Jodom in the News

13-year-old `Lizzie' star is praised as a class act
        By Sandy MacDonald, Globe Correspondent - May 26, 2004

After tsk-ing over the poor and prodded tykes on Bravo's "Showbiz Moms & Dads," it's a pleasure to meet a young star who's 100 percent self-motivated.

Andrea C. Ross, 13, a seventh-grader from Franklin, has built an impressive resume: as Winnie, the heroine of "Tuck Everlasting" at Wheelock Family Theatre (2001); as an uncloying "Annie" at the Orpheum in Foxborough (2002) and then Trinity Rep in Providence (2003); and now as a young Lizzie Borden in the musical at the Stoneham Theatre through May 30.

Film is also on the horizon -- or rather, in the can. Ross has a principal role in local director Mike Amato's psychological thriller "A House Divided," set for a premiere at Boston's World Trade Center on June 13.

So how does a middle schooler fit in all this and still have a somewhat normal life?

"I try!" she says, with a giggle. "I haven't, at least for the past few weeks. But I don't mind -- I love doing this."

She's quick to credit "very flexible" teachers for her ability to manage the load. "School comes first" was one of the ground rules set by her father, Bill Ross, a plastics engineer who serves as her webmaster (www.andrea-ross.com) and manager (though he recently signed her up with a New York agent). He in turn acknowledges his wife, Paula, for the "heavy lifting" -- shuttling Andrea to rehearsals, classes, and performances. Paula, who works in software marketing, calls herself "a master of planning." Andrea is an only child, she notes, "but it's like scheduling a bunch of them." The kid is `bit' -- she has to do it," says the "Lizzie Borden" creator, Christopher McGovern, affecting a mock-tough tone. Like everyone who has worked with Andrea, he's profuse in praise, saying her audition "just floored me." Marveling that she already has an adult's well-placed voice, he says she "has a maturity beyond her years, not only onstage but off."

McGovern's biggest concern was how to introduce the theme of childhood sexual abuse -- a key element in his play's interpretation of Lizzie's pathology -- to one so young. "Here I have Andrew Borden giving her the fish eye. . . . This kid has so much to deal with!" He was relieved when Andrea's mother said that as it happened, Andrea had just finished a movie that dealt with similar material. "A House Divided" is devastating in its realistic depiction of severe physical and sexual brutality. How is it possible for a young girl who admits to have led a fairly sheltered existence ("I haven't had much trauma in my life," Andrea says with a laugh) to summon up such pain?

"I just try to put myself in that place, and how terrible it would be. . . . It's hard to think about," she says, "but there are people out there who are like that."

In one take, what was meant to have been a feint of a backhanded slap accidentally turned into the real thing: "It looked good onscreen, though!" says the young trouper. And as the shoot extended into November, the actors had to finish up a few "summer" scenes in a subfreezing New Hampshire barn. "So we were all in thermals!" Andrea recalls with delight. "Sometimes when we were talking, you could see the breath in the air. We'd have to put ice cubes in our mouths, suck on them, take them out, and then act! It was challenging, but . . . fun."

Little wonder that all who've worked with her can't wait to do so again. Jane Staab, the Wheelock director, is trying to find a vehicle for Andrea "for next season, and the one after that." A Trinity director, Amanda Dehnert, who chose her from 400 auditioners to portray Trinity's Annie, says: "Andrea remains one of the most exciting and intuitive actors I have worked with: I hope to work with her again throughout her career."

As for Amato, he's resigned to having to share his star: "My prediction is that she will be playing a major role in a Hollywood film within the next four years. She's one to watch!"

"Lizzie Borden: The Musical," is at the Stoneham Theatre through May 30. 781-279-2200; www.stonehamtheatre.org.

Jodom Video Services      Jodom Legal Video     Jodom Medical Video

Jodom Duplication Services             Jodom Movies

Copyright © 2010 Jodom Pictures LLC
Motion Pictures & Films