Macon Magazine

Macon on Broadway Grey Henson and Sasha Hutchings BY SIERRA STARK STEVENS | PHOTOGRAPHY BY DSTO MOORE he way there isn't broad; the path is o en narrow and steep, and few hopefuls reach its illustrious stages. Here are two of the Macon natives who have travelled that path successfully – and the wisdom they've gained while navigating the "Broadway" that's anything but a walk in the park. Grey Henson Grey Henson has been performing since he was a three-year-old ballet student in Jane Madison's dance studio. By sixteen, he was performing leading roles alongside adults at Macon Little Theatre and Theatre Macon. A er excelling in the prestigious acting program at Carnegie- Mellon University, Henson began his Broadway career by playing Elder McKinley in The Book of Mormon's First National Tour, a stint so memorable he earned a Helen Hayes Award nomination and won the chance to perform the role on Broadway. Next, he joined the original Broadway cast of the hit musical "Mean Girls," and the depth, authenticity, and pure talent he brought to his role as Damian garnered him a Tony nomination. His current project, "Shucked", has been nominated for nine Tonys. When Macon Magazine went to New York to capture Henson on Broadway, we asked who he would like to interview him for this article. He requested Jim Crisp – the retired artistic director of Theatre Macon, which he established in 1986. Crisp mentored and directed Henson throughout his childhood and young adulthood. In addition to Crisp's Theatre Macon work, he taught at Wesleyan and Mercer and worked extensively on local nonprofit community service. "Macon is such a beautiful, special little oasis of opportunity in Middle Georgia, and I'm glad people are taking advantage of it and taking care of it," Henson shared. If anyone was going to interview him about his professional journey beginning in Macon and leading to Broadway, Henson said, "it should be Jim Crisp." Mentorship matters to Maconites. Sasha Hutchings When she was growing up in Macon, you could see Sasha Hutchings in "The Nutcracker" at The Grand Opera House, performing in the Cherry Blossom Parade, onstage at Central High School, or at a Dance Dynamics class. Hutchings says the studio on Forsyth Road was most impactful in her childhood performing arts training. Since she graduated from one of the nation's leading undergraduate dance programs – Oklahoma City University – encountering her captivating stage presence has become a pricier privilege. In fact, in 2016, you were lucky if you could get a ticket at all, even for thousands of dollars; Hutchings was a member of the original Broadway cast of "Hamilton", the record-breaking musical of the decade that won 16 nominations and 11 awards including Best Musical at the 70th Tony Awards. Hutchings went on to play lead role Laurey Williams in the revisionist version of "Oklahoma!" on Broadway in 2019. Since then, she's also pursued television on shows such as "Run the World", "Master of None", and "Bluebloods." Hutchings is a teaching artist with the Arthur Miller Foundation, Epic Theatre Ensemble, and New York City Public Schools theatre programs. Though she lives in New York City, she still calls Macon home, saying that people from a place as "steadfast, determined, and true" as Macon, people like Otis Redding, The Allman Brothers, and Little Richard – no matter how famous they become – can't help but be grounded in this special place. Like Macon artists before her, Hutchings said, "I'm going to stay true to myself and my sound, my person and my roots, and never forget that Macon's where I'm from. It's super important to me." Hutchings asked to be interviewed by Melanie Emory, who began teaching at Dance Dynamics under the direction of the late Pam Mierlarczyk in 2002 and became director and owner of Dance Dynamics in 2008. Emory, along with Mierlarczyk and Kathryn Ginaldi, did more than teach dance classes; they got all the students on a plane to New York to see professional performances. They set their students up for lifelong success, helping Hutchings choose (and tape the audition video for) the college dance program that launched her career. Mierlarczyk handed her a college brochure – and that program's new brochures have Hutchings' photo on the cover. Along with Hutchings' family, the performer said that her Dance Dynamics instructors taught her how to achieve any goal. Hutchings described the method they instilled in her as, "there's a way to get what you need. And we're going to get really creative and figure out how to get you there. We'll pull the resources to Macon and get you where you want to go." And, Hutchings continued, "that follows me in my career. When I run up against a challenge or I set a new goal, I don't believe that anything is out of reach. I just have to figure out how to get it." Below are excerpts from their discussions. T 48 maconmagazine.com | JUNE/JULY 2023

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