Spotlight On: Jason Adam Lerma
Connecticut Theatre Company’s “Spotlight On…” series continues with a look into our talented cast and crew of Sondheim on Sondheim. Get to know Jason Adam Lerma!
Introduce Yourself to Our Audience:
What has been your favorite role so far in your career?
My favorite role so far has to be Gordon in “RENT”. “RENT” was the show that made me want to become a performer. My favorite type of show is one that leaves the audience thinking about the big picture of life, how to always try to be a better human being, to appreciate each and every day, to live in the moment. NO DAY BUT TODAY!
If you had a magic wand, what show would you do next?
I would absolutely love to do “RENT” again, I want to play Roger, it is my dream role.
When did you first perform?
I first performed with the CT Gay Men’s Chorus. Such a wonderful group. When I was first coming out I needed a place to be with other gay men that wasn’t the club or bar. It was a place where I felt accepted and loved as a brother.
What’s going to surprise people about this production?
I would have to say how amazing the voices are. Each and everyone in the cast is a force to be reckoned with. It’s an honor to be included in such a talented cast. They inspire me to step up to the next level and to keep working on my craft.
Who’s the funniest person in the cast in real life?
I think the funniest person in our cast has to be Alexis Hartman. She is just so bubbly and full of life. When the cast first met she apologized in advance incase she is too much. I told her she is just enough!
What is your favorite Stephen Sondheim show and why?
“West Side Story” by far! How could you not relate to a love story lost to tragedy.
How has Stephen Sondheim inspired you?
In many ways, how he composed so many wonderful and complex songs. His life story. His legacy that will live on forever.
Sondheim on Sondheim opens on August 30th and runs through September 15th at Connecticut Theatre Company. Tickets on sale now!
“Sondheim’s words and music are, for all their intelligence and sophistication, most striking for their emotional fidelity to his characters and the universal struggles and joys informing their disparate journeys. Thus the frustrations driving Sweeney Todd’s demon barber and the gunslingers in Assassins are as eerily accessible as the romantic obsession captured in the songs Losing My Mind and Not a Day Goes By.” – Elysa Gardner, USA Today
“One sometimes wonders what the notoriously exacting Sondheim privately thinks of the many revues and revivals of his work that come along. No worry here; ‘Sondheim on Sondheim’ is engrossingly entertaining and thoroughly captivating. An enchanting, warm and provocative opportunity to hear not only Sondheim’s songs but — literally — the master’s voice.” – Steven Suskin, Variety
