A dive into the life of Connor Richardson and his successes at Weathervane and more!

October 14th, 2025

Connor Richardson, a well-loved actor who performed at Weathervane Playhouse from 2022-2023, has a fond love for theater and an appreciation for all that goes into it. 

In his early childhood in Nashville, Tennessee, he was surrounded by music. When sports weren’t working out for young Connor, his parents decided theater was the next move. And thankfully so, because now we get to see Connor today in The Notebook The Musical!

Beginnings at Weathervane Playhouse

Performing in Forever Plaid: Plaid Tidings in 2022 as Francis, this was actually Connor’s first professionally contracted show! He drove all the way from Coastal Carolina University to Newark, Ohio, to perform in this show.

He remembers feeling so shocked receiving his first paycheck from this show, getting paid to do something he loves, proving this dream is possible.

Connor highlights the skills he learned from this hands-on process at Weathervane, learning details of other productions or jobs to help him better perform and appreciate the shows. The community he felt early on stuck out to him as a young person away from home, which can be nerve-racking for many.

It was filled with long days of rehearsing, acting, and singing, and that was just the start, as he now performs in nearly 8 shows a week for The Notebook The Musical!

After Plaid Tidings, Connor was invited back for his most beloved character by all who watched, Jerry Lee Lewis in Million Dollar Quartet. At one point during our interview with Connor, he said, “Anything for Weathervane.” His appreciation of the staff and the learning experiences here at Weathervane pushed him to praise the support of everyone who attends a Weathervane production.

With Weathervane being a stepping stone for young actors to find their identity and perform for a lovely community, he urges everyone to buy season passes and keep watching local theater! (His words, not ours.)

Connor’s Backstory 

As mentioned earlier, his family had him try every sport in school, but in his mom’s favorite story, he once ran down the field while playing soccer and then opened his shirt like he was Superman…and that’s when they knew.

While performing in shows all throughout high school, he also learned guitar, played saxophone in his school’s band, and sang often.

Here in high school, his theater teacher helped foster that love of theater within him for those formative four years, and this teacher is still one of his favorite directors whom he gets lunch with when he is back home in Tennessee.

This teacher wasn’t the only one to make an impact. When Connor started college at Coastal Carolina University, he felt more like a singer who just acts in order to sing. But thanks to his teacher, Monica, she pushed him as an actor and now feels more like an actor first.

His time in college shaped him as a person; he believes that being a well-rounded person makes you a well-rounded performer. It was then that he studied pre-law, creating a balance between constant creativity and academics, a sort of break from theater-heavy courseloads.

Having the space to pursue many interests in college, he carved that way for himself, and pre-law now serves to help him read contracts and their legal jargon.

Feeling lucky to have all these experiences, he now lives out his dreams touring in The Notebook The Musical.

Theater Opportunities + Goals

Choosing theater as a career allows Connor to keep a variety in his life. He notes that he enjoys always doing something different, and even when it’s the same show, there are still many differences in the directors, actors, and spaces. And he finds it parallels most typical jobs in terms of application and work, just with a shorter and variable length of having that job.

Although he misses his family and friends greatly, he is amazed that his job lets him travel to all kinds of places! Some of his favorites are Niagara Falls and Meredith, New Hampshire (and of course, more favorites to come during his tour!).

In New Hampshire, he enjoyed the New England feel on the main street with the seafood and the nice, cool weather. Near a beautiful lake where he got to go kayaking!

His fellow coworkers in The Notebook The Musical make this distance from home easier, as they all relate to the fact that they are apart from family, quickly becoming close friends to keep each other company for the year and the holidays. However, Connor’s family often comes to watch him perform, where he enjoys them being in the crowd.

He performs because he loves to “be on stage and share the stories of the writers.” Everyone comes and loves shows for many different reasons, and he is a part of that, enjoying how The Notebook The Musical is being received by the audience, which motivates him every day to perform it.

One day, Connor hopes to be on Broadway, performing in the highest level of theater where plays and musicals originate. He also plans to open his own youth theater company to teach children! Which is why, knowing how theater has changed his life, he hopes people continue supporting the young actors at Weathervane.

But, most of all, he just wants to keep performing!

Connor’s Dream Come True: The Notebook the Musical

In January of this year, 2025, he sent in his self-tape for The Notebook The Musical. And as we know, he received the role of Johnny, the comedic relief throughout the story.

Connor describes The Notebook The Musical as a “beautifully tragic piece of theater,” and explains how the audience comes for a love story and leaves talking about dementia and Alzheimer’s, opening a dialogue about something we all can relate to.

In The Notebook The Musical, the main characters, Allie and Noah, fall in love. The musical depicts their love story, where in the future, Ally is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, which is when she writes a notebook of memories so she can remember her husband, Noah. Every time she gets close to remembering him, a character comes in and interrupts. 

Connor was worried with the size of this show that it would feel foreign to him, but he explained that the “more it goes on, the less it feels out of body.” The process was the exact same as any other musical he’s been a part of, although this is the longest he has ever run a show!

Growing up knowing of these directors and watching these actors that he now works with, he is living out these dreams he has had since childhood, making this his favorite show he’s been in so far.

Watch his goals undoubtedly come to life on his Instagram @connor._.richardson

And since the tour for The Notebook the Musical has started, you can support his new journey too by checking out the thenotebookthemusical.com for more information.