{"id":186781,"date":"2026-03-11T04:46:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T04:46:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/186781\/"},"modified":"2026-03-11T04:46:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-11T04:46:09","slug":"meet-jaryn-mccann-of-stageworks-asher-lev","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/186781\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet Jaryn McCann of Stageworks\u2019 \u2018Asher Lev\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Once he got his BFA in Musical Theatre from the University of Tampa, Jaryn McCann went to work, appearing in ensemble casts at Stageworks, at Jobsite and in Straz Center-produced shows. He also used his training to work behind the scenes as a stage manager.<\/p>\n

The idea was, one day, he would get his first lead role in a major production.<\/p>\n

It happened this year. Director Karla Hartley cast him in the drama My Name is Asher Lev, at Stageworks, playing the title character. In Aaron Posner\u2019s memory play \u2013 based on the novel by Chaim Potok \u2013 Asher is a successful artist looking back on the events of his life, the people and the things that molded him.<\/p>\n

He grew up in Brooklyn in the \u201850s, the only child of Hasidic Jewish parents. Asher\u2019s growing infatuation with drawing and painting are at odds with what his mother and father desire for him, and expect from him. From he beginning, there are conflicts, and emotions rended raw.<\/p>\n

For Jaryn McCann, getting the nod to play the central character, who never leaves the stage for the show\u2019s duration, became a classic \u201cbe careful what you ask for\u201d proposition: You might just get it.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom the moment the lights are up, I\u2019m always there,\u201d the 26-year-old actor chuckles.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll be honest: I\u2019m still not used to it. I\u2019m so used to being in comedic musicals, as a sidekick, where everything\u2019s fast-paced. Karla would have to tell me all the time, \u2018You need to slow down. Let it breathe. You\u2019ll know these moments are happening when you feel it.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd so I kind of lean into that with allowing Asher to be a deer in the headlights at times. He doesn\u2019t really know how to explain what he\u2019s trying to explain. That\u2019s why he has to dive into these memories and bring his family up on the stage. To be like \u2018This is how this was.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

His parents are played by Landon Green and Nicole Jeannine Smith. There are other characters in My Name is Asher Lev \u2013 and they\u2019re all played by Green and Smith.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have learned so much from every single person on this production,\u201d McCann says. \u201cJust watching Nickie and Landon work \u2026 I stand firm in really feeling they have the hardest job of this show. Because I luckily just have to stay as Asher; they have to be every single adult, but also, if they\u2019re not onstage, they\u2019re changing in two seconds offstage.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Smith, McCann had read (and studied) Potok\u2019s novel before the first rehearsal. \u201cOnce we were in rehearsals, he was extremely open to discussion, trying different things, and working to make this show as authentic and moving as possible,\u201d she recalls. \u201cI stage managed Jaryn in The Rocky Horror Show a little while back, and already knew that I\u2019d want to work with him again on pretty much anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

Director Hartley, who\u2019s also Stageworks\u2019 artistic director, knew that McCann, with his boyish face and perpetual look of optimism, was right for the part.<\/p>\n

\u201cJaryn,\u201d she says, \u201cis a magnificent performer who is often underestimated. My hope is that this show will force others to look at him differently.\u201d<\/p>\n

Enthuses McCann: \u201cEverything I am, as an actor and performer, I owe it all to Karla.\u201d<\/p>\n

That mutual respect goes back to day one of the Asher Lev process. \u201cWhen I read the play, I was so like, I feel so much what Asher feels,\u201d he recalls. \u201cAnd I was super-excited \u2026 and also scared out of my mind.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd Karla said \u2018Then that means it\u2019s right. That means you should be doing this.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

My name is Asher Lev runs through March 22. For information, showtimes and tickets, visit the Stageworks website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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