JMHS grad on national tour with ‘Ring of Fire’

BY PATRICIA YOCZIS Correspondent

While with a date in New York’s Little Italy, Marissa Caro received a phone call that dramatically changed her career.

Marissa Caro Marissa Caro “It was the casting director of the musical ‘Ring of Fire’ ” said Caro, 21, a student at Pace University, New York. “I had to be on a plane for Texas the next day, a Sunday, and rehearsals started Monday. It was fast, but I don’t regret going.”

Since September, Caro, a 2005 graduate of Jackson Memorial High School, has been with the 16-member cast of the first national Broadway tour of “Ring of Fire,” a musical tribute to Johnny Cash, “The Man in Black,” and his wife, June Carter Cash.

The tour has taken its 38 musical numbers, including “Ring of Fire,” “I Walk the Line” and “Folsom Prison Blues,” to states like Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and New Mexico.

“There are eight singers and eight musicians,” said Caro, who resides in Manhattan. “We each have different songs to sing and play. Some songs, such as ‘I Walk the Line,’ we all sing and ‘Tearstained Letter’ is one of my solos.”

She said the cast and the five-member production crew travel from state to state by bus and stay in hotels.

“It’s nice to stay in hotels, but the traveling is exhausting and then you have to get your energy up to perform,” Caro said. “It’s worth it because I’m a Johnny Cash fan and honored to be part of this great production.”

Caro was born in Freehold and lived with her parents, Kathy and Rich, in Jackson. During high school she was enrolled under a special program in the Juilliard School of Music, New York, where she studied classical voice.

“I was one of the youngest students they accepted at Juilliard,” Caro said. “It was hard commuting to New York, but I still enjoyed my high school activities and I had a great time. My grades were good, and I graduated in the top 15 percent of my class.”

Throughout high school, Caro had leading roles in musicals, including Marty in “Grease,” Anna in “The King and I,” the Witch in “Into the Woods,” and Grace Farrell in “Annie.”

Community theater has been a part of Caro’s career, too. She received the 2003 Perry Award for featured actress in the musical “Fiddler on the Roof” that was performed at the Strand Theater, Lakewood. It was awarded by the New Jersey Association of Community Theaters.

Also, she was cast as a member of the family in the TV series “The Black Donnellys.”

Caro is home for the holidays to visit with family and friends. In January she will again begin the road tour that will end in August. Performances are scheduled in Florida and Texas. A New Jersey performance of “Ring of Fire” is scheduled for April near Cherry Hill.

For a complete schedule of performances of “Ring of Fire” click on the Web site at www.mbproductions.com.