Courtesy of Broadway Shows
Several teens are currently dominating the Great White Way, as the last couple of years have shown a notable increase in young performers landing lead roles on Broadway. These roles are incredibly demanding, but actors like 19-year-old Reneé Rapp, 18-year-old Sophia Anne Caruso and 17-year-old Andrew Barth Feldman clearly have the skills to wow audiences eight times a week.
Two of the three young Broadway stars have something in common; their careers were jump-started by the Jimmy Awards, more formally known as “The National High School Theatre Awards.” These awards highlight exceptional musical theatre performances by high school students throughout the country. Rapp and Feldman both won the Jimmy Awards in 2018, and now Rapp is portraying Regina George in “Mean Girls,” and Feldman is playing the titular role of Evan Hansen in “Dear Evan Hansen.”
Sophia Anne Caruso is no stranger to the Broadway stage. Caruso has had an active career in professional theater since 2013, making her Broadway debut back in 2016 in “Blackbird.” Three years later, she’s helping lead “Beetlejuice” as Lydia Deetz. All three of these young actors have proven that age doesn’t determine talent or capability. Caruso, Feldman and Rapp are all vocal powerhouses who have left audience members in awe. Critics have given high praise to both Caruso and Feldman’s acting. Since Rapp’s official debut was just this past week, there is little information on her overall portrayal of the iconic “Mean Girls” queen bee.
Broadway performers have one of the most demanding jobs in the entertainment industry. For young people who are still developing and working to craft their skills, countless hours of rehearsals and performing in eight shows a week is no joke. The ever-changing and competitive nature of the theater industry leads to the question of whether or not throwing young adults into challenging roles is sustainable.
Contemporary musical theater composers have made their music far from simple. The roles of Evan Hansen and Regina George both have some of the most difficult vocal parts in musical theater today. Vocal and physical health are essential components of giving strong, consistent performances each night. With the goal of prioritizing his health and setting him up for “long term success,” “Dear Evan Hansen” creatives opted to have Feldman perform only five shows a week at the beginning of his Broadway run. This allowed him to build his stamina and ease his way into his newfound Broadway stardom.
There was some brief discussion among theater fans on social media concerning Sophia Anne Caruso’s health as a video of her performing at “Broadway in Bryant Park” circulated on Instagram. In this specific video, her voice is not nearly as strong as it proves to be in other recordings. Caruso has a very distinct singing voice and in her portrayal of Lydia, she invokes indie and rock stylization. Though fans are certainly not the most qualified to distinguish what is considered to be healthy technique, there was worry that this style could be damaging to her vocal chords. Caruso has called out of very few performances of “Beetlejuice” – if her well-being was truly at risk, the creatives would certainly favor her health over potentially cutting her career short.
For decades, it has been typical to see people in their mid-to-late 20s portraying teenagers on both stage and screen. The roles that Rapp and Feldman are currently playing were originated by Broadway legends well out of their teen years. Young actors rising to the top of the industry before even hitting 20 was almost unheard of until recently. Maybe this trend of teens leading Broadway’s hit shows is the beginning of a new normal and will open doors for other young actors, too.
