#lauren rile smith | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

aestheticdumpp · 8 years ago

Text

interview.

broadway babies: what it’s like to grow up on stage

Story by Elizabeth Schuyler, reporter for Playbill Magazine.

Famous friendships have been made on the stages of Broadway, but none quite as close as youngsters Madison Henderson, 21, and Holly Blake, 24, who are singing and dancing their way into our hearts.

The two met during an Off-Broadway production of a musical adaption of the cult classic 80s film Heathers, and moved in together halfway during rehearsals. Despite playing bitter revivals in their first show together, the two couldn't be friendlier.

I was welcomed to their apartment when Madison opened the door, one shoe missing but positively beaming. She's very excited for this interview - even if she hadn't already told me, it's obvious in her energy as she bounces over to me and greets me with a wonderful hug.

When I'm ushered inside, I see that the apartment is quaintly furnished, with a few small plants dotted around; there's a couple of scripts placed on the coffee table, one for each young woman; overall, a pretty minimalist apartment, dressed in black or white and accented with the bright colours of plants, the odd painting, and books.

I follow Madison into the small kitchen/dining area and take a seat at the table when her counterpart comes in from down the hall. The two bump into each other for a second and Madison goes on the hunt for her missing shoe and Holly laughs, steps aside for her friend, before stepping over to me. She, too, greets me with a hug, and tells me to take a seat.

Holly makes a pot of tea – the correct way, she jokes, by warming the teapot first – before bringing the tray with matching milk and sugar bowls over to the table. By the time she sits down, Madison has given up on the second shoe and returned, barefoot.

Madison is no stranger to Broadway. She had small parts in a few shows as a child, debuting as Molly, the youngest orphan in Annie. She says she doesn't really count it, though, and says that she feels like her time as Liesl in the first all black Sound of Music was her true Broadway debut.

"I didn't really know what was going on when I was that small. Like, I was singing some songs with my friends. Liesl is different, I actually remember being nervous about auditions. It's also very important being an all black show of what's traditionally very white."

She's currently playing Natasha in the new musical Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812. It's one of the roles she's been most excited to take on – this is the first time she's ever originated a role, especially one so weighty. The show, she tells me, is adaption of Tolstoy's novel War and Peace.

"Oh my God." Madison laughs, touching her forehead and retelling the story of the phone call. "Our producer was like, the part's yours, and I just cried. I get emotional. I've been emotional about certain roles before but this was so different. I'm the first! I still see myself as a kid from New Orleans, not a Broadway actress."

"Or Tony nominee." The redhead opposite her interjects, grinning.

Madison's nomination for best actress as Natasha is her first ever nomination for any role, and doesn't expect to win. Holly scoffs, confident that her friend has it in the bag.

"One of us has to be optimistic for you."

Madison's other previous roles include being the first black Elle Woods in Legally Blonde: the Musical, Mimi Marquez in Rent, and of course, Veronica Sawyer in Heathers: the Musical (off-Broadway).

"We met during Heathers. It was her first show in New York, and so we had to show her how it was done." Madison nods towards Holly, who smiles modestly.

The elder between the two has been very successful in Australia, where she was born and raised, having a resume just as impressive, including Sally Bowles in Cabaret (for which she won a Green Room award), playing both young and grown up Cosette in two different versions of Les Miserables, and Janet Weiss in The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

"Australian theatre is different. We have one cast that tours, instead of various casts across the country like it is here, so I travelled a lot growing up."

Holly played Heather Chandler opposite Madison in Heathers: the Musical, but her first show here was the national tour of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Currently, she is taking her Broadway debut as her ultimate dream role as Penny Pingleton in the Hairspray revival.

"Penny's my be-all-and-end-all. If I never worked again I wouldn't even be mad." She laughs, only half joking.

We break into conversation about various things, including Holly worrying I made it to their apartment alright, Madison's "low-key" addiction to Flaming Hot Cheetos, before the topic of fellow actor Thomas Jefferson comes up.

Jefferson, 31, plays Seaweed, Penny's love interest in Hairspray, and is nominated for best supporting actor in a revival of a musical. Similarly to Holly, the show is his Broadway debut.

Holly laughs as Madison scowls. It seems the two do not get along. There's a quick exchange of words between the two:

Madison starts, "He's a pig."

"Thomas Jefferson is a doll and you're basically in love with him." Holly fires back, tongue pressed against her cheek as she fails to hold back a grin.

Her friend is riled up, but turns to me. "Eliza, she's a liar. It's terrible, really. It's such a shame, she'd be so nice otherwise-"

Holly laughs, swears at her friend (it's the thickest her accent sounds throughout the entire time I'm with them), and turns to me.

"He's great. Really witty. Brilliant dancer." Her eyes flick to her friend. "Good kisser."

Of course, the two lock lips multiple times a week, sharing various kisses throughout each performance, but it unsettles Madison all the same.

"That's disgusting. Apologise to Eliza."

"Eliza, I'm sorry that Madison doesn't realise how much she wants him. It's a really painful situation to walk into."

Madison throws her teaspoon at Holly, who gets hit, but laughs all the same.

A week passes and I catch up with Madison again, just as she finishes her first show on this two-show Saturday. I've sat and watched the show and the youngest cast member is phenomenal: emotional, brilliant, and memorable. It's no surprise that she's nominated for the Tony.

As we're walking over to the Richard Rodgers Theatre, where Holly is performing (which is right next door to the Imperial Theatre, where Madison is performing), we chat about what it's like to grow up on stage.

