Centennial High School seems to have a "pipeline" to Broadway.
There’s Ric Ryder, a 1979 Centennial High graduate who starred in a half-dozen Broadway musicals; Megan Lawrence, a 1991 alumna who earned a Tony nomination for her role in “The Pajama Game;” and Michael Magee, whose professional acting career that took him to London and Broadway soon after graduation in 1988.
This spring and summer alone, three former Eagles are performing on the Great White Way: Ashley Blair Fitzgerald sings and dances in “Trip of Love; ” Josh Davis is making his Broadway debut in “Beautiful, the Carole King Musical;” and Adam Dannheisser, the trio’s veteran performer, landed the role of Lazar Wolf in the Broadway revival of “Fiddler on the Roof.”
We caught up with the performers to find out how show business is treating them.
Adam Dannheisser, a graduate of Centennial High School, earned an MFA degree from the Tisch School at New York University and went on to perform professionally in a number of theater productions. (Handout)
Adam Dannheisser
Current gig: Lazar Wolf in "Fiddler on the Roof"
Just before his final curtain call at a recent “Fiddler” matinee, Adam Dannheisser glanced upward at the Broadway Theatre. When he recognized friends from his hometown, the burly, bearded butcher broke character and beamed his own familiar smile, not missing a beat of the finale.
Seeing Dannheisser onstage is no surprise to Myron “Mo” Dutterer, who directed Dannheisser in Centennial High School productions and has followed his career ever since.
“Adam was in every main stage show, variety show, ‘Fat Night Follies,’ or anything else that happened at CHS while he was there,” says Dutterer. “Such a quick, witty and creative mind was always his method of operation.”
Dannheisser’s talent was recognized early on when Maureen Bannon directed the then 13-year-old and his sister Lia on her teenage TV show, “Graffiti” in 1983.
“He was a leader, a natural on and off the camera,” says Bannon in a recent telephone conversation from her art studio on the Eastern Shore. “The other kids were charged by his tremendous energy and talent.”
Dannheisser earned his MFA degree from the prestigious Tisch School at NYU. He has racked up a Broadway resume that includes roles in Shakespeare’s “Cymbeline,” “The Tempest” and Twelfth Night.” A major coup for Dannheisser was his casting for multiple roles in “The Coast of Utopia” trilogy at Lincoln Center in 2006. And those of us who saw Dannheisser in the national tour of “Contact,” which earned him an Ovation Award nomination, recall his comical antics and fancy footwork throughout the musical.
He originated the hilarious role of the Hollywood club owner, Dennis Dupree, in the Tony-nominated “Rock of Ages,” and during the Broadway run, Dannheisser pitched for the show’s baseball team. In 2011, his team won the championship and Dannheisser was named the 2011 MVP of the Broadway Show League.
But clearly the capstone is his debut in “Fiddler on the Roof” as Lazar Wolf, the widowed butcher who has his eye on the main character’s eldest daughter and makes a deal with her father that will long be remembered in theater history. In the role, Dannheisser sings the rousing “To Life” number and performs its high-flying choreography, a rendition that’s lively and poignant.
Backstage, he seems humbled by his role. As he points out the sets and props to guests, Dannheisser smiles at the children. “I love seeing children at the show and encouraging them to continue in theater,” he says, pointing out he has a family of his own – his wife, also an actor, and two sons.
This month, Dannheisser will be on the 70th anniversary of the Tony Awards show. Can him June 5 at 8 p.m. on local CBS affiliates.
“Fiddler on the Roof” plays at the Broadway Theatre for an unlimited run, 1681 Broadway, New York City. For tickets, call 800-901-4092 or visit
newyorkcitytheatre.com.
Josh Davis performs in the ensemble and serves as understudy for the male lead in "Beautiful: The Carole King Musical." (Joan Marcus)
Josh Davis
Current gig: Ensemble and understudy for the male lead in “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical”
A few blocks away, Josh Davis is singing his heart out in “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical,” the story of the early life and career of the famous songstress. Davis’ big moment in this production: harmonizing to “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin,” a song that earned him his place in the musical.
