You're Goin' to Hollywood!

One of My Favorite Photos of Zak

I've been in theatre for a long time, and I have met hundreds of actors and performers over the years. Some were in it because they just wanted to see what it was like, some, like me, for the love of it, and the very few who actually made their living as an actor ( a goal I still hope to achieve one day), and then there are the ones that you know when you work with them that THEY HAVE IT! They have that special something that makes them a STAR. My life has been peppered with evenings in front of the TV or watching a rented movie and yelling at the screen or to whomever I was with, "Hey, that's Ed. I know him!" or "I didn't know Joe was in this movie." or "That guy playing the doctor on the witness stand...I did a show with him when I was little." My theatre friends have been on Broadway, in feature films and recorded albums. So, yes, I know my share of people who live the dream, my dream at least, but this post is about one particular young man who's on the cusp of an INCREDIBLE journey, and we will be lucky enough to take it with him through the magic of television.

I first met Zak Resnick when he was 15. I was doing a community theatre production of The Sound of Music. I was playing Mother Abbess and Zak was playing Rolf. Because Zak was not yet 16 and he lived near me , I offered to give him rides to and from our shows for the run along with Liesl. I remember what a burden that took off of my parents when I was a non-driving teen actor, so I was glad to do it. We would ride home from late tech rehearsals, and Zak would sing along with the radio. He had an amazing voice for anyone, but a 15 year old? It blew my mind. He was a handsome lad too, coal black hair, piercing eyes, and a winning smile. He bore an uncanny resemblance to a young Elvis. The show ended, and we didn't get a chance to work together again, but I kept up with him, and attended different productions he was in while in High School. He graduated and was accepted to Carnegie Melon and along came a wonderful little invention called Facebook and Youtube. Now it was easy to keep up with his career and watch him progress as a performer. I felt like he was one of my own as I celebrated his triumphs and cheered as he achieved yet another goal on his road to greatness. Two weeks ago there was a hint on Zak's Facebook wall to watch American Idol. Now, I must confess, I haven't watched Idol since the Clay Aiken/Reuben Studdard years, but the girls and I sat down to watch, and there he was, Zak, on the TV screen with a sound byte that he was there to do what he was born to do. My heart was in my mouth as I watched the rest of the show waiting for him to sing in front of the judges. I was so disappointed when the show ended and we hadn't seen him, but the next morning the news broke on B103.7, a local radio station, that he had a "Golden Ticket" and he was "Goin' to Hollywood." I can't wait to watch his journey unfold, and when all of America gets to hear Zak sing, I can say, I knew him when. Good luck, Zak! I'll be voting!