Pierce Brandt's Golden Day Interview in three parts
with Leslie Henstock, Adam Overett, and Andrew Ragone from the Broadway touring company of A Light in the Piazza.

Leslie Henstock, Adam Overett, and Andrew Ragone were recently in the cast of the Broadway tour of The Light in the Piazza. These are three ambitious young actors who have had their well-deserved shares of success in the “business of show,”and have some intriguing stories to tell about their experiences in their constantly changing and evolving careers.

Through speaking with Leslie, Adam, and Andrew, it’s clear that a life in the world of professional Broadway theater is, at its core, what each of them makes it out to be from their own unique perspective. While there are undoubtedly some similarities in their experiences of being New York actors making their way in a challenging business, it seems the way their individual careers have unfolded has been driven by each of their own personal intentions and expectations which are rooted in some form of the outlook that “somehow, it always works out.”Sounds like a great recipe for success to me.

I met up with Leslie, Adam, and Andrew over dinner before their performance of …Piazza at the stunning Paramount Theater in downtown Seattle. The interview turned out to be so much fun and so full of stories, that I’ve had to break it down into three parts so that it’s not such a long read all in one shot.

Part One: Leslie Henstock

Leslie was the understudy for the leading role of Clara in …Piazza, and she has also graced the country’s stages in the final Broadway touring company of Les Misérables as Cosette. A fairly recent graduate of the University of Michigan’s esteemed musical theater program, Leslie is relatively new to the business of being a New Yorker working in Broadway shows, but she carries it well, and her enthusiasm for her career, her life, and her future is inspiring.

Pierce: When did you first know you had an interest in theater?
Leslie: Growing up, I was a “girly-girl.”I didn’t do sports, but was always taking dance classes, and started ballet when I was three. My Grandma says that early on she knew I was going to be an actress. Once, at a very young age, I pretended to drop something under the fridge and I said, “Oh no! Grandma, I dropped my ring!”My Grandma proceeded to get down on her hands and knees, looking all over for my ring, and then I said, “Just kidding!”My poor Grandma! I also used to sing my heart out in my backyard at home, and I listened endlessly to musicals.

Pierce: When did you see your first Broadway show?
Leslie: My family took me to see theater frequently, but when I was about 10 or 11 years old, I saw my first big show, Phantom of the Opera, in Toronto. My parents practically had to drag me kicking and screaming to see it, but I ended up loving it. I also saw Les Misérables around the same time, and it made a big impression on me as well. Ironically, one of the actors I’m working with right now in …Piazza, Craig Bennett, was in that company of Les Misérables that I saw back then!

Pierce: When did you first start thinking that this was something you wanted to do professionally?
Leslie: I was in show choir when I was 14, as well as summer theater. I was also dancing 6 or 7 days a week. Then I discovered that if I wanted to be a singer, I should probably start studying voice on top of everything else. By the time I was about 16, my dance teacher said, “Maybe it’s time for you to make a choice: theater or dance.”The choice was easy: theater, of course!

Pierce: Was there any person who influenced and inspired you?
Leslie: My high school acting teacher was very inspiring and encouraging. She made me work hard, and it paid off.

Pierce: Tell me about your first experience of living in Manhattan.
Leslie: I took a semester off from school, and I arrived in Manhattan just eleven days before 9/11/2001. It was quite an experience. I was naive, but I’m glad I was there. The community that developed among New Yorkers at that time was incredible. Even the theater community rallied together, and I was grateful to be a part of it. Later when things were somewhat back to normal, I started auditioning, and got my first experiences of the real challenges of pursuing acting as a professional. Sometimes you’re up against hundreds of other actors auditioning for just a limited number of openings in one show. Later, after I had gone back to Michigan to complete my degree, I returned to Manhattan for a second time. Shortly after my arrival, I found an apartment and signed a lease. And, a few days later, I had an audition for the Broadway touring company of Les Misérables. I got the job with Les Miz as the understudy for Cosette, and later found out I had to be out with the tour in a month. So, my rule of thumb is, “Sign a lease, you will book a tour. Make vacation plans, you will get an important callback. It never fails!”

