Almost 10 years ago, Justin Sudderth sat in the audience of Norfolk’s Chrysler Hall, watching the national Broadway tour of “Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella.” The then 16-year-old had spent years dancing and singing with the Norfolk-based theater group The Hurrah Players and wondered about how cool it would be to be on a national stage one day.
Tuesday, the Virginia Beach native returns to the Chrysler as a featured cast member in the 25th anniversary tour of “Mamma Mia!” He’ll play Pepper, a flirtatious and charming waiter at the Taverna on the fictional Greek island of Kalokairi. The musical is based on the 1970s and ’80s music of the Swedish pop group, ABBA.
Sudderth, who graduated from Salem High, took a moment recently to try to articulate what it means to perform at the venue that fed his dreams years ago.
“My mom told me, ‘Expect someone you know to be there at every show,’ ” Sudderth said during a phone interview from a tour stop in Atlanta. “I don’t know what it’s going to be like but I know it will be emotional for me.”
Sudderth’s parents put him in Hurrah in 2013 to keep the always-moving kid busy. After a performance, another actor's parent told him he had a great stage presence. Sudderth thought it was wild that he stood out for not doing anything in particular, "except what I was supposed to be doing."
He pursued theater as a future. Sudderth got leads in Hurrah shows, including a young Michael Jackson in the 2014 production of “The Magic and Music of Michael,” and the title role in “Aladdin” in 2017. He graduated from Salem the next year and later earned a degree in musical theatre at Montclair State University in New Jersey.
Montclair and Hurrah taught him the rigors of dancing, singing and acting but he had to learn to hone other skills: safeguarding his voice and avoiding injury when not performing; trying to stay healthy and avoid getting sick with the grueling schedule the stage demands. Cast members can’t afford to party or stay up late after a show; they get up the next day and do the same exhausting work.
“The joke is that performers are like nuns,” Sudderth said.
Sudderth was working in New Jersey restaurants as he auditioned for roles. Last summer, he learned about openings for the “Mamma Mia!” tour and started the rounds of auditions and callbacks. He was selected in August and joined the tour in October.
“I know performing in Norfolk will be a full circle moment,” he said. “From being that 16-year-old not knowing how he was going to get there and now performing for that 16-year-old wondering how he’ll get there.”
"Mamma Mia!" will be at Norfolk's Chrysler Hall March 4-9. Visit sevenvenues.com for more information.
