{"id":214784,"date":"2024-01-15T14:05:28","date_gmt":"2024-01-15T19:05:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/john-j-cali-school-of-music\/?p=214784"},"modified":"2024-02-21T11:10:45","modified_gmt":"2024-02-21T16:10:45","slug":"graduate-spotlight-from-classes-to-broadway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/john-j-cali-school-of-music\/2024\/01\/15\/graduate-spotlight-from-classes-to-broadway\/","title":{"rendered":"Graduate Spotlight: From Classes to Broadway"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Nathan Angelo, a BFA Musical Theatre major, and student of Cali School of Music’s Professor Peter Stewart, attends Montclair State University\u2019s Winter Commencement<\/a>,<\/strong> he\u2019ll take a final curtain call on a college career that saw him land a dream job on Broadway before completing his degree. During his final semester, Angelo debuted in the ensemble of\u00a0Here Lies Love,<\/em> a musical that featured the first all-Filipino cast on Broadway, some of whom plan to attend the ceremony on January 8 to applaud Angelo\u2019s achievements, both on and off the stage.<\/p>\n

Angelo was eating dinner with friends on campus when he got the casting call for the\u00a0disco-bio-musical<\/a> co-written by David Byrne and Fatboy Slim about the life of former Philippine First Lady Imelda Marcos. After calmly thanking the casting director, Angelo jumped up, clapping his hands, pounding the table and shouting, \u201cI\u2019m going to be on Broadway!\u201d He performed with the original Broadway cast in previews and 149 regular performances before\u00a0Here Lies Love<\/em>\u00a0closed this past November.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t think things like this happen, and then they do,\u201d says Angelo, 21. \u201cI\u2019m so fortunate to have been able to have such a grand and really authentic and important start to my career, to open and close a Broadway show, operating at the highest level of the thing that I\u2019m training for and pursuing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A
Nathan Angelo takes a selfie outside the Broadway Theatre, home of his Broadway debut on June 17, 2023.\u00a0 (Photo courtesy of Nathan Angelo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On opening night, Angelo thanked his \u201cMontclair family,\u201d saying in an\u00a0Instagram<\/a>\u00a0post, \u201cWithout y\u2019all I wouldn\u2019t possess the skills or the work ethic to pursue this dream of mine.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNathan was a consummate Musical Theatre student,\u201d says Associate Theatre and Dance Professor Peter Flynn. \u201cFrom his first day, he was genuinely engaged and hungry to know more about the American musical theater, his place in it, and how he creates more opportunities for himself and other actors like him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Nathan
Nathan Angelo as he appeared in the official cast photos for\u00a0Here Lies Love.<\/em> (Photos courtesy Nathan Angelo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Angelo is a first-generation Filipino American whose parents immigrated to San Jose, California. They struggled to make ends meet in Silicon Valley. \u201cA lot of my childhood I was navigating the fact that my parents were never home and always wondering why. But now, being older, I realize they were just trying to make sure I was OK, that we had food, a place to stay and clothing,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Being part of the\u00a0Here Lies Love\u00a0<\/em>cast helped Angelo rediscover and reflect on his relationship with his Filipino culture and what it means to be first generation. \u201cIt\u2019s given me a lot of perspective on what\u2019s important, what to be grateful for and what is necessary versus what is accessory. That kind of upbringing sets an individual up to have a different kind of outlook on the world and perception of the world around them,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel I\u2019ve always been hyper-aware of my place in society and my capabilities. I\u2019m very fortunate. I\u2019m very grateful. I\u2019m very blessed and I don\u2019t take any of that for granted.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Two
As a sophomore, Nathan Angelo, a Sinatra Scholarship recipient, had the opportunity to meet Tina Sinatra during her visit to campus in 2021. (Photo by Mike Peters)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Angelo learned of Montclair\u2019s BFA Musical Theatre program from an online forum for arts students, which happened to include a Musical Theatre student already attending Montclair for its combination conservatory training and liberal arts education. Angelo appeared in various productions with the University\u2019s College of the Arts, including\u00a0On the Town<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0Pippin<\/em>.<\/p>\n

He was also a regular presence in the Musical Theatre offices, Flynn says, \u201csometimes bringing home-cooked Filipino dishes as a \u2018thank you\u2019 for the training and support we were providing him.\u201d<\/p>\n

His good fortune included generous scholarship support, including the Sinatra Scholarship, that he combined with student loans and part-time jobs to make ends meet. Landing the Broadway show wasn\u2019t just a break into show business; it came just in time to pay rent and tuition, allowing him to take a full-time load and finish his BFA a semester early. \u201cHis decision to finish his final semester speaks volumes about his integrity and passion for his craft,\u201d says College of the Arts Dean Daniel Gurskis.<\/p>\n

\"A
Nathan Angelo at Commencement on January 8, 2024.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI live in New York so I was getting up early, taking the train, going to school, finishing school, going straight to the theater, taking a nap, warming up, doing the show, going home, doing it again,\u201d Angelo says. \u201cIt was nuts, but I wouldn\u2019t have wanted it any other way.\u201d<\/p>\n

His advice for others looking for their first big break? \u201cBe an open channel and allow the things that come into your life to be received and interpreted without a preconceived bias,\u201d he says. \u201cBe open to new things, be open to new people and have faith that things will work out. If you put out good energy, you will receive good energy back.\u201d<\/p>\n

Story by Staff Writer\u00a0Marilyn Joyce Lehren<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Montclair State University\u2019s Nathan Angelo debuted on Broadway before even finishing his degree<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":189,"featured_media":214785,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-214784","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/john-j-cali-school-of-music\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/214784","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/john-j-cali-school-of-music\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/john-j-cali-school-of-music\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/john-j-cali-school-of-music\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/189"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/john-j-cali-school-of-music\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=214784"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/john-j-cali-school-of-music\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/214784\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":214901,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/john-j-cali-school-of-music\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/214784\/revisions\/214901"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/john-j-cali-school-of-music\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/214785"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/john-j-cali-school-of-music\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=214784"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/john-j-cali-school-of-music\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=214784"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/john-j-cali-school-of-music\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=214784"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}