(tap dancing)
Hi my name is Jess LeProtto,
and I'm currently in the revival of
Carousel on Broadway,
and today I will be dancing through my resume.
(dance music)
I made my Broadway debut in the production of
The Boy From Oz starring Hugh Jackman.
I was a vacation swing,
and I got to cover the role of young Peter Allen.
I did get a chance to go on for one performance,
at the end of the show,
there was a curtain call,
and Hugh Jackman was so generous and gracious
to give this little 11-year-old boy the final bow.
It was every dream that came to reality there.
It was just a wonderful experience
and doing a big, show-stopping tune like
"When I Get My Name in Lights" was a blast.
♪ Give us presents, woo ♪
♪ Some presents ♪
Then I did two seasons of the show,
Dr. Suess's How the Grinch Stole Christmas
that was choreographed by John DeLuca.
♪ Sugar lollies ♪
♪ And then if you please ♪
♪ Give us more ♪
I joined the very first Broadway revival company of
Bye Bye Birdie starring John Stamos and Bill Irwin.
What was great about the show was that
there was a teenage ensemble
and we got to perform all the great numbers from the show
and that were choreographed by Robert Longbottom.
Songs like "Gotta Lotta Living to Do" and
"The Telephone Hour" and it was just a blast
figuring out and just dancing this great style,
in the late '50s early '60s
with this teen bop energy surrounding it, too.
So it was quite a treat for a teenager to do every night.
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Then the show Newsies came along.
Doing Chris Gattelli's Tony-winning choreography
eight times a week was
an experience unlike anything else.
He was able to provide such an athletic drive
that every young male dancer wants to achieve on stage.
I did the show for two years,
and I got to perform with the best band of brothers
you can ask for.
You can't get any better than performing songs like
"Carrying the Banner," "Seize the Day," and
"King of New York," which is my personal favorite.
"King of New York" was like a great ice breaker.
It was just this joyous celebration
through wonderful tap choreography that Chris provided,
and it was just a great moment for all the Newsies
to be featured,
and for the audience to just really get a real kick out of
these talented, talented young men
who were amazing.
And it's the gift that keeps on giving,
because I still see people today who are inspired by it,
who felt the show had such a huge impact on them,
particularly young male dancers.
♪ Of New York! ♪
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What was great about On The Town
was that it was a great combination of both
Josh Bergasse's athletic choreography,
with this fun character movement, as well.
I was able to do such a wide range of movement
throughout the show.
I got to play a sailor, I got to play a caveman,
I got to play a grumpy taxi boss,
and all through this sense of both the material
and through the choreography and movement.
So it's one of my favorite shows
for that particular reason.
It's like, that's traditional Broadway right there,
so it's definitely
quite a wonderful experience.
And doing Bernstein's score - beautiful.
Doing the first Broadway revival of Cats
was such a tremendous learning experience.
There were so many layers of movement
that we had to investigate and dive into,
from the feline base to the personality character traits.
I played Mungojerrie, which was quite a treat every night
to share the stage with Shanika Guden
and do "Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer",
this traditional, vaudevillian, stamina-building number
every night,
and the audience definitely was looking at a lot of fun,
two loving goofballs on stage every night,
so that was quite an amazing experience.
Hello, Dolly! is a show unlike any other.
Performing with Bette Midler is like,
you check that off your bucket list.
It was never the same show with her,
she always created new moments
with her dancers surrounding her.
And doing that song, "Hello, Dolly!" with her
was just a beautiful joyride every night.
As well as doing the waiters' gallop,
which was choreographed by Warren Carlyle.
It was such a huge spectacle
and the audience just got this great thrill of
like, this roller coaster with all these waiters
running around and jumping up and down,
bopping up and down, catching plates,
flipping skewers, jumping off the passerelle,
it was a quite a variety sight to see.
That was a show.
That was a helluva show.
Now, I'm currently in the Broadway revival
of Carousel, which is choreographed by
Tony Award winner, Justin Peck.
Unbelievable.
The variety of what Justin is able to create
from his balletic style, really just,
like, he understands that so beautifully.
And, obviously, "Blow High, Blow Low" is my favorite number.
The audience gets a wonderful, huge guy's number,
which you don't see as often,
but when you do, it's quite a treat,
and it's, you know,
you have to experience it to believe it.
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(tap dancing)