Erika Henningsen Reflects on the 'Singular Experience' of Mean Girls & the Future of Flying Over Sunset

Erika Henningsen should be on stage in the new original musical Flying Over Sunset at Lincoln Center Theater, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic shuttering Broadway, she's spending her unexpected time doing good for others. Henningsen, who was the  2018 Broadway.com Star of the Year, has partnered with the non-profit She's the First to help fundraise for their COVID-19 Response Fund, which supports community-based organizations working closely with girls affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Henningsen stopped by Broadway.com's #LiveatFive: Home Edition to talk about her exclusive living room concert, moving on from Mean Girls and more.

"I started working with She's the First last October because I'm always looking for things that are female-centric," Henningsen told Broadway.com's Paul Wontorek. "I think there are a lot of philanthropic endeavors we can all get behind, but the reason why I love [She's the First] is that they do a two-pronged approach, where they're essentially providing immediate relief, but then they're also ensuring that they're setting up girls for the longevity of their success, their careers and their education."

Anyone who donates to Henningsen's fundraiser, which has surpassed its $4,000 goal, will be treated to their very own Zoom living room concert. "I created the concert as an incentive for people to donate now, but please donate whenever you can," she said. "The goal really is to get monthly donations so they can better plan for long-term to keep girls safe."

Henningsen has also been spending her time in quarantine dreaming of performing in front of a live audience, something that she and her Flying Over Sunset castmates weren't able to do. "That first preview audience woke up on March 12 thinking they were going to see the first-ever performance of Flying Over Sunset," she said. "We were doing some tech when we found out about the shutdown. They wanted to film us so we still did that night's performance in front of about 25 of the Lincoln Center staff. We took a bow at the end, and I think there was a weird feeling inside that we all had of this might be the last time people see this show. I know we will all be back. I know Broadway will be back. I know Flying Over Sunset will be back. The tunnel seems to be getting longer and longer, but there will be light."

Before heading to Flying Over Sunset, Henningsen was making audiences roar with as Cady Heron in Mean Girls, an experience she believes will be with her forever. "I started to realize the depth of Mean Girls fans when 15-year-olds were messaging me saying they were coming to Flying," she said. "I felt the need to tell them that it might not be appropriate for them, but then I realized that it's going to be something different they've ever seen before. For people who know me from Mean Girls, it's going to be bizzare for them to see me do anything else. It was such a singular experience; I don't know if I'll have that again. I'm going to be like 70 and still singing 'It Roars' at concerts!" 

Watch Henningsen talk all about her tap dancing audition with Kyle Selig's help and more in the full episode below!