’: am i the only one who thinks aaron kinda over-reacted here when he called cady a clone of regina… likeeeeee it’s not that deep bro. Also when it alludes to ‘i see stars’ is so cute. She’s JUST a girl. And she’s not wrong. Regina wouldn’t let that girl talk to him in a normal conversation. What else was she supposed to do? Aaron does have some points tho about how she’s changing herself to it in. but he shouldn’t be scrutinising her for it.. Like bro just reassure her that you like how she normally is… cutesy song tho

‘Someone Gets Hurt (Reprise)’: this entire sequence is genuinely insane and so fucking good and i am obsessed with barrett so much like she’s so talented. And Auli'i ate it up in the movie too.

‘World Burn’: GOOSEBUMPS. The start of this scene is so sad in the movie… TAYLOR LOUDERMAN ATE THIS SONG UP. not a fan of the use of the d slur tho. V happy they changed it for the movie. The intensity of this song makes me feel like im entering my villain era. “But you didnt finish my oooooofoffffff. MY NAME IS REGINA GEORGE.” CHILLS BRO CHILLS. “AND YOU CAN QUOTE THIS. WOAHOHOHOOOOOHHHOHHHH.” “MEAN. MEAN. MEEEEEEEEEEAN.” I LOVE HER BRO YOU DONT UNDERSTAND. “SOO MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAN. I WANNA WATCH THE WORLD BURN.” I C O N I  C.

‘I’d Rather Be Me’: i can play this song on piano too. It’s so good. I love it so much. Probably my fav when i first watched the musical. My fav thing is the chanting of “janis janis janis janis” and it is so satisfying. Im sad they cut it from the movie. Janis’ redemption arc is so fucking good. Love a queen who will do anything to be authentically themself. “everyBODY has opinions but tht doesnt make them true.” i prefer the ‘every asshole’ from the movie but the everyBODY still hits.

‘Do This Thing’: “YO YO YO MATHLETES STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS, WHAT! FIRST FEMALE EVER ON THE TEAM, WHAT! A BOXED LUNCH WILL BE PROVIDED, WHAT!” SO FUCKING FUNNY BROOOOO. “I’m a lean, mean, math machine” okay cady. Whatever floats ur boat queen. That line kinda hits. The part where they’re solving equations hits so hard. Kevin is so funny. “YOU LIKE THAT MARYMOUNT?!?!” cady ate it up towards the end. This song is so good.

‘I See Stars’: this song is so cvnty i love it. It makes me lightheaded when i karaoke it though so god bless erika henningsen for doing it 8 times a week. This song is so cutesy i love it. The perfect ending. Cady’s redemption was so well written bro. And i love this song. Not my favourite but it’s still on my playlists.

[esoteric-aesthetic-lyrics]

Where Do You Belong? - Erika Henningsen, Barrett Wilbert Weed, Grey Henson

[rosesupposes]

If I had a nickel for every show that opened with Grey Henson narrating the beginning of a story with a song, I’d have two nickels, which isn’t a lot but it’s weird that it happened twice.

[mycycleangelo]

bro last night was a cautionary tale of fear and lust and pride based on actual events where people died

(no one died)

[d-criss-news]

Via Rebel Wilson's Instagram Story (June 10th, 2023)

[liongrl321]

all of the Damians/Damiens are iconic lol

[maybeimamuppet]

not news i was expecting to see today but i did squeal

[megesth]

Okay

[belizedeservesbetter]

Shucked is the Cream of the Crop!

It has the juice! 

Guys it is Shucked season and we all best get on board. 

My slight disclaimer for this review is that I’ve been on the Shucked train for almost a year now when I saw a staged reading with most of the cast that has stayed with the show to the Broadway production. But even then, as I was walking through the door and asked what this musical was about, I was a bit skeptical when I was told the answer was “corn.” 

But this show is the real deal and I know I’ll be making many more trips down to Cob County real soon. This musical is hilarious and full of heart all at once, filled to the brim with top notch performances by people you can tell genuinely care about this show, and I already know Shucked will be a new favorite of mine. 

To start things off, this is probably one of the best written books of a musical in a long, long time. Robert Horn (Tony Award winner for Tootsie) has written the funniest show on Broadway, hands down. The jokes keep coming and never stop, and what I found particularly cool was that each character had their own style of comedy, and slight spoilers but it makes sense which characters end up with who they do purely based on complementary comedic styles. Gordy and Lulu’s comedy styles align perfectly, so of course they had to end up together. 