"It's weird. It's a weird kind of fame." She remarks. "I can be getting coffee or food before a show, just waiting in line, and then somebody asks for a photo or whatever and everyone else is looking at me like, 'Who are you and why are you important?'"

We slip in through the stage door and we go through and sit in the dressing room that Holly shares with her two castmates Abigail Smith (who plays Tracy Turnblad) and Dolley Payne (who plays Amber von Tussle). The room is decorated with a string of lights at the window, and an old purple couch at the end of the room where we sit. There’s a group of three candles in yellow, pink, and green (to represent Amber's, Penny's, and Tracy's pageant dresses), all matching and sitting on the small side table where a docking station sits. There’s a phone plugged in, softly playing hits of the late fifties and early sixties.

Live music pumps from below us as Madison starts to rifle through the shared mini fridge, where there's a small plastic bag with a note taped to it, bearing Madison's name. She takes it out, and inside it is a bottle of water and a bag of Hot Cheetos. She reads the note aloud:

"Madison, hope you managed to break in alright. Tell Eliza she's welcome to whatever she wants from the fridge, if anything, but I bought you these so you'd stop taking Abigail's snacks. Love, Holly."

About twenty minutes pass and Holly appears at the door in a bright pink dress and riding on the back of John Adams, the actor who plays Link Larkin and the Anthony to her Johanna in the Sweeney Todd days. Hairspray is a mini reunion for them - actors George King and Louis Roi, playing Corny Collins and Wilbur Turnblad respectively, were Toby and Sweeney Todd in the tour.

Holly squeals and slides off his back before he races off, calling for Baron von Steuben (yes, that Baron von Steuben, who plays Edna Turnblad) as he races off. She comes in, pulls off her shoes, and sits in her seat opposite her mirror. Her dressing room neighbours dart in, change quickly, and rush out to meet fans at the stage door, whilst the redhead begins to undress carefully so the three of us can get coffee (I’ve been invited to their Saturday ritual of coffee and food between shows).

Madison is talking about John Laurens, her Pierre, as her friend listens intently, removing her wig and pinning it to her wig stand. There’s something very familial and sisterly about the two of them, and it’s heartwarming. The two giggle as they joke about something I’ve missed whilst looking at the photos pressed to Holly’s mirror.

Previous casts, two of her and Madison, and a couple of her family back home. Madison points out Holly’s parents to me as she changes from her costume into her regular clothes.

The door is opened and a young man walks in. Madison's up first to hug him, and he smiles at her. His name is Usnavi, and he's the brilliant tech that works at each show that Hudson Theatrical Associates oversees in alternating weeks, or whenever there's a problem. He's spent most of his time over at Natasha, making small changes every week as new shows go through scores of changes every so often.

He walks over to Holly, who hands him her mic belt and headset. She introduces him to me, and he shakes my hand, but his attention is quickly turned back to Holly, whisking her away for a quick mic check before the second show.

Madison snorts. "That boy keeps telling her that her batteries are going out so he can spend time with her."

I ask if he has told her that. She responds with: "He don't need to."

We eventually make it to coffee and the girls converse so regularly that it's difficult to believe that they're winners and nominees of highly revered awards. It's a wonder how two people so young can be so accomplished and talented and still find time to be young. Madison enjoys the New York night life, and makes sure to dedicate time to spending a night out with her friends whenever she gets a few days off, and Holly has a teaching degree.

The Australian throws her head back in laughter at something her younger friend has said, and Madison is beaming with a dazzling brightness, giggling too at her own joke. It's so odd to see these girls in lights and costumes and then twenty minutes later see them curled up in hoodies and leggings, talking about culture and coffee like us normal people, especially when so many young people who grow up under a spotlight end up stressed or arrogant.

"There ain't no reason to be arrogant. I'll pull it with my brother, you know, like, 'Oh, I'm Tony nominated, what are you doing?', but it's never serious." Madison says, shrugging.

Holly adds, "I used to think I was it and a bit for a while, but then I went to uni and I had no friends so nobody knew who I was really, and then it hit me. Sounds bad. It's nice to be important, but it's important to be nice."

The two girls will finish their runs soon enough. Madison finishes about three months earlier, but is greatly looking forward to the time off, but will likely be featured in the Tony performance that Natasha is bound to do. She can't confirm, but I'm certain of it.

Holly, too, is likely to perform, as Hairspray is a show with big, crowd pleasing fan favourites. With the Tonys less than two months away, I for one can't wait to see what these ladies and their respective shows will pull off.

As for their future beyond these shows, the ladies confirm the Wicked rumours – they will, in fact, be starring opposite one another in the roles of Elphaba and Glinda.

They've known it's been a goal for them to appear together on stage again since Heathers, and there's nothing more iconic than that duo. Madison will be painted green and Holly will wear Broadway's most glittered crown in a date yet to be confirmed.

"We can't say much about it. We know the parts are ours, but we don't have scripts or anything yet."

"We both know the show by heart though."

"I think everyone does."

It's nice to know that Broadway's still producing sweet, clever leading ladies, both on and off stage.

See Madison in Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812 at the Imperial Theatre, or see Holly in Hairspray at the Richard Rodgers Theatre! Tickets are selling out fast for both shows, so don’t miss out.

Don't forget to catch the Tonys on June 12, at 6/7c, and look out for all of the latest Playbill articles to keep you up to date on all your favourite show business!

#broadway au #madison #holly

1 note · View note