South Alum In “Come Fly Away”

Grosse Pointers who head to the Fisher Theater this month to catch a performance of Twyla Tharp’s “Come Fly Away” may see a familiar name in their program. Justin Urso, a 2000 Grosse Pointe South High School graduate, is a dancer in the prestigious international tour, which kicked off in June.

The Broadway musical, which will be at the Fisher from Sept. 13-25, marries the music of Frank Sinatra with the choreography of Twyla Tharp, who won a Tony Award for putting her signature dance style to the music of Billy Joel in 2002’s “Movin’ Out.” Urso, who studied musical theater at the University of Michigan, said “Come Fly Away” dazzles viewers by “bringing together two iconic figures to create a piece of art.”

“It’s a highly energetic show,” Urso said, and because a track of Sinatra’s voice is accompanied live by a big band, “you feel like Sinatra’s right there on the stage.”

A Grosse Pointe Park native who is the youngest son of Gail Urso, an interior designer, and John Urso, an attorney and former Grosse Pointe Park judge, Urso said he was working in a musical in Rochester, N.Y., when he got a call from a casting agent asking if he was interested in the “Come Fly Away” tour. He flew to New York for an audition and was brought on board soon after as a “swing” dancer, a role requiring him to learn all the show’s ensemble parts and be ready to perform them at a moment’s notice. He is also understudy for the lead male parts of Sid, Marty and Hank.

Urso said he’s excited to be dancing in his home town at the prestigious Fisher and is looking forward to seeing two individuals in the audience: Ellen Bowen, South’s choir director, and in particular Andy Haines, who has been a longtime choreographer of South’s show choirs and musicals.

“They were such influential people in my life,” Urso said. “I had a fantastic introduction to dance through Andy Haines — he was instrumental to my interest in dance.”

After excelling in South’s music program, Urso studied at U of M, where he discovered ballet. Despite starting in his late teens, Urso stood out enough to be invited to join the Texas Ballet Theater, where he danced solo and ensemble roles in productions from 2004 to 2010. He left Texas Ballet last year and headed to New York City to pursue musical theater.

“I’d been in Texas for six years and was ready to try something new,” Urso said. “I wanted to go back to musical theater and give it a shot before I stopped dancing.” His decision led to parts in three shows — “Carnival” at the Goodspeed Theatre in East Haddam, Conn., “The Producers” at the Riverside Theater in Vero Beach, Fla., and “The Music Man” at the Geva Theatre in Rochester — before he joined the “Come Fly Away” tour.

Unfortunately, patrons can’t call the Fisher box office to learn whether Urso will be dancing in any given performance — “the dancer rotation is set by our stage manager and is often in flux, based on people’s schedules and health,” a representative for the tour explained. But Urso, who’s danced in the tour’s last two cities, believes it’s “very likely” he’ll dance in Detroit “given that we’ll be there for two weeks and there are eight shows a week.”

Until then, Urso is enjoying some much-deserved time off in Fort Worth, where he lives with his wife of two months, Carolyn Judson, a principal dancer with the Texas Ballet Theater. He’s also making plans for his trip to Michigan, which he said will include spending time with family, catching a Tiger’s game, and showing his cast mates “the wonderful city of Detroit."