But the book isn’t just funny, it’s also full of heart. These are fully developed characters who are genuine and earnest in what they want and need. The story is ultimately about loving others and finding the hero within yourself, which surprisingly worked really well in a show filled with jokes coming at you from all sides. 

What also keeps the story grounded is Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally’s score. It’s a folksy country score, which beautifully complements the high octane comedy by keeping it in focus. And surprisingly all the songs are bangers. The opening number sets the tone perfectly, while ballads such as “Walls,” “Maybe Love,” and “Woman of the World” are beautiful songs that drive home the story’s themes. Every character gets a moment to shine, and the boys’ big song, which I’m not totally certain what the name is because there is no song list in the playbill but I’d wager is titled “Hee Haw” is a standout. I’ve also had the Tampa song stuck in my head since seeing the show. 

And of course “Independently Owned,” Alex Newell’s big number, brought the house down. There was a full standing ovation afterwords. They were absolutely excellent as Lulu, a sharp as nails whiskey entrepreneur who loves her family and will protect them with everything she has. Newell also has one of my favorite lines in the show, which is “These eyebrows may not be my children, but I’m about to raise them.”

All of the performances are uniformly excellent, with my standouts being Kevin Cahoon as Peanut, Grey Henson & Ashley D. Kelly as Storytellers 1 & 2, and Caroline Innerbichler as Maizy. 

Kevin Cahoon plays the most out there character I’ve ever seen in the American theatre canon, and he is absolutely fantastic. Peanut goes on insane non sequiturs and completely nails. But the real glue of his character are his more quiet moments. There is a moment when he’s comforting his brother Beau (Andrew Durand) and he could’ve played it off as a huge joke but he played it completely earnest which worked so incredibly well and gave more layers to the character. 

Grey Henson and Ashley D. Kelly play the Storytellers, and yes, they’re very aware that their characters’ names are Storyteller 1 & 2. They are both an absolute delight and I loved every moment they were on stage. They play a narrator role, but also join in when needed. My absolute favorite moment in the show involves Grey Henson when they’re playing the classic mafia style gangsters and the Tampa jewelers. 

And of course Caroline Innerbichler as Maizy, the main character of our story. She sings beautifully and is absolutely hilarious and plays Maizy so earnest that you can’t help but root for her. I feel like in any other musical the classic leading lady wouldn’t be “allowed” to be super funny but Innerbichler is hysterical while still being the show’s beating heart. 

This review is already getting long but I don’t want to leave out the other two leads. John Behlmann, one of my faves in Tootsie, was also excellent. Andrew Durand, who I famously disliked in Head Over Heels, has completely won me over in this. He was absolutely wonderful in Shucked. 

I need to talk about the Storytellers for a second, because a narrator concept usually doesn’t work for me but in this it was one of my favorite parts. They were genuinely so funny and so self aware about it all, and when the twist about them comes at the end, their more tender moments make more sense and is absolutely lovely all around. 

Anyways I really loved this show and want it to be a hit. It’s very much “the little show that could” right now and I hope it has a long life on Broadway. It’s so seldom we get an original musical and this one is really stellar. 

[johnny-simpson]

I saw Tick Tick Boom. I met Brandon Uranowitz, Grey Henson, and Nikhil Saboo. What is life??

I’ve always wanted to see TTB (still haven’t seen the movie) since I was fifteen. As a teenager, devoured every clip and listened to the original cast recording over and over again. I never thought in a million years that I’d ever buy a ticket to see the musical. I had an orchestra seat and it was magical.

The blocking, choreography, and stage production was amazing to watch. I finally got to live my dream.

[seanastinhopeunquenchable]

Outside May Be Frightful, But Sean Astin and Grey Henson Are Making It Delightful in “Elf the Musical”

Sean Astin and Gray Henson enjoy hot chocolate at New York’s Bryant Park, while discussing their roles in “Elf the Musical” now on Broadway at the Marquis Theatre.

[killingfrankie]

POV: you ask a lesbian theatre kid what’s on her ‘on repeat’ playlist.

[dorothy16]

‘Shucked’ backstage via Rebel Wilson’s Instagram story.

[reginaisafuglycow]