This Broadway play was a critical hit. Meet the Overland Park teen who took the stage

It’s been awhile since Drew Squire has been in a traditional classroom. But it will be back to school for the Overland Park teen, who’s spent the better part of a year living out a dream in the Big Apple.

Drew Squire answered a casting call to be part of Tom Stoppard’s “Leopoldstadt” last year. He never imagined that he’d get the part in the theatrical production, which won a Tony this year for best play.

“Ever since I started doing theater, it always was, ‘In 20 years, I want to be on Broadway. That would be the coolest thing ever,’” said Drew, 14. “I never would have thought it would have happened so soon, at the age of 13. I just seized the opportunity and did it just for fun.”

To get the role, he answered an Instagram post for an open call, sending in his headshot and resume. A few weeks later, he got a request to tape himself doing a few scenes. Then came the in-person audition in New York, and a week later, he had an offer.

Initially, Drew was going to be an understudy to another actor who was playing two parts. Drew had a guarantee to appear on stage once a week. A few weeks into rehearsal, though, the people in charge decided to split the two parts and give Drew the role of Pauli, a teen obsessed with joining the military.

He found that his local acting experiences helped a lot, making the rehearsal process manageable and not overwhelming. Previously, he’s performed at the Kansas City Repertory Theatre and the New Theatre & Restaurant.

Still, being on Broadway is a lot of pressure.

“It was intimidating the entire time, because it’s Broadway. It’s so high-stakes. It’s like the NBA of basketball or like the Olympics. It’s the highest-ranking thing,” Drew said.

The play revolves around a Jewish family in Vienna, roughly in the first half of the 20th century. Drew’s part is at the very beginning, around the turn of the century. The skills he had recently learned for his bar mitzvah came in handy, as some of his lines were in Hebrew.

Drew said there were 11 other kids in the cast, but he was the oldest. But being a teenager on stage eight times a week has some unique challenges.

“I’m going through puberty and stuff. I have to chant Hebrew in the Seder scene. I’d say one-sixth of the shows, I’d have a big voice crack. That was always kind of stressful, knowing that your voice is cracking in front of 1,000 people every night,” Drew said.

He looked up to the adults in the cast and learned that it’s fine if the performance isn’t perfect all the time.

“I loved getting to do the same show every night. It didn’t feel repetitive,” he said. “Each night, something could happen. It’s live theater. Someone could forget a line, or something could happen on stage that makes it different.”

He said that the cast and crew were great, and nowhere was a family atmosphere more evident than at their Tony Award watch party. “Leopoldstadt” took the awards for best play, featured actor, director and costume design.

“Everybody was jumping up and down and cheering, and I started crying. I couldn’t stop for like 10 minutes, because I’ve only dreamed of being on Broadway, and I’ve had the best experience I could’ve had,” Drew said.

To make all this possible, his parents, Jamie and Mindi Squire, switched off staying with him in New York and with his sister back home. Jamie, a sports photographer, was able to be based in New York for Drew’s run in the play.

“I didn’t really expect to hear back (from the taped audition) and when we did, we were all for giving him the opportunity,” said Mindi Squire. “It could be a once in a lifetime thing, so why not try? We were super excited for him, and it was such a positive experience all the way around.”

The hardest part, she said, was finding a reasonable-priced apartment to rent for a year. They ended up getting one that was just across the street from where she and her husband had lived together about 20 years ago.

Meanwhile, Drew, an incoming freshman at Blue Valley North, had to do all his schoolwork online through the Blue Valley School District.

Now that he’s originated a role on Broadway, he has a new challenge: taking driver’s ed. But someday, he’d like to go back to Broadway.

“That’s the dream,” he said.