Twenty Years to Broadway
A champagne toast in the men’s dressing room last night at the Palace Theatre brought the opening week of my Broadway debut to a close. I have finally achieved the biggest milestone of my career — and I have to say, it still doesn’t feel real.
When I walked into that first rehearsal on 47th Street almost two weeks ago, surrounded by familiar faces from the Beetlejuice tour and brand-new ones joining us for this Broadway run, I had to take a moment. There’s a weight to that word Broadway, one that’s carried me through years of audition rooms, callbacks, “thank yous,” and near misses. It’s the dream so many of us chase, but rarely in a straight line.
Before coming to New York, I performed in summer stock, regional theaters, cruise ships, and even Las Vegas. But my longest stretch of work was at Disney World, where I gained stamina and consistency and learned how to engage with an audience no matter who was sitting out there. For 16 years, I built both a résumé and a savings account that made it possible to make the leap to New York in 2008.
My first Broadway audition actually happened three years earlier, in 2005, while I was still performing full-time in Orlando. And from that point on, I made a promise to myself: show up whenever the chance presents itself. Because that’s really what this career is — a numbers game. The more doors you knock on, the more likely one eventually opens.
I think back to my first theater contract after college at Cumberland County Playhouse, when director once asked me, “Are you going to show up tonight?” I realize that question has been the throughline of my whole career. Showing up, again and again, and being present in the moment.
Over the years, I’ve been called back for roughly ten Broadway shows and national tours with Matilda, Dear Evan Hansen, Peter and the Starcatcher, and Mamma Mia! among them. But I’ll never forget auditioning for Happiness, directed by Susan Stroman. I sang a comic song that happened to mention her name in the lyrics. When I finished, the entire room — including Stroman, Tara Rubin, and a handful of producers — actually clapped. That’s never happened before or since at an Equity Principal audition. It didn’t lead to a job, though, but it fueled the fire to keep going.
Along the way, there were a couple of almosts: First Wives Club with its out-of-town run in Chicago and 42nd Street at Goodspeed in Connecticut. Both had Broadway potential. I even turned down an opportunity to join the Beetlejuice tour, thinking 42nd Street would finally be the show to make my Broadway dream happen. But theater tends to be as uncertain as it is fulfilling. Plans changed, and that production stalled after closing at Goodspeed.
But then two years later, the Beetlejuice national tour came back around, and with it the chance to play Otho. I’ll admit, I didn’t see myself as the character at first. But once I’d been cast, I quickly realized how much fun it was to lean into his wildness and eccentricity. After years of playing mostly leading man roles, this was a chance to really let go — to be bizarre and big and unpredictable. And it’s turned out to be some of the most enjoyable work I’ve ever done.
The traveling aspect of tour life is also something I’ve always enjoyed — seeing new cities, sampling the food, taking in the local vibe. But when I joined Beetlejuice in the summer of 2024, I had no idea where it might lead. There was no talk of Broadway then, only a mention of ending the tour at Madison Square Garden for a four-week run. Until then, we were just focused on putting on the best show we could in every city we visited.
But then suddenly, that four-week run left our schedule and it wasn’t till several weeks later that we found out why. Beetlejuice was coming back to Broadway for a third time. It was a surreal moment to say the least, but also one filled with cautious optimism as I had been down this path before, only to see it fade away. As the weeks went by and offers went out and rehearsals schedules were made, it began to feel most and more real, like this time — the third time — might be the charm.
That first day in rehearsals is when it finally sunk in that this is really happening. Our days were structured and the schedule was tight, but the energy in the room made it easy to keep going. There’s a certain spark when you know you’re bringing something back that isn’t just a show, but a beloved community. And by the time we reached opening night, it was a blur of excitement and exhaustion. And while there wasn’t a traditional opening-night party, we did have our own celebration and a local bar mostly paid for by our stellar principals and stage management. It perfectly captured the joy of what this moment meant for all of us, especially those of us making our Broadway debuts.
Some people make it to Broadway right out of college. Others, like me, take the long way around. It just goes to show there’s no single path, no fixed timeline. “Making it” isn’t a destination, it’s a mindset — one you build through persistence, gratitude, and a little bit of stubbornness. And sure, there’s been some online chatter about what kind of Broadway run this really is, given that the production is still on a touring contract. But standing on that Palace stage and hearing the audience laugh and cheer, I can tell you it feels every bit like Broadway to me.
So to anyone still waiting for their moment: keep showing up. Because sometimes, after twenty years of New York auditions, you finally get to say the words you’ve dreamed about for so long — I’m on Broadway.
Photos: Courtesy of Patrick Jones
Editor's Note: At StageLync, an international platform for the performing arts, we celebrate the diversity of our writers' backgrounds. We recognize and support their choice to use either American or British English in their articles, respecting their individual preferences and origins. This policy allows us to embrace a wide range of linguistic expressions, enriching our content and reflecting the global nature of our community.
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