For junior music theatre major Grant Gustin, a career in the performing arts is exactly what he has wanted since he was younger. Gustin is making his Broadway debut as “Baby John” in the “West Side Story” National Tour.
Gustin, a Norfolk, Va. native, set the path for a career in the performing arts at 10, when he began tap dancing and received a role in a community theatre where he grew up. He also attended the Governor’s School for the Arts in Virginia.
“I’ve always known this is what I’ve wanted to do,” Gustin said. “I always assumed it would happen because it’s what I wanted to do. I’ve worked hard and I was very optimistic. I definitely pictured myself doing this when I was younger.”
Gustin got cast for the tour in July 2010, after he went to an open audition in New York during spring break and was called back. The cast has been on the road for four months; Gustin has a year contract, he says.
While at Elon, Gustin played various roles in “Sweeney Todd;” “Kiss Me, Kate” (suitor); “110 in the Shade” (“Jim Curry”); “Waldo and the Absolutely Amazing Afternoon” (title character) and other plays “here and there,” he says.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Elon chapter.