Joshua Henry: Broadway's Soul Man

1/30/2026 12AM

Acclaimed actor and singer Joshua Henry is winning raves for his current role in the Broadway revival of "Ragtime." Henry is known to keep a guitar backstage for impromptu sing-alongs with fellow cast members | photo by Nate Jensen.

Tony Award contender shares love of classic R&B

 

By Scott Hall

 

It’s not every day that one of Broadway’s hottest stars makes a quick trip to Indiana for a concert, but that essentially describes Joshua Henry’s upcoming performance here at Allied Solutions Center.

 

Henry is best known for Tony-nominated leading roles in Carousel, The Scottsboro Boys and Violet on Broadway, as well as his portrayal of Aaron Burr in the Chicago production and First National Tour of Hamilton. His March 13 performance will be his first headlining appearance on the Payne & Mencias Palladium stage, but he has occupied it once before, joining Michael Feinstein for the Public Masterclass during the Great American Songbook Foundation’s 2024 Songbook Academy® summer intensive for talented teen singers.

 

Henry’s current concert program, Get Up, Stand Up, combines classic soul and R&B hits with like-minded interpretations of musical theater standards. He is backed by a four-piece band, but likes to go solo with acoustic guitar at key moments.

To learn more, we got Mr. Henry on the phone from New York City, where he is starring in a critically acclaimed revival of Ragtime, the epic musical that follows three disparate families in 1900s NYC through issues of race, class, immigration and the elusive American Dream. The run at Lincoln Center’s Vivian Beaumont Theater, originally set to end in January, has been extended through June. Henry’s showstopping turns as Coalhouse Walker Jr. are fueling talk he might finally claim that Tony medallion this year. The following is edited for space and clarity.

 

Applause: Congratulations on the extended run of Ragtime. How do you think people are receiving the show, with those timely themes? 

 

Joshua Henry: Audiences are really resonating with them at this moment. This cast is exceptional. Getting extended for another six months is huge at a time when there's a lot of question marks around Broadway. I don't read all the reviews, but the word of mouth on the singing, the voices, the emotional conviction, the way that people leave the theater – that's what you want to feel. You want to feel something that touches you deeply and makes you think about your world and your country, and that's what Ragtime is doing.

 

The role of Coalhouse Walker Jr. seems to suit you. During your previous run at New York City Center, the New York Times reviewer said, “he seems to have become the novel itself. … he blows the roof off your head.”

 

It’s a dream role that happens to fit me like a glove. It uses a part of my baritone sound that I haven't gotten to use since maybe Carousel on Broadway in 2018. To sing “Wheels of a Dream” and “Make Them Hear You,” it's quite something to live up to every night. It's a wild thing when there are standing ovations mid-show, mid-song. I won't lie – that feeling is really special, to know that your instrument and your art, and the way that you've approached delivering what you meant to share, are being so impactful.

 

Your own show is titled Get Up, Stand Up. Are we gonna hear some Bob Marley? 

 

That song is literally meant to get people on their feet and moving and having a great time. I do a lot of Broadway songs, but I also do soul music, from Marvin Gaye to Aretha Franklin to Prince, because that's the music I came up on. That's the music that heavily influenced me and my sound and the way I approach performing. I also like to give audiences a fun, positive, energetic, good time, and that's what this show is.

 

That’s also a political song: “Stand up for your right.” Are you making a statement there? 

 

A statement I try to make is that joy, positivity and hope is a huge stance to take. That is a stance of resistance at a time when everything you look at on the news, in a world of AI, in a world with so much changing, it just seems like there's doom and gloom. So when I say, “stand up,” that means stand up and connect, stand up in your joy that we can literally practice, not just feel. Every day, we have a choice to make about how we're gonna proceed today and how it's gonna go for us, and we gotta make a choice, or the world will make it for us.

 

Tell us about your band and the vibe of the show.

 

I’ve played with these guys for the better part of four years now. Depending on the night, there are moments when we are jamming really hot, and then there's some stripped-down moments where it's just me and acoustic guitar, and those are some of my favorite moments. The lights come down and I might do something from The Music Man or Carousel or The Wiz or even Annie, believe it or not. In my soulful way, I break songs down acoustically, and people really feel them. So I’m very excited to share the high-octane and the very intimate moments with the audience.

 

You came here once before for the Songbook Academy’s Public Masterclass with Michael Feinstein. Do you have any particular recollections from that visit?

 

I really enjoyed that moment. I remember this young man who reminded me of myself when I was maybe 17 years old – really raw, but an amazing singer. He had a big voice, a lot of riffs and runs, and I was able to say, “What you have is amazing. Don't ever lose the flexibility of your voice and being able to go to different places. Now it's a matter of telling the story, not just with your voice, but with your body as well. Show this audience that you are a storyteller.” Being able to break that down to someone who is – I believe he was 16 – it stretches me as a lover of the craft, as a teacher of musical theater and live performance.

 

Away from the spotlight, you are known for pulling out your guitar and leading impromptu sing-alongs backstage and in the community. What does music mean for you in that context?

 

Yes. An example of that is, the other day, we were doing the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and Ragtime got to perform. My favorite part of that entire day was back by the trailers. There were other performers there, they had flutes and guitars, and I said, “Let me play my guitar for a little bit,” and about 50 of us just started jamming. I started playing some Stevie Wonder. We were making up songs. To me, that connection with another musician that you never met in your life, and without words or explanation you can communicate and understand and have a conversation – and the feeling of community is just built right on that – that's huge. I put on little concerts in my barbershop, and it can only hold like 60 people, but the entire community will come out. Those are the moments that really show the power of music and community and how essential it is for us, whether we realize it or not.

 

How did it feel to be a part of the Hamilton phenomenon, which made such an impact on the culture?

 

I had never experienced such a variety of people loving a show in my life, whether they were 6-year-olds learning about American history or 80-year-olds learning about hip-hop. Experiencing that in front of screaming audiences was life changing. As a performer, it was one of the hardest roles that I ever have ever encountered – the vocal range, the physicality, the emotional weight. That musical shows how we can fight for something and how different moments can just get us wrapped up if we're not careful, but the humanity in building something as strong and fragile as America, that was the thing that really took me the most. Hamilton shows each of these characters in a human light that is less about constitutions and bank systems and things like that; it's actual humans in relationships. That’s what people really connect to.

 

You released an album a few years back. How was that experience, and do you have anything in the works? 

 

Yeah, that album was called Grow and it was during the pandemic, and “grow” is my favorite word because I feel like it’s endless – you can continue to grow as a musician, as a person. I am working on another album right now that is all acoustic guitar and voice, and it's classic musical theater songs, brought forward into my soulful, funky style. An example of that is some of the songs I'll be sharing, like “If I Loved You” from Carousel or “Tomorrow” from Annie. There's something about the intimate nature of a voice and guitar that is like a lullaby, and it's really real. A lot of people are responding to that on my Instagram and my TikTok, and they want that intimate lullaby feeling, and what better way to do it than with songs like “Till There Was You” from The Music Man.

 

Any final words to folks who are looking forward to your show?

 

“I would just say to everybody who's coming: Wear something you're comfortable in and bring your dance shoes and do be ready to stand up and have a great time and not care about who's looking at you,” he says. “Just get lost in the music and get ready to have a joyful time.”