| Chad Henry | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 9, 1946 Seattle, Washington |
| Occupation | Actor, Composer, Lyricist, Playwright |
Chad Henry (October 9, 1946-) is an American composer, actor, lyricist, playwright, and author. He has written over twenty shows that premiere in his home state, Washington.
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Chad Henry was born on October 9, 1946 in Seattle, Washington to Robert, a drama teacher, and June (nee Condit), a human services coordinator. He served in the United States Army from 1965-1968.
He attended University of Washington and graduated with a B.A. in 1972 and he graduated from the Cornish School of Allied Arts with a B.F.A in 1983. He currently resides in Denver.
Chad Henry. B. 1946, Seattle Washington. Actor, Playwright, Lyricist, Composer, and Novelist. Henry is a West Coast resident with more than twenty musical theatre titles to his credit. He co-authored, with A.M. Collins, the long-running rock musical Angry Housewives, which played for seven years in Seattle, breaking all long-run records in that city. The show also played for a number of years in several other west coast cities—Portland, Vancouver, B.C., Victoria, B.C., Santa Rosa, CA and elsewhere—each of the above for at least five years each. Although primarily credited with music and lyrics for that production, Henry contributed in part to the script as well. Angry Housewives played as well in London, Tokyo, Berlin, Sydney, Melbourne, in every major U.S. and Canadian city, had an Off-Broadway run at the Minetta Lane Theatre in New York, was published by Samuel French, and optioned several times for film. Henry also has written some dozen original musical productions for Seattle Children’s Theatre, including Little Lulu, The Magic Mrs. Piggle Wiggle, Nancy and Plum, Dr. Dolittle in the Moon, Snow White, The Hoboken Chicken Emergency, adaptations of Jack and the Beanstalk and Pinocchio, Good Night Moon, Harriet’s Halloween Candy, and Sleeping Beauty. His musicals for young audiences have been produced nationally at the leading U.S. children’s theatres, including the Children’s Theatre Company of Minneapolis, Dallas Children’s Theatre, San Diego Junior Theatre, Theatre IV Virginia, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, and Northwest Children’s Theatre in Portland, Oregon. He adapted Johann Nestroy’s Love Affairs and Wedding Bells for the musical theatre with director/librettist Ed Payson Call. With Katsuhiko Ishizuka of Tokyo’s Furusato Caravan, Linda Hartzell of Seattle Children’s Theatre, and Norman Langill, U.S. producer of One Reel, Henry created script, music, and lyrics for Labor of Love, a cooperative musical play, with Japanese and Cajun-American actors and musicians. Labor of Love toured throughout Japan, the United States, and played in Barcelona at the Olympics Arts Festival in 1992. Labor was reviewed by Time, Newsweek, the Christian Science Monitor, and NPR, and many arms of the Japanese media. Henry received a Washington State Arts Commission award for his work on Labor of Love. Henry was educated at the University of Washington, where he studied drama and dance, and began writing theatre songs in his early twenties for Empty Space Theatre, for a series of outdoor park shows produced throughout the 1970s and ‘80’s, including titles such as Goldoni’s The Venetian Twins, Voice of the Mountain, Deadwood Dick, Gammer Gurton’s Needle, The Sidewalks of New York, and many others. He provided songs and theatre material for productions at most of Seattle’s then-extant theatres, including Seattle Repertory Theatre, ACT Theatre, Skid Road Theatre, The Group Theatre, and others. He has long been associated with director/producer Linda Hartzell, artistic director of Seattle Children’s Theatre, and with the late John Kauffman, director of many early Empty Space and Seattle Repertory Theatre works. His novel for young adults, Dogbreath Victorious, is published by Holiday House. As an actor, Henry has appeared on regional professional stages for the past forty years, playing a variety of roles in theatres such as Denver Center Theatre Company, Seattle Repertory Theatre, ACT Seattle, and elsewhere.