Instagram/@corbinbleu
Broadway star Corbin Bleu gave almost-forbidden access to a slightly typical theatrical mementos collection. Indeed, the High School Musical alumnus came up with a cute video tour of some dressing-room treasures, where his wife, Sasha Clements, whimsically helped him present keepsakes from his different stage shows.
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The video starts off with Clements giving a mock-serious admonition: “My husband wants to show you everything he keeps in his dressing room so better be nice.” The internet was exploding immediately, speculating about their dynamic well before Bleu even began his tour.
He then moved on to flaunt what formed his endearable collection, each of which represents a chapter in his Broadway career. He proudly showed off his Usnavi bear from In the Heights, a Jesus figurine from Godspell, a pillow from Kiss Me Kate, and the rest of the collectibles from Holiday Inn. The most wondrous of them all is the pre-show ritual of eating one green apple before every show, and let’s not forget that apple prop that’s sitting right there among his other treasures.
He captioned this: “I like to keep something from every show I’ve done in my dressing room. Most of these are from amazing fans, and this isn’t even all of them!” That really gave a warm feeling to all the theater folk, who always wonder just what really becomes of the gifts their fans presciently bestow after the performances.
Comments started pouring in from all directions, many commenting on the sweet back and-forth from the couple. One wrote, “You make the best couple,” while another said, “Lil Soso don’t play about her husband,” referring to Clements’ protective intro. Bleu’s wife’s threat became a running joke throughout the comment section, with a user commenting, “Lowkey @sashclements you scared me.”
Theatre geeks are gushing over the objets d’art representing Bleu’s career: “Now there’s a man who’s proud of his career! I love that.” Another shared, “Every piece more fabulous than the last!!!” For the older fans, who watched Bleu’s journey from Disney Channel to Broadway, the whole collection stirred nostalgic feelings.
One comment ventured into humor-land with, “Looks like an episode of Hoarders,” while another lamented, nostalgically, “I was waiting for something HSM related, but then I remembered you didn’t dance then. I tried.” The HSM references kept coming, one fan declaring: “Such a Legend Corbin I love your music like push it to the limit especially movies like Disney’s High School Musical 1 2 3 and Jump In!”
Another fan passionately screamed, “Man what your husband needs to show us is him in that studio making a new album because I’m overplaying these two albums.” Such outrage might be evidence of the lingering taste for new material from the multi-talented artist.
The tour of Bleu’s dressing room is more than a mere exhibition of theater memorabilia: the backstage world is explored, wherein performers create a hideaway and maintain close ties with their most cherished productions. These densely packed physical memory banks charting the course of Bleu’s artistic walking are each mapped to memories of specific appearances and, crucially, of the fans supporting them.
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Blues’s delivery and its reception came off warm and heartfelt, once more reminding us of the special bond between an artist and their theater-fan base. This backstage view reminds us of actors cherishing less glamorous but very concrete memories of their artistic journey and the fans who helped forge them, in between more glamorous opening night celebrations and curtain calls.