Josh Davis, a 1993 graduate of Centennial High School, produced two feature films before performing on Broadway. (Handout)
Davis is a 1993 Centennial graduate who was involved in every performance opportunity afforded him at the high school. “He was a very popular student with a great personality and work ethic who always gave 110 percent,” says Mo Dutterer, who coached him in high school. “Josh is a striking man — tall, handsome, with a great smile. Perfect lead material…always has been.”
Davis received a degree in business and marketing from the University of Delaware, and then took off to New York, where he interned at a casting agency.
“I always kept my focus on acting and singing,” says Davis from a Manhattan subway stop. “I was lucky and had good training for Broadway.”
As a teenager, Davis also took classes at the Columbia Center for Theatrical Arts and sang with The Young Columbians under the direction of Toby Orenstein.
“We saw the show ‘Beautiful’ the night the lead was sick and Josh performed his role, a baritone/tenor part,” says Orenstein of Toby’s Dinner Theatre. “His acting…his voice…he was wonderful.”
But there was a point when his career seemed uncertain. He dislocated his shoulder during a performance on a cruise ship in 2013.
“After surgery I wasn’t sure if I would be able to continue acting,” he says.
During his interlude, Davis produced two feature films. “The Graduates” was filmed in Ocean City. When he landed the understudy part of Javert in a North Carolina production of “Les Miserables,” his life changed dramatically.
“Mo Dutterer took our high school class to see ‘Les Miz’ in Baltimore, and I knew then that I wanted to be an actor,” he says. “I look back at these years and realize how much an impact my Howard County teachers, especially music and theater, had on my career.”
It was during this 2011 run when Davis learned he would perform on Broadway in “Beautiful.” The musical has garnered two Tony Awards, a Grammy and The Equity Ensemble Award. More than 1,000 performances later, Davis is still on Broadway.
“I’m so involved in this show. I get to sing Carole King’s soundtrack of a generation, and the audience goes wild,” he says.
So what’s next for this “double threat,” as he calls himself? He says hopes for a lead role in a Broadway show and more TV and film appearances.
“Beautiful: the Carole King Musical,” plays an open-ended run at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre, 124 W. 43rd St., New York City. For discounted tickets, call 1-800-Broadway or visit broadway.com.
Ashley Blair Fitzgerald performs in the musical “Trip of Love.” (Matthew Murphy)
Ashley Blair Fitzgerald
Current gig: Featured dancer and singer in “Trip of Love”
When you are a featured dancer and singer in a “dancical,” a show where there’s no story or characters, you’ve got to do more than pirouettes or pretty ballet steps. Broadway dance choreography is unique. It’s gutsy, quirky and Olympics-competition ready with its bag full of flips, backbends and cartwheels galore.
Ashley Blair Fitzgerald, a 2002 graudate of Centennial High School, has performed in the "Radio City Christmas Spectacular," "Fosse," "Come Fly Away" and now "Trip of Love." (Handout)
So it’s a bit of a big deal that Howard County ballet-trained Ashley Blair Fitzgerald, a 2002 Centennial High School graduate, is a featured performer in the off-Broadway hit show, “Trip of Love.” This is her third major role in the past year.
“I’m in the big numbers, so I have to be in the best shape possible when you’re challenged this much,” says Fitzgerald from her apartment near the theater. “It’s a real challenge mentally and physically, but at the end of the day, it’s so rewarding.”
A versatile performer, Fitzgerald was accepted to the Boston Conservatory of Music but left early to pursue her true love: show business. Her first professional gig was the “Radio City Christmas Spectacular,” followed by a national tour of “Fosse” and the Frank Sinatra-inspired musical “Come Fly Away.”
She danced in “Gigi,” which premiered at the Kennedy Center, then made its Broadway debut in 2014. Last summer, she was chosen as American Ballet Theater’s Misty Copeland’s understudy “An American in Paris.”
In the 1960s musical, “Trip of Love,” Fitzgerald shows off her dancing on the beach and in fancy clubs where the tunes are as varied as “White Rabbit” by Jefferson Airplane or Civil Rights anthems.
As Judy Templeton, a longtime dance teacher at Slayton House, put it, “Ashley Fitzgerald sparkles on stage no matter what she is performing.”
“Trip of Love” plays at Stage 42, formerly the Little Shubert Theatre, 422 W. 42nd St., New York City, through August. Tickets are available at telecharge.com.