Jersey Girl on Broadway

Roxbury native opens in revival of West Side Story

By Bill Nutt
The Daily Record

Tonight, when Amy Ryerson makes her Broadway debut in “West Side Story,” she can almost thank her New Jersey roots for landing her the part.

Ryerson, a 2004 graduate of Roxbury High School, will play Mugsy, one of the Jet girls in a much-anticipated revival of the classic musical based on “Romeo and Juliet.” She is also the understudy for Graziella, the girl friend of Jet gang leader Riff.

When Ryerson auditioned for the show this past October, Arthur Laurents (the 90-year-old theater legend who wrote the book for the 1957 show and who is directing “West Side Story” for the first time) praised Ryerson for her tough demeanor.

“Yeah, I’m tough, I’m from New Jersey,” Ryerson replied.

“That cracked him up,” Ryerson recalled. “I think it might have helped me (get the role). They wanted people who were tough, who had that attitude.”

Ryerson’s Broadway debut is the culmination of years of training and work. Though only 23, she has appeared off-Broadway, done commercials, and performed as a Knicks City Dancer for the basketball team. A versatile dancer, she is skilled in ballet, jazz, tap, hip-hop, lyric and other styles.

“Amy always tried to take everything in,” said Janine Cone of Byram, former co-director of the Dance Academy of North Jersey in Jefferson. For more than 12 years, Cone taught Ryerson and served as her mentor.

“Amy was one of the most dedicated, disciplined dancers I ever had,” said Cone, who taught dance for more than 25 years. “There are kids who compete in dance, but also do soccer, field hockey or other sports. It’s hard to find a kid who is dedicated to one thing. That’s Amy.”

“I don’t remember a time when I didn’t want to be a dancer,” said Amy Ryerson. “I never questioned it. It was something I needed to do.”

She began dancing “almost from the moment she could move,” said Carolyn Ryerson.

At age three, Amy was taking dance lessons. By age 7, she had begun entering dance competitions, and as a teenager she was going to New York City for auditions and workshops.

Carolyn Ryerson said she and her husband, Wayne, have always supported Amy in her dance; however, they tried to avoid being the stereotypical stage parents. “We tried to keep her grounded,” said Carolyn Ryerson. “We told her there would always be someone better than her.”

Nonetheless, the Ryersons had to pay attention when judges at competitions encouraged their daughter to dance professionally. “They kept saying that she was the real deal,” said Carolyn Ryerson.