Photo by Howard Owens.
A lot of well-meaning adults around Evan Williams' life have a bit of advice in the form of a question: "What's his backup plan?"
"What is he going to do if it doesn’t work out?" they ask.
Musical theater is going to be what Evan Williams does, says his mother, Laura. He might wait tables while building his career, but singing and acting, or perhaps some other career role in or around Broadway, is what he is going to do with his life.
She doesn't have any doubt about it.
“People ask all the time about his fallback plan, but I can’t see him doing anything else,” Laura said.
One of his inspirations and mentors, John Bolton, a Le Roy graduate who has made a career in musical theater, TV and movies, said he hates the term "backup plan."
"Back-up plan means this is what you're going to settle for if things don't work out," Bolton said. "You should always have something else that interests you in life, but a backup plan always sounds second-rate. It's not going for your dreams."
Williams has his best chance yet to go after that dream. He's one of 100 students from around the nation who has won a place in the Jimmy Awards in New York City.
He secured his spot last week by winning -- along with Hope Galloway (Brighton High School) -- the Rochester Broadway Theatre League's "Stars of Tomorrow" competition.
Judges from the league visited the musicals of dozens of high schools in the Finger Lakes region and selected 40 students to compete in "Stars of Tomorrow." After a first round, those 40 competitors became 20, then 10, and then the final two.
Last year, Williams also made the final 10. This year, he won.
Photo courtesy Laura Williams.
"Evan was prepared and focused," said Bolton, who was an early round judge and then coach throughout the competition. "He's got an amazing voice. He took our notes and worked at it, as did the entire Top 40. He took very slight adjustments because he's well prepared. He owned the night, as did Hope Galloway. Everybody was wonderful. If it had taken place on another night, maybe someone else would have won, but that night, Evan claimed it. He owned it."
It was an incredible experience, Williams said.
He said the weeks leading up to the competition were anxious days.
"I had a lot of pressure to take on," Williams said. "Everyone had been telling me that I was gonna be the one, but I wasn’t gonna take anyone’s word for it other than my own."
He had grown up watching the Jimmys, hoping for even a regional consideration.
"I never had really thought of it as a reality until it became a reality," Williams said. "I knew it was possible, but I didn’t want to allow myself to think I didn’t have to work for it. I never want to do that for anything. Nothing should be handed to anyone. I had said to Nate Yauchzee on the way to the event that I remembered watching kids get picked to compete at NYC Bound and just being astounded, so even the fact that I was lucky enough to be part of the competition, not once but three times is crazy. On top of that, I think sixth-grade Evan would be incredibly proud of the fact that he is the first person from Le Roy to represent Rochester at the Jimmy Awards. I hope that there are some little Evans in the world who watch those videos and are inspired just the way I was."
Jacqueline McLean has directed the recent high school musicals at Le Roy and recognizes that Williams is a special talent.
"Evan has a heart of gold," McLean said. "Often, he's not thinking about himself. He's thinking for the better of the group, about a better musical, a better performance from the team. He's a team leader, and I'm a big believer that you're not going to get anywhere if you're not kind. He shows that often."
She said Williams is magnetic, that he connects with audiences in a way that's unique, that she hasn't seen other students be able to do.
"I have no doubt that he's going to go to college, and he's going to make a career out of this," McLean said. "I always joke with him, 'Don't forget the little people, don't forget where you came from because we're going to be cheering for you for years to come.'"
She's proud of Williams, but she's also proud of the entire Le Roy Music Department. Le Roy was represented in Rochester by not just one but five students, and three of them made the final 20.
Le Roy's musical this year was Les Miserables. The production was honored in every category of the theatre league's awards for 2023. Recognized as leading cast members from Le Roy were Ashlyn Puccio, Aubry Puccio, Cooper Terry, Jackson Cain, Maureen Klaiber, and Nathan Yauchzee. Among large schools, it was recognized for excellence in overall musical production, excellence in vocal ensemble, excellence in dance ensemble, excellence in production crew, and excellence in student orchestra.
"When you see kids over the years," she added, "you pick out the ones who have the 'it' factor. We've had a lot of them in Le Roy. We joke about it a lot -- that it must be something in the water. There is so much talent in this town."
After graduation, Williams, in pursuit of his musical theater ambitions, will attend Point Park University in Pittsburgh.
Attending college for music theater puts him on a very different career path than Bolton, who also grew up in love with theater, who started out in regional theater and then took a chance and moved to New York City and happened to make the right connections to build a career.
It helped that he, too, is a nice guy, but he recognizes he might be the best guide for Evan's career. Bolton's partner is a theatrical agent, so was able to offer Williams advice on universities to target.
Other than that, he's just a big believer that Williams should focus on what he loves.
"All signs are saying that Evan Williams can do this," Bolton said. "He's diving into a situation in New York in a few weeks with 100 other students from all over the country, and he will form friendships that will last a lifetime. He will form connections that will last a lifetime."
Bolton has known Evan's mother, Laura, since they were very young. Bolton's mother and Laura's mother, Lynn Belluscio, the Le Roy historian, have been good friends. Social media helped Bolton and Laura reconnect, and so he's been able to watch Evan's passion for theater blossom.
Laura said the main advice Bolton has ever given her son, because Evan is taking just a different path in his career, is to embrace his passion.
“John is always in Evan’s corner but more along the lines of, ‘follow your dreams, sing the songs that make you happy, be true to yourself,’” Laura said.
She's extremely proud of her son.
"Not only does Evan work hard, but he’s also genuine," Laura said. "He lifts people up and celebrates everybody’s success. In this career, he’s learned quickly that if he’s going to go places, he has to help other people. It’s far more than a kill-or-be-killed arena. That’s what I’ve noticed. Clearly, that’s a parent's answer, but that is what makes me proudest, and I know that makes Justin proud as well."
Williams has heard those well-meaning words about having a fallback plan, but he agrees with his mother. He can't see himself doing anything else.
He said he's listened to interviews with stars like John Meyer, who said he didn't necessarily get the best grades in school in mathematics. He was always a music guy. Williams said he's tried to do his best in school, even in mathematics, but those academic subjects, or even sports, have never been his focus.
"Some kids grind at science or they grind at mathematics. They go home and do their science homework or their math homework. When I'm not in school, I spend my time with voice lessons, music lessons, rehearsals, or something like that. That's my form of success," Williams said.
"This is something I want. If I keep pushing for it, I believe it can happen. I’m a big if you can dream it, you can do it. I'm that kind of guy."
Photo by Howard Owens.
