By Michael Berresse

After I graduated high, school, a bunch of my friends are going to the Chicago open call for performers at the Disney theme parks and managed to convince me to come along. I had never taken a real audition and was totally unprepared. I had no dance shoes or sheet music so I went barefoot and sang “Miracle of Miracles” from FIDDLER ON THE ROOF (the only show I had done in high school). I pulled the choreographer Barnett Ricci onto the floor to sing to her (clueless!) and I’m sure stunned in part out of curiosity, they gave me a job as the boy singer in FANTASY FOLLIES. While I was in Orlando, another group of friends decided to go to Pittsburgh to audition for CLO to try and get their Equity cards (this was pre-union Disney days) and I tagged along. Sound familiar? (I brought shoes and music this time). We all camped out in a hotel room together near the Benedum Center and once again I sang “Miracle of Miracles” as my up-tempo. I made my equity debut as a tap-dancing crow in THE WIZARD OF OZ, a coronet man in FUNNY GIRL and sporting a Mohawk as The Wild Horse in ANNIE GET YOUR GUN. That winter I went to my first Broadway open call at the Equity building. It was a madhouse, something like 700 guys. I sang my lucky song and got the job. The show? FIDDLER ON THE ROOF. “Miracle of Miracles” indeed!