ALACHUA COUNTY, FL (352today.com) – Two graduates of the Alachua County public school system are currently making their Broadway debuts.
Chrissy Metz, a 2001 graduate of Buchholz High, is playing Angelique in the musical “& Juliet,” while Terrence Williams, Jr., who graduated from Eastside High in 2015, will be playing multiple roles as part of the current company performing “Titanique, The Musical,” including the major supporting character Victor Garber.
Metz is by now a veteran of the small screen, scoring Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for playing Kate Pearson in the uber-popular “This Is Us.” She also appeared in the recent Netflix show “The Hunting Wives,” and has a role in the upcoming Apple TV+ series “Nocturne.”
Williams headed to the Savannah College of Arts & Design after graduation; he chased and won multiple roles while simultaneously studying, including a part in the off-Broadway production of “Titanique” that led him to the Great White Way.
In addition to treading the Broadway boards at the same time, both actors also studied under Alachua County Public Schools Fine Arts Supervisor Diana Rollo, who taught Metz and Williams as a choral instructor. Metz recently namechecked Rollo during an appearance on “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.”
“I could definitely tell they both had something special,” said Rollo of her former students in an announcement. “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.”