Senior Ryan Needham never thought he would end up on the stage, but after playing Harry Bright in Norwood High School’s production of “Mamma Mia!” and being cast as Romeo in NHS’s production of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet,” life after high school is looking much different than he ever expected.
In June of 2025, Needham tried out for a musical called Mamma Mia. He had never done anything like this before.
“Auditioning for ‘Mamma Mia!” was honestly really nerve-racking, being someone who’s never done theater before. But when I went in there, everyone was very nice, and I got comfortable very quick, and I left the audition feeling pretty, somewhat confident,” Needham said.
His confidence earned him the part of Harry Bright.
“Being on stage and showing people our hard work and what the show has become, and everything that everyone contributes to it, it really is an experience that I will take with me the rest of my life. Um, yeah, and I am so thankful that I got a chance to be a part of “Mamma Mia!”
The process of putting together that musical taught Needham not only about drama, but also friendship and collaboration.
“Everyone in the theater department, I wasn’t friends with before “Mamma Mia!” Like, I knew nobody going into it, and I came out being friends with everybody, and it felt like I was welcomed into a new, like, big family, in a way. And I kind of locked friends for life.”
After his success in “Mamma Mia!” Needham auditioned for and won the leading role in “Romeo and Juliet.”
“Playing Romeo has definitely blossomed my ability to act. I’ve definitely grown as an actor through my experience playing Romeo so far, because I’m experiencing all different emotions.”
As a result of his stepping out of his comfort zone and being involved in these two plays, Needham now has dreams to pursue theater in the future. Once he felt what it was like being on the stage, he doesn’t want to stop.
“[The] feeling of being on stage is so much different than any other feeling I’ve ever felt before… and it’s gonna sound corny, but it was, like freeing in a way…It’s such a nice feeling because you put so much work into a production and you finally get to share it with everyone in the audience.”
