This interview originally appeared in the FALL 2018 issue of The District.

Morristown High School Alum Jill Abramovitz is a Broadway Actress, writer and singer. We were able to catch up with Jill to learn more about her fabulous career and memories of Morristown High.

MEF:    Tell us a little bit about your journey since high school?

JA:  After graduating Morristown High School, I attended the University of Pennsylvania and got a liberal arts degree. Lots of people in my business go to conservatories (more focused arts training), which is a great option, but I chose a different route.

I think both have their pluses and minuses. I did shows and took acting classes while at Penn but it was important for me to get a liberal arts education. I’m not sure which path is better, but I wouldn’t trade my college experience for anything. It gave me a worldly perspective that I think is important to bring to one’s work as a creative person.

After college, it took me a long time to find work. I had a ton of “survival jobs” – what you do to make money while you’re trying to do the thing you actually want to do. I worked in all kinds of industries, some shadier than others. I wondered A LOT whether I was doing the right thing. (My poor Mom, having to listen to me on the phone. Oy.)  But I kept building from smaller acting jobs - often for no money - to bigger jobs, while making friends and forging connections. Despite debilitating self-doubt at times, even now, I believe in the long game.

I give a lot of credit to TheatreworksUSA, a children’s theater company where I worked and met superb writers, actors and directors who became artistic collaborators and friends. And one person in particular became my husband (composer Brad Alexander). As cliché as it sounds, I auditioned for him and he leaned over to the director and said, “I think I just met my wife.”

Since my journey took longer than I expected, I needed an artistic outlet. I started writing. This was significant for me: if I had achieved what I wanted early on, my eyes wouldn’t have been open to other opportunities. I wouldn’t have had to dig down and see what else I had in my arsenal.

I was accepted into the BMI workshop, a training ground for musical theatre writers. I learned the craft and thickened my skin. We’d present songs in front of the class and get praised or shredded, depending on the quality of the work. We’d write and then rewrite and then rewrite some more. It introduced me to a world of writers who became friends, colleagues and mentors. I’ve now written either book or book/lyrics on four full-length musicals, one of which was an adaptation of Martha Speaks that I wrote with my husband Brad and the excellent Kevin Delaguila, and I had a song in the Broadway show It Shoulda Been You.

My first Broadway acting job was Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me. I lobbied like crazy to get seen for the project. When I got the appointment, I actually auditioned for Martin Short. (Who was generous and lovely and awesome.) Having this as my first Broadway show was a true gift. I went to rehearsal every day with people I worshiped and I learned by watching them. They were always creating, always inventing, always revising (a lesson I try to take with me to this day as a writer as well as a performer). And then to be doing scenes onstage with MARTIN SHORT. After that it was probably another two years before I worked on Broadway but this was an important step for me in terms of building confidence as well as adding that extra line to my resume.

MEF:  What are you up to today?

JA:  I’m gearing up to begin rehearsals for Beetlejuice on Broadway this spring and I can’t wait for people to see it! It’s funny as hell, visually thrilling and technically jaw-dropping. And wait till audiences hear the score and see these performances. They’re gonna freak.

As a writer, I just adapted an Israeli musical called Billy Schwartz into English - it’ll be called Penny Schwartz. Also, My husband Brad and I are writing a new show and I have some small TV things that I’m excited about – I’m in season 2 of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and I have a funny little scene in season 2 of The Last OG.

MEF:  Tell us about what it’s like to be on Broadway?

JA: It’s both romantic and quotidian. I’d be lying if I said it didn’t feel great to walk through that stage door every day. It fills you with a sense of accomplishment and gratitude that you get to do this strange and rare thing that brings people so much happiness. But it’s also really hard work and a very difficult schedule. As a mom, you’re away from your kid five nights a week. You’re on an opposite schedule from the entire rest of the world.

Then again, then when you’re not working you can tuck your kid in every night, wondering if you’ll ever work again and lobbying for more auditions. It’s a vicious push and pull. I guess I’m at home with that push and pull.

MEF:  What are you most proud of?

JA: I’m proud of being a part of a community of artists whom I greatly respect. I’m proud of being a hyphenate: actor-writer-mom. I’m not always so good at all of those things, but I’m always striving to be.

MEF:  What was your favorite memory of Morristown High School?

JA: I have so many great memories of high school. I really do get warm and fuzzy when I think about Motown High. I loved doing the shows. I loved hanging out in the atrium. I loved how the teachers took the students seriously. I loved how it felt like a small city with a million opportunities.

Some teachers I think really fondly of – Mrs. Paciorkowski (English), Mr. Frendak (Earth Science) and Mr. Gordon (Trigonometry) – They treated us as young adults, not like kids. They didn’t condescend or pander. They were funny and wanted to make their classes enjoyable, but they were always available for extra help and really wanted to make sure we were learning, sometimes in extra inventive ways. Mrs. Paciorkowski staged this actual trial of Tess of the D’Urbervilles and to this day I have nightmares about Mike Hynes questioning me on the stand. (Mike became a lawyer.)

I have to mention Mrs. Wintz, who directed the high school shows. I think of her every time that I’m in a theatre. She taught us about the discipline it takes to be a performer. She taught us to respect our castmates, the crew, the material, the craft – to respect ourselves. It was serious business, doing those shows. We weren’t jumping around like goofballs – we were held to a professional standard and I think that showed in the quality of the shows as well as the pride we all took in doing those shows. That’s such an important lesson for young people: take your work seriously. It’s a gift that keeps on giving.

MEF:  What advice would you give an MHS student?

JA:  1 - Be awesome to work with – show up on time and be the person that everyone wants to be around. Be thankful for the job. Take the job seriously (see above). Being appreciative of the job you’re in can lead you to your next job.

2 - Learn from your mistakes. Stand up after failure, learn what there is to be learned from it, and then keep moving.

2b - Don’t balk at criticism, welcome it. Criticism hurts like hell but it helps you grow.

3 - Don’t give up on the long game. Read the story about Sylvester Stallone getting Rocky produced…and see the movie Creed 2. I’m serious!