Quotes from Joshua Henry

I was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in Canada. I left when I was three. My parents went to Miami, and that's where I grew up.

I went to the University of Miami.

In coming to New York, I got my first Broadway show six months after I got here. So that song, 'Movin' Too Fast,' means so much to me, knowing that feeling where it's just where you imagined yourself, but it's flying by you at a million miles an hour.

I think there's something special about getting a moment perfect or near perfect. In a film, you can do that.

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

I really liked the idea of playing - I won't say the underdog - but characters who have a lot of conflict.

I grew up playing sports, so I think of what it would be like to be in the NBA if you were a great player when Michael Jordan was playing. You could've been a phenomenal player, but you're in the Jordan era. That's the unfortunate thing about the competitive nature of entertainment. But we know what we signed up for.

I love the idea of challenging what the standards is.

I've been really fortunate to do several shows on Broadway; the longest run I've done is nine months, and that was 'Porgy and Bess.' The shortest run I've done was about a month and a half: my first Broadway lead in 'The Scottsboro Boys.'

History can just be so unkind as time passes.

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.

I loved music before I stumbled onto acting.

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.

I think it's nice when you come into the room and the director has a plan, a vision of exactly what he or she wants the piece to be. Because when that happens, then you feel safe. You feel safe to make choices and to do something big and just fly because there's a structure around you.

Even when I was studying musical theater in college, after I would have theory at 8 in the morning and be on crew for productions until 11 at night, from 12 A.M. to 3 A.M. I was hanging out with jazz musicians.

My parents were very spiritual folks. I grew up studying the Bible. My dad's a Christian academy teacher. I grew up with a big spiritual influence. It's a big part of my life.

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.'

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.

I feel such a connection to 'Violet.'

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