Cullman High School Theatre alum Drew Fillinger joins Broadway National Tour cast of ‘Chicago’
CULLMAN, Ala. — Broadway is coming to Alabama this fall, and it’s bringing a familiar face with it. Cullman High School Theatre alumnus Drew Fillinger joins the Broadway National Tour cast of “Chicago the Musical,” which opens its season at the Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center Nov. 19-24, 2024. In the story of female criminals becoming high-profile celebrities in 1920s Chicago, Fillinger will take on the role of a sympathetic news reporter with a big secret.
“The entertainment industry in general is an incredibly tough one,” said Fillinger. “You receive so, so many no’s before you receive any that will say yes. I’ve been performing professionally since I was 19, but nothing I had done up until now was a job that could be full time. For the past six years, whenever I was doing a professional contract, I was simultaneously working a full-time corporate job, or still in school. It meant 40 hours a week of work plus 40-60 hours a week of rehearsal, but I knew that I had to grind and work as hard as I possibly could in order to make the small possibility of my lofty dreams actually come true.”
Fillinger talked to The Tribune about getting called up to the major leagues of stage entertainment:
“For most actors, you don’t necessarily get to see the fruits of your labor. But after four rounds of auditions and callbacks, I got the email from the casting agency telling me I had booked the Broadway National Tour of ‘Chicago.’ It made all of my years of grueling – and albeit many times under-appreciated – work so incredibly worth it.
“Dreams like this seem like an absolute pipe dream for little boys growing up in a small town like Cullman. I always knew I had some talent and a good work ethic, but I didn’t even grow up with the same resources as kids in Birmingham or Huntsville, let alone the ones from much larger metro areas that have millions of dollars in state funding for arts programs. But I always felt like God gave me these gifts, and I felt called to showcase them however I could. I graduated from Samford University in 2021, moved to Atlanta for about 2.5 years, and then moved to New York at the very end of January. I’ve wanted to live in New York for years, but I wanted to wait until I felt like my acting resume had gotten beefed up enough to stand out in a crowd. I was always warned that it is a very emotionally exhausting environment when you first move to the big city. There are tens of thousands of actors all going for the same parts, and it usually takes years before you see any type of success, if you even see it at all. So this opportunity to be selected for a show as iconic as ‘Chicago’ was far beyond what I really expected, especially since I feel like I just moved there. I am astonished, grateful and just feeling like the luckiest person in the world.”
Fillinger hasn’t forgotten his roots, telling The Tribune, “I credit so much of my success to my roots with Cullman High School Theatre, and under the direction of Wayne Cook and Sarah Jane Skinner, the department has flourished so much in the several years since I was there.”
CHS Theatre Director Cook returned the compliment, saying, “It is a major accomplishment for a student to make it in a professional Broadway production. We are very proud of what he has accomplished and are looking forward to seeing him perform in Birmingham in November.”
As local eyes look up at Fillinger on the stage in November, some will belong to a new generation of performing arts students who look up to him as an example of what they might one day accomplish.
To them Fillinger said, “Any advice I can give, truthfully, to any kid from a small town that wants to pursue the arts, is to never stop being curious about your field. Being a lifelong learner has attributed to a lot of my growth in this industry. Take voice lessons as quickly as you can get into them, take the dance class that scares you to be a part of, practice monologues in your downtime, Read! More! Plays! and watch as much live art as you can. Broadway tours come to Birmingham and Huntsville every year, and they usually offer student rates at a very discounted price! But live art that you see doesn’t just need to be Broadway. The community theater in Cullman has really taken off, and there are hundreds of community and professional regional productions throughout the state.
“Honestly, seeing the live production of ‘Chicago’ in New York is actually what made me realize that the character I’m playing is something I’m a great fit for. My character in the movie adaptation is very different, and I had no idea until I saw it that it was something that could lead to my big break. Studying your craft makes you better at an audition, makes you more knowledgeable about what shows you can be in and expands your pallet to many more styles of beautiful art.”
The Broadway National Tour production of “Chicago the Musical” comes to Birmingham Nov. 19-24, 2024. For more information or tickets, visit www.chicagoontour.com.
Drew Fillinger in a “Chicago” rehearsal in New York. (Photo courtesy of Drew Fillinger)
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