FAN EXPO Chicago 2024 Recap

I'm going to do something here that I've never done before and may never do again.

Rather than reflect on the interviews as a collective or the event as a whole, I'm going to reflect on each interview individually.

Some will be longer than others, while some will be shorter.

But this is the medium through which I tell my stories, and, for this show this year, there is no “one size fits all”. And it'd be a disservice to everyone for me to try to create one.

Erika Henningsen

I said it during the interview, and I'll say it here, too: I'm a fan of the Broadway production of Mean Girls.

I first saw it when the original national tour starring Danielle Wade was in Chicago before COVID.

I went in completely blind and loved it, to the extent that I ordered the CD off Amazon on my train ride home.

It was one of the few times in the last several years that there were so many songs I wanted that it made more sense to buy the CD than just individual song downloads. And Erika, of course, had a substantial role in those songs as the original Broadway cast's 'Cady'.

My favorite moment is one that I've also wondered about for a while, not just with Erika, but in general: how you know, after so much time, when it's time to move on.

And I really liked how she answered it.

Diane Pershing

I had interviewed Kevin Altieri before the show (you can find that here), and I was excited to get time with Diane.

I wasn't able to get time with Diane before the convention, so I was really glad to be able to talk to her at the show.

Diane has had a heck of a career, but she's best known for her role as Poison Ivy, which is what we primarily discussed.

It's always fascinating for me how shows like Batman: The Animated Series withstand the test of time.

Diane went into a booth over 30 years ago, to record for the show.

And fans are still excited to meet her & we're still talking about it today.

Lucas Grabeel

I know Lucas best, not from High School Musical, but from the Halloweentown franchise.

This may be sacrilegious, but Halloweentown is also the role I most closely associate with Debbie Reynolds.

It's a franchise I very much enjoyed growing up (and still enjoy).

I have memories of watching each one as they aired on Disney Channel, and generally rewatch them around Halloween on Disney Plus.

It was nice to get to chat with him briefly about that, as well as his music career that he's currently focusing on.

Corbin Bleu

I remember watching the viral video I mentioned this summer, though I couldn't remember which show he was doing at the time (as he pointed out, it was Little Shop of Horrors).

I was, honestly, pretty impressed that he could so easily jump back in (pun intended), though I was never particularly good when we had the jump rope unit in gym class way back when.

In a desire to prevent injury to myself during those units, I'd always, to the greatest extent possible, stick to the Skip-It, but even that tripped me more than once.

So I suppose I'm also just impressed that he could do it all, regardless of how long it had been.

I do hope, like I said at the end of the interview, that we can see him on stage in the Chicago area.

Time will tell.

Adam Savage

Like a lot of people my age, I watched a ton of MythBusters growing up.

While I'm certainly fascinated by the nature of the special/visual effects industry, especially as far as practical effects are concerned, I was more interested in talking to Adam about his time mythbusting.

And he certainly didn't disappoint.

I may also have a new winner for the most unique thing someone's been asked to sign, displacing the 10+ year record held by the Avellan twins (which I've previously discussed here).

But the keyword there is “may”, because I'm genuinely not sure how a box of depleted uranium stacks up against an inner thigh.