HENRY, Chad 1946-

PERSONAL:

Born October 9, 1946, in Seattle, WA; son of Robert (a drama teacher) and June (a human services coordinator; maiden name, Condit) Henry. Education: University of Washington, Seattle, B.A., 1972; Cornish School of Allied Arts, B.F.A., 1983. Hobbies and other interests: Painting, hiking, reading, music, astrology.

ADDRESSES:

Home—1681 South Perry St., Denver, CO 80219. Office—Denver Center Theater Company, 1050 13th St., Denver, CO 80204. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Professional actor, director, composer, playwright, and author. Affiliate of Denver Center Theater Company, Denver, CO. Military service: U.S. Army, 1965-68.

MEMBER:

Dramatists Guild, Actors' Equity Association.

WRITINGS:

(Librettist and composer) A. M. Collins, Angry Housewives (musical play; produced in Seattle, WA, 1983; produced in New York, NY, 1986), Samuel French (New York, NY), 1983.

(Librettist and composer) Stevie Kallos, adaptor, Pinocchio (children's musical play), produced in Seattle, WA, 1996.

DogBreath Victorious (novel), Holiday House (New York, NY), 1999.

(Adaptor, librettist, and composer) The Magic Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle (musical play; based on books by Betty MacDonald), produced in San Diego, CA, 2001.

Author of more than twenty musical plays, produced in and around Seattle, WA.

WORK IN PROGRESS:

Two novels, Bigfoot Stole Our Mom and The House of Self-Undoing.

SIDELIGHTS:

Chad Henry told CA: "I work in the theater, and I have a theatrical sensibility. I like to move, involve, and engage an audience or a reader, but above all I like to entertain. I admire the great classical writers, and I'm jealous of the great comic writers. As a writer I detest slick, commercial fiction and nonfiction, because so often it is emotionally false and dishonest. Growing up and studying with some great drama and dance teachers, I learned to value 'art for art's sake,' since so many fine artists were not making a very great living. I now value the courage and authenticity of so many of these people who taught and influenced me.

"In writing for the Seattle Children's Theater, a professional family theater in Seattle, I had many opportunities to create shows that entertained, inspired, and amused kids, and I hope that their experience at my shows will always stay with them at some level. As you can tell, I'm an idealistic person, and sometimes I take myself a little too seriously, but humor is what I live for.

"I grew up in a theatrical family and turned professional at age twenty-two, getting my Equity card in a production of Bye Bye Birdie. Since then I've toured in musicals, played Shakespeare, performed in contemporary comedy and drama, and written many plays and musicals on commission for a number of producers. My musical Angry Housewives, which provided the inspiration for DogBreath Victorious, played off-Broadway in New York, London, Tokyo, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, and everywhere in between. It was also optioned for both television and movies several times, but like most movie projects, it hasn't made it all the way to the big screen yet! I've also worked as a playwright in Japan and Spain.

"I love nature, and nowadays I'm also directing musical theater as well."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Back Stage West, January 11, 1996, Kristina Mannion, review of Angry Housewives, p. 7.

Los Angeles, August, 1988, Dick Lochte, review of Angry Housewives, p. 312.

Los Angeles Times, November 25, 1983, Sylvie Drake, review of Angry Housewives, p. 6.

Publishers Weekly, January 10, 2000, review of Dog-Breath Victorious, p. 69.

School Library Journal, February, 2000, Tim Wadham, review of DogBreath Victorious, p. 120.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer, April 25, 1996, Joe Adcock, review of The Angry Housewives, p. D4.

Seattle Times, April 25, 1996, review of The Angry Housewives, p. D23; November 18, 1996, review of Pinocchio, p. E3.

Variety, September 17, 1986, review of Angry Housewives, p. 112.