THE GREATEST SHOWGIRL erin cearlock’s journey through the stars BY MANAGING EDITOR BRANDON CHEUNG The clock struck 7 p.m. as the audience waited in anticipation, intensely gazing at the bright red curtain obscuring their view. Sophomore Erin Cearlock, who was seven years old at the time, took a deep breath, shook off the nerves and readied herself. Slowly, the audience came into view as the curtains began to part. Les Misérables was starting. Through Theatre Under The Stars (TUTS), Cearlock was offered the opportunity to tour on Broadway for the 25th Anniversary Tour of the famous musical, Les Misérables. “My parents actually had me in sports when I was really little, and I sucked at them. Both of my parents played sports,” Cearlock said. “I was taken to go see Mary Poppins at the Hobby Center, and I said, ‘Mom, I want to do that. It looks really fun.’ I started doing summer camps around Houston, and I went to the Humphrey School of Musical Theatre and Dance
at TUTS downtown, which is a musical theater academy.” She spent a year and a half on tour with the cast traveling to 55 different cities across the United States and Canada performing as Little Cosette and Young Eponine. “Les Misérables was the show I was in for a year and a half, so I did that show about 530 times,” Cearlock said. “I think the first show I ever did was The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Some of my favorites were White Christmas at the Hobby Center, and when I lived in Washington D.C, I was Baby June in Gypsy. I actually got nominated as Supporting Actress at the D.C Theatre Awards. I also got to do Into The Woods where I was Little Red. My top favorite would definitely be Les Misérables.” Almost every Monday, Cearlock would take a plane with her mother and fly to a different city for the Broadway tour. “My mom traveled with me, and my dad visited every other weekend because he still
Sophomore Erin Cearlock outside of the Opera House (DC) located in Washington, D.C. Photo provided by: Erin Cearlock
worked in Houston,” Cearlock said. “I did eight shows a week, and each week, we would be in a different city. I was in San Francisco for two months, and then I was in Charleston for a week, so it just depended on how long they booked the theater for.” Despite being so busy, Cearlock always explored each city she visited with her mother, as her family has an interest in traveling. “We didn’t really get the chance to [travel] before the tour,” Cearlock said. “My favorite cities all have to do with some fun memory I had with my family. One of my favorite cities was Greenville, South Carolina. The theater was really nice, and it had a really cute main street with a really good bakery. I also really liked Seattle because I love rain. My third favorite would have to be Washington D.C.” Traveling across the continent to perform at 55 cities has influenced her perspective on different career paths. “Having the opportunity to
go on tour and to see how the entire country lived differently really opened up my eyes to how big the world is,” Cearlock said. “[It showed me] how musical theater, and music in general, brings everyone together because it didn’t matter if we were in Michigan or California. There were still a lot of people who came to see the show, and it moved them in a certain way. I think it also impacted my career choice today: a foreign service officer for the state department. You travel around, and every two years, you go to a different country. I think [my career path] started because of [the] tour.” In addition to the many experiences in different cities that had influenced Cearlock’s choice of career, her parents also had a huge impact on her decision to pursue public service. “Both of my parents were FBI agents. My mom quit when she had me, and my dad retired about five years ago. Now, he basically does the same thing at another company,” Cearlock
