The Weirdest Thing Broadway Icon Erika Henningsen Brought Through TSA

Annie Harrigan: What is the best trip you’ve ever taken?
Erika Henningsen: This might be cliche, but my honeymoon. My husband, who’s also an actor, and I went to Italy. It’s very rare that actors have the same schedule where you can go away for two weeks, but it was during the actor strikes, so nothing was happening. So we went to Italy, and it was just the best time.

AH: What is one thing you always do in every place that you travel to?
EH: I always like to get up really early on the first day and either do a long walk or a very gentle run. I feel like I need to know the layout of where I am. As soon as I get to a new place, before I even get groceries, I put on my running shoes and just try and take in as much of the city as I can. Not because I am a fitness junkie, but because I just want to know where I am, and I feel like walking, running, or even biking is the fastest way to get to know a city.

AH: Are you a light packer or an over packer?
EH: It depends on who you ask. I’m going to be self-aware and say I’m an overpacker. I am chaotic. I don’t really pack with a plan. I feel like I see people who really lay out outfits and they’re like, “I’ll wear this on this day and on this day.” I don’t do that. I just kind of grab a bunch of the things I like to wear and then I inevitably am like, “Oh, but what if it’s cold?” Or “What if I want to wear heels?” There’s just no plan. And inevitably, my bags end up overweight.

I wish I was like Anna Wintour where I just had a uniform that works everywhere. I think that’s something I’m going to try and really nail down in my late thirties. I just want to wear the same thing, and for that to be chic, and thus packing will become much easier.

AH: What about self-care while traveling?
EH: How intimate do I want to get with your readers?

You just never know how your body’s going to react to the food you’re eating abroad. I don’t take anything crazy, but I bring these really good probiotics from Sakara as well as their liquid chlorophyll. Inevitably when you vacation, you eat things and you drink more than you normally do. So I bring these so that I can wake up and not feel weighed down or hungover.

The other thing I tend to pack is—I wish I knew how to use my gua sha. I bring it with me and if I’m really feeling like I need some self-care, I’ll do that in the morning.

I was just shooting The Four Seasons in Puerto Rico, and I had to make sure to protect my skin. I don’t think I’ve ever packed as much sunscreen as I did for that trip. I knew if I didn’t wear it, the production team would be like, “You’re tanner than you were yesterday! Continuity!”

I also always pack two books with me. I think it’s very easy to divert to your phone, especially if you’re dining alone. And for me, the best way to not feel abandoned in those moments is to just have a book. [A book] sends a signal of approachableness, but also you can be left to your own devices. When you’re a woman traveling alone, it can be very easy for somebody to strike up a conversation with you and having a book if you’re not in that mood is a great way to say, “So nice talking to you. I’m going to get back to my book.”

AH: Are you packing all of your books beforehand or are you going to the airport bookstore?
EH: I do not like an airport bookstore. I don’t know why. I’ll go to the airport bookstore out of sheer desperation but usually I’ve picked something before then. My friends and I are very good about exchanging books. We don’t exchange clothes, we exchange books, and so I’ve definitely handed books back to people after a vacation. They’re like, “This is covered in sand and coffee and wine stains.” And I respond, “Yes, it was a good travel companion.” But no, I know I have a deep judgment of airport bookstores. Is that terrible to say?

AH: Not at all! So then, what is your favorite way to pass time on a plane?
EH: It’s reading. I think my only complaint about wifi being available on planes now is that now I have a choice between being online to get work done or reading my book. Planes for so long felt like a little safe space where you could read for hours straight with no one interrupting you.

There is this phenomenon that I’ve heard of, and I can 100% attest to it, that you are more susceptible to crying on airplanes. There’s been a study that people cry more easily on airplanes. So if I want to watch a movie, I will choose the thing that I’ve been afraid to watch because I just know it’s going to hit me to my core. I delight in being in the window seat a little tucked away watching a movie that is devastating and having a nice cry in the air. The last time I did that was with Past Lives.