Not just one, but two Alachua County Public Schools’ graduates are currently making their debuts on Broadway.
Chrissy Metz, who graduated from Buchholz High School in 2001, is now appearing as Angelique in the Broadway musical & Juliet. Terrence Williams Jr., a 2015 graduate of Eastside High School, is appearing in Titanique, the Musical and will be performing a number of roles during his run with the show, including the prominent supporting role of Victor Garber.
Metz earned Emmy and Golden Globes nominations for her role at Kate Pearson in the NBC television series This Is Us, which ran for six seasons. She has appeared in numerous other television series and films, including the recent Netflix series The Hunting Wives. Metz will also be appearing in the upcoming Apple TV + series Nocturne.
While studying at the Savannah College of Arts and Design, Williams also performed in professional film and TV roles and on stages in the U.S. and abroad. A year after graduating he was cast in off-Broadway productions of Titanique and Gollum Owned A Tropic Smoothie.
Besides their concurrent Broadway debuts, Metz and Williams have something else in common—or rather, someone else. Diana Rollo, who is Alachua County Public Schools’ fine arts supervisor, was the chorus teacher for Metz and Williams during their high school years. She remains in touch with both her former students.
“I could definitely tell they both had something special,” said Rollo. “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.”
Metz recently gave a shout-out to Rollo during an appearance on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. (Find the clip here)
“Ms. Rollo, she was my choral teacher, she’s the best, she changed my life,” Metz told Fallon.
Rollo and Tammy Meyers, who was Williams’ theater teacher at Eastside High, are headed to New York City this weekend to see their former students perform on the Broadway stage. They’ve been invited backstage for both shows.
Meyers says she’s not surprised by Williams’ success.
“When I put on You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, he was my Charlie Brown,” she said. “He’s always been a standout, commanding the stage, owning the role, and with a phenomenal voice.”
“I’m so happy, they have succeeded and built these amazing careers for themselves doing something they love,” said Rollo. “There’s just such an immense sense of pride in what they’ve accomplished.”
Metz and Williams are not the only graduates of Alachua County Public Schools to make it to the Great White Way. Most recently Gainesville High School alumna Alana Pollard played Jessica Hahn in the Elton John musical Tammy Faye in 2024. Eastside graduate Sissy Bell performed in the Broadway musicals Anastasia from 2017 to 2019 and Tootsie from 2019 to 2020.