#baxter ward theatre nerd

[differenteagletragedy]

hello, i've been thinking about musical theatre nerd Baxter since the Phantom of the Opera ask, and now i need headcanons about it, please, personally, i also think we would've made a great Orpheus for Hadestown

I love all the theatre nerd Baxter talk, it's so fun to think about!

-- He started dancing when he was 8, so by the time he gets into high school, everyone definitely knows it's a thing. He's also very good! Because of this, he gets approached his freshman year when the theatre kids are putting on the ~spring musical~

-- They have kids that know how to dance, but he's getting to be known for his talent, so hey, why not ask him to help out?

-- He's got some free time and a pathological need to please, so like sure, he's down.

-- Instantly obsessed. He's not unfamiliar with theatre, and he's seen musicals (old black and white movies with all the dancing, he loves), but actually being involved in the production of one? What a blast for him! The drama of it all!

-- As a former costume crew member, Baxter also gives me costume crew vibes. Just sitting in the shop sewing stuff and talking trash about everybody else. Could hem the hell out of a pair of pants and make an actor cry at the same time.

-- Him with a measuring tape around his neck at the sewing machine, just working and suffering. No, you can't try on someone else's costume for fun. No, you can't borrow something for a party. Get out of his shop. Seriously, get out.

-- Stage Manage Baxter too. He has his binder, his headset and he is TIRED OF EVERYONE. Learn your lines. Build the set. He doesn't have TIME for this.

-- I'm just realizing that you didn't specify high school, that was in a comment somewhere, so this can be for college too, or an AU! Baxter is an old soul, he's always going to be like this.

-- Could also perform! He could sing if he wanted, so he'd be your classic triple threat with his dancing talent, and we all know his dramatic ass could handle the acting.

-- Baxter pretty much IS Bobby from "Company," but he couldn't play the role until he was the right age for the character, so no school productions, it would hit too close to home.

-- "Somebody hold me too close, somebody hurt me too deep, somebody sit in my chair and ruin my sleep and make me aware of being alive," like COME ON.

-- We've talked about Phantom Baxter more than once, so that's a thing too!

-- I would do anything to see him do Emcee in "Cabaret." Tell me he wouldn't kill it, you can't do it.

-- Jamie in "Last 5 Years" -- "The Schmuel Song" is something he'd actually do for MC, so that's cute.

-- I'll lose my mind -- Baxter proposing like "The Next Ten Minutes," just think. "Will you share your life with me for the next ten minutes, for a million summers till the world explodes, till there's no one left who has ever known us apart?"

-- He will absolutely belt his heart out when he's alone in the car. And the shower. And maybe while cooking and cleaning.

-- There is never going to be one single instance at all ever in which he doesn't know his lines or his choreography.

-- If this is school Baxter though, there's always a fight because he excels at both musicals AND period pieces, but he is only one person and can't be in everything. He's one of the strongest dancers but also just a natural at that elevated speech in more classic plays OBVIOUSLY.