RICH LOPEZ | Staff writer
Rich@DallasVoice.com
For Auston from Houston, to New York and now all over the country has been quite a journey. And now actor Auston Henderson is on his way to Fort Worth as a member of the cast of Hamilton which opened Wednesday, July 15, as part of the Broadway at the Bass series and continues through July 26.
Coming home — kinda — is a good feeling for the actor who once thought he could never do a demanding show like Hamilton.
“Honestly, I am shocked at myself doing this show,” he said. “This has shown me what I’m capable of.”
Listed as a member of the ensemble, Henderson performs each night as Reynolds the doctor and as Papa Skyler. But if the time comes, he can also step in to cover the major roles of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson or Marquis de Lafayette. And with the musical numbers those three characters have, assuming any of those roles is a major undertaking.
But no matter. Henderson is living his dream right now.
Henderson has been with the show for about two years now, but the day he got the call is still fresh in his mind. He was on his way to rehearsal while performing in the Oregon Shakespeare Festival when his agent and his agent’s boss reached out to him.
“I just figured they were checking in, and at the end of the call, they got me. And I’m not someone who gets surprised easily,” he said. “There’s a video of that moment, and I just lost my mind.”
What sticks out more to Henderson isn’t that it was a such big moment for him, getting the show, but instead how it reflects the power Hamilton still has, a decade after it premiered.
The show still resonates strongly to this day, and that keeps people coming back, the queer actor believes.
“The show is truly alive,” he said, adding that he felt that strongly during his run with the show in Philadelphia after Election Day.
“All of us were watching this powerful and passionate monologue by Hamilton while we’re onstage and just crying. We were feeling defeated. But also, that whole message was about reclamation and hope — that will never leave my mind.”
Henderson lives in this Hamilton world daily at a time when the country is constantly under assault by its own administration. In feeling the show’s optimism, Henderson finds he’s more empowered than he imagined.
At the time of this interview, July 4 had just passed. The air was filled with questionable patriotism. As for his own patriotism, Henderson finds it challenging.
But he relies on his instincts.
“We’re telling the story of the beginning of the United States, but it’s also weird how these systems that were put in place then are still around, and you want to fight for those,” he said.
“I think people are touched, and lives are changed by the show, so that makes me proud. But there is this internal conflict. I wouldn’t say I’m more patriotic because of the show, but I am more vigilant to speak up for and fight more to make this country better.”
When Henderson discovered his creative talents, his plan was to be a singer, and it was as a singer-songwriter that he ventured to Los Angeles, looking for that big break.
“I pivoted after college to focus on music and did so for seven years, but then the pandemic put a wrench in things,” he recalled. His family suggested trying his hand at theater like he had in school.
“They told me I never gave it a chance, and that was true. I don’t regret those seven years, and I’m not too afraid to take risks,” he said.
“I truly enjoy singing, and, with musical theater, there is this different feeling that I like,” he added. “And now I get to play characters like Lafayette and Jefferson so, it’s the best of both worlds,”
Henderson said he will always bring a bit of himself to his roles, and he sees each role he takes on in every show is an opportunity. Musical theater has revealed a journey of discovery for the actor.
“It’s cool for me to find my different personalities through each character — especially in Hamilton,” he said. “I can make them my own. The queerness of me is in Jefferson, and the rough kid I was can be found in Mulligan. And these different aspects just open up.”
For tickets, visit BassHall.com.