JV Mercanti is a tenured associate professor in Pace University’s Musical Theatre BFA program. He has worked as a casting director for the Broadway revivals of Cyrano de Bergerac (starring Kevin Kline and Jennifer Garner) and Romeo & Juliet (starring Orlando Bloom and Condola Rashad); as the associate director on the 2022 Emmy-winning TV production of Jesus Christ Superstar Live; and as the associate director on the Britney Spears jukebox musical Once Upon a One More Time. He is also editor of the monologue series “In Performance,” published by Applause Books.

With this excellent book, JV Mercanti gives the musical theatre actor a comprehensive, challenging, and completely practical way to not only do the work of acting in a musical, but to kindle the spark of inspiration that makes magic onstage possible. It’s an invaluable contribution to the canon of acting study, and a brilliant opportunity for those of us who are professional theatre-makers to revisit hard-won lessons learned in bracingly fresh ways.

JV Mercanti is a tenured associate professor in Pace University’s Musical Theatre BFA program. He has worked as a casting director for the Broadway revivals of Cyrano de Bergerac (starring Kevin Kline and Jennifer Garner) and Romeo & Juliet (starring Orlando Bloom and Condola Rashad); as the associate director on the 2022 Emmy-winning TV production of Jesus Christ Superstar Live; and as the associate director on the Britney Spears jukebox musical Once Upon a One More Time. He is also editor of the monologue series “In Performance,” published by Applause Books.

With this excellent book, JV Mercanti gives the musical theatre actor a comprehensive, challenging, and completely practical way to not only do the work of acting in a musical, but to kindle the spark of inspiration that makes magic onstage possible. It’s an invaluable contribution to the canon of acting study, and a brilliant opportunity for those of us who are professional theatre-makers to revisit hard-won lessons learned in bracingly fresh ways.

JV Mercanti is a tenured associate professor in Pace University’s Musical Theatre BFA program. He has worked as a casting director for the Broadway revivals of Cyrano de Bergerac (starring Kevin Kline and Jennifer Garner) and Romeo & Juliet (starring Orlando Bloom and Condola Rashad); as the associate director on the 2022 Emmy-winning TV production of Jesus Christ Superstar Live; and as the associate director on the Britney Spears jukebox musical Once Upon a One More Time. He is also editor of the monologue series “In Performance,” published by Applause Books.

With this excellent book, JV Mercanti gives the musical theatre actor a comprehensive, challenging, and completely practical way to not only do the work of acting in a musical, but to kindle the spark of inspiration that makes magic onstage possible. It’s an invaluable contribution to the canon of acting study, and a brilliant opportunity for those of us who are professional theatre-makers to revisit hard-won lessons learned in bracingly fresh ways.