Pierce: Okay, now the nitty-gritty of living in Manhattan as an actor. Did you ever have a “bread and butter”job?
Leslie: I was fortunate. When I was first in New York, I never had to have a “bread and butter”job because I went right into Les Misérables. However, when I first booked Les Miz, the producers couldn’t give me a definite start date, so there was a period where I was looking for work. I had very little money at that time, and at one point was thinking, “Oh my gosh! I’m going to have to sell myself on the street!”I went to retail stores and temp agencies, but I still couldn’t get a job! But, then Les Miz swept me up and saved the day! After I had been with Les Miz for a while, I left the show for a period of time, and was later asked to come back to take over the role of Cosette. And then a year or so beyond that, the tour closed for good. So, I’ve had my in between times. Every actor I know, when they finish a job, they think they’ll never work again. They’re convinced that will be the last job they will ever have. But then somehow a job comes along. I guess you just kind of have to have faith that it’s all going to work out. And then it does!

Pierce: What’s your favorite thing about New York City? And, what’s your least favorite?
Leslie: Fave: the pace. Least fave: the cost. If you open your apartment door, you’re going to spend 20 bucks. If you actually step outside your door, you will spend 30!

Pierce: Now on to life as an understudy. Tell me about the first time you went on for Clara.
Leslie: I was terrified! I knew it was coming; it was not a last minute thing, because I knew the actress I was covering for was going to be out on a personal day. Even so, I was nervous about messing up and about not being good enough, and I also felt the pressure to please the audience as much or more than the regular person playing the role. I remember walking out to start the show…and, Clara really starts the show herself. Clara is a big, demanding, role. She walks out singing “ahs.”So there I was walking out onstage in front of a thousand or more people singing these floating “ahs”and thinking, “Who the hell put me in this role and what were they thinking?”I was so scared! I was shaking. But, apparently, nobody could tell. Everyone told me I looked comfortable and poised. So, it was a huge experience of proving to myself that I could really do it.

When I was in Les Miz, and I had taken over the role of Cosette, I realized, from the standpoint of being the “regular actor”in a role, how exciting it could be to have understudies onstage with me. When there would be an understudy on for Jean Valjean or Marius, it was a very different vibe. Sometimes, I have to admit, I’d wish the regular actor was there because we, of course, had a sort of comfort factor and I knew what to expect. But, having an understudy on would make me see certain things in the show, or in the relationship with that character, in a new light.

Pierce: Tell me about touring life in …Piazza. Do you rehearse often?
Leslie: We have understudy rehearsals every 3 weeks, which I enjoy, and they’re certainly important so that we (the understudies) are always prepared to go on in those roles whenever needed. We also rehearse often as a full company, in which case those of us who are understudies are rehearsing our ensemble roles. [Editor’s note: In most professional productions, performers who understudy principals play supporting and/or ensemble roles in the show unless they happen to be on for the role for which they are an understudy]. The ensemble doesn’t do much in this show, but I think it says a lot about the creative team’s interest in the overall integrity of the show that, even when a rehearsal is called mainly for the purpose of working with the regular principal performers, the entire company is called in because we are all a part of the flow and impact of the whole piece.

Pierce: Do you have any hobbies outside of performing?
Leslie: Politics. Part of me would love to go back to school and then be like a lobbyist or a Supreme Court person or something like that. But, once again, there’s that money issue! Other than that, one of my main priorities in life is staying in touch with my family and friends. I also love animals, especially cats.

Pierce: What’s next for you after …Piazza?
Leslie: Unemployment! Kicking my subletter out of my apartment! Being able to nest for a while. I’ve been on the road with …Piazza and with Les Miz for essentially the last 4 years. I can’t wait to see what’s in the back of my closet. I’m going to renovate my new apartment. And, I’ll start auditioning again. I don’t really want much of a break. I feel like the last 4 years have been a break because I haven’t been in New York; I feel like I’ve missed a lot of opportunities. Of course, “the grass is always greener.”I have an apartment, I have a savings account, I have been steadily employed in great productions –which is more than many of my friends who have been in New York can say. I would love to do a cabaret.

Pierce: I’m sure New York is ready to welcome you back with open arms. See you on the Great White Way!  

[Check back over the next few weeks for parts 2 & 3 of this interview with Adam Overett and Andrew Ragone.]