Two Alachua County Public Schools graduates are currently making their Broadway debuts, according to an Alachua County Public Schools press release.
The release highlights Buchholz High School graduate Chrissy Metz, who is appearing as Angelique in the Broadway musical “& Juliet,” and Eastside High School graduate Terrence Williams Jr., who is performing multiple roles in “Titanique,” including the supporting role of Victor Garber.
Metz, a 2001 Buchholz graduate, recently gave a shout-out to her former choral teacher, Diana Rollo, during an appearance on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.”
“Ms. Rollo, she was my choral teacher, she’s the best, she changed my life,” Metz told Fallon, according to the release.
Rollo, now Alachua County Public Schools’ fine arts supervisor, taught both Metz and Williams during their high school years and remains in contact with them.
“I could definitely tell they both had something special,” Rollo said in the release. “When you see a kid with a special talent, it’s the teacher’s job to guide them and steer them in the right direction, to give them opportunities that will give them that love of performing and the confidence to keep going.”
Rollo and Tammy Meyers, Williams’ former theater teacher at Eastside High School, plan to travel to New York this weekend to watch their former students perform and have been invited backstage for both productions.
Meyers said Williams stood out as a student performer.
“When I put on “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown,” he was my Charlie Brown,” Meyers said in the release. “He’s always been a standout, commanding the stage, owning the role, and with a phenomenal voice.”
Rollo said she takes pride in the accomplishments of both former students.
“I’m so happy they have succeeded and built these amazing careers for themselves doing something they love,” she said. “There’s just such an immense sense of pride in what they’ve accomplished.”
According to the release, Metz earned Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for her role as Kate Pearson in NBC’s “This Is Us.” She has appeared in numerous television series and films, including Netflix’s “The Hunting Wives,” and is set to appear in the upcoming Apple TV+ series “Nocturne.”
Williams studied at the Savannah College of Art and Design and performed in professional film, television and stage productions in the U.S. and abroad. The release states that one year after graduating from Eastside High, he was cast in the off-Broadway productions “Titanique” and “Gollum Owned A Tropic Smoothie.”
The district noted that Metz and Williams join a growing list of Alachua County Public Schools graduates who have performed on Broadway. Gainesville High School graduate Alana Pollard appeared as Jessica Hahn in the Elton John musical “Tammy Faye” in 2024, while Eastside graduate Sissy Bell performed in “Anastasia” from 2017 to 2019 and “Tootsie” from 2019 to 2020.
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Alachua County Public Schools alumni making Broadway debuts
Reporting by Staff report, Gainesville Sun / The Gainesville Sun
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By Staff report, Gainesville Sun | USA TODAY Network
