When Chelsea Caso recently went to watch “The Greatest Showman” at Cobb Grove 16 in Wesley Chapel, she wasn’t going to watch just any movie.
She was going to watch a movie that she is in.
And, the young woman who grew up in Lutz, didn’t go to the viewing alone. She joined 115 of her favorite people for a private screening.
Her family was there.
Her neighbors were there.
Dancing friends she’d made through the years were there.
Former teachers were there.
People from every part of her life were there — to share a moment with her that had been about 18 years in the making.
“We’re just bursting with pride,” her mother, Kim Caso said, adding that having a private screening with family and friends had been part of the plan ever since Chelsea landed the role.
Chelsea, who has been dancing since she was 2, is Dancer Oddity No. 5 in the film.
“I’m the tattoo lady,” she said.
It’s a nonspeaking role, but offered Chelsea the chance to dance — the thing that she loves best.
During the audition, she recalls thinking: “This is exactly what I want to do.”
The movie, which stars Hugh Jackman and Zac Efron, has already been nominated for a Golden Globe for best motion picture, musical or comedy. Hugh Jackman also has been nominated for best performance by an actor in that category.
Chelsea is still trying to take it all in.
“I don’t have words yet. I really don’t. It’s just so much to process,” she said, before joining her friends and family for the private screening.
“I took my grandma and my mom and my godparents this morning, and they were all crying,” Chelsea said.
“I was sitting there thinking, all of the hard work, all of the hours and all of the work that she’s put in — it makes it all worthwhile,” said Eileen Hoffman, of Lutz, who is Chelsea’s grandma.
“I am so thankful that she is part of something that is so amazing. To be in a movie of this caliber, with the actors that are in it — the music, the choreography, the songs — all, wonderful,” Hoffman said. “It’s the most amazing feel-good movie that I’ve seen in a very long time.”
Local girl makes good
Chelsea attended Lutz Elementary, Martinez Middle School, and Steinbrenner High School for one year before transferring to Blake High School in Tampa, which has a performing arts magnet program.
“When she was at Blake High School, we took her every morning and picked her up every day. From Lutz, that’s a little ride,” Hoffman said.
Chelsea also studied dance at Karl & DiMarco in Tampa, where her mom worked before starting Next Step Dance Studio in Lutz.
Kim said Chelsea has “worked so incredibly hard, sacrificed a lot, and just has done so very, very well.”
Chelsea was just 9 when her mom began taking her to New York for dance classes. And, when Chelsea was 14, she auditioned for The Ailey School Summer Intensive Program and was accepted.
“We stayed up there for six weeks with her every summer,” Kim said. “I was up there for two weeks. Her dad (Andy) was up there for two weeks, and my mom (Eileen Hoffman) was up there for two weeks. We did shifts,” Kim said, noting she also has a son, Carson, who is now 15 and attends Wharton High School.
After graduating from Blake, Chelsea moved to New York intending to pursue classical dance. But, she changed her mind and decided to explore commercial dance, which includes such things as television commercials, music videos and movies.
Chelsea attended Broadway Dance Center, where she took a program introducing her to the commercial dance world and then signed with an agency called MSA, which has offices in New York and Los Angeles.
She had been working at a fitness place for about a month, when her agent called her to go to an audition.
She needed to be at the audition in two hours, the agent told her. Chelsea said she was at work and couldn’t leave. The agent said she had to find a way.
The last fitness class was over, so Chelsea cleaned things up and asked her boss if she could go to the audition. The boss let her leave.
“I ran home, got ready, did my makeup on the way to this audition and didn’t really know what I was auditioning for. I just knew where I had to be and what the time was.
“I got there and I saw a couple of my friends and I said, ‘What is this? What are we auditioning for?
“They said, ‘It’s something to do with Zac Efron. We don’t really know,’” she said.
“During the audition, I was like, ‘Oh my God, this is what I want to do. This is awesome,’” Chelsea said.
She left feeling good about the audition, and an hour later her agent called to let her know she had a callback for the next day.
Chelsea called her boss to say she couldn’t come into work the next day, but fortunately there was someone who could cover for her, she said.
She went to the audition and danced again.
“They called people back in to start singing, and I’m like, ‘Oh, I’m cut. I don’t really sing.’
“They said, ‘OK, these are the people who we want to sing. I didn’t get called, so I’m like, ‘OK, I’m cut. Onto the next.’”
But then, as she was gathering her stuff, someone came and called her name, and a few others, too.
The person told them: “Not all of the parts in the movie are singing. Don’t book anything.”
Chelsea called her agent to find out what that meant, and her agent said she’d have to wait to hear from the casting agency.
That was in August of 2016.
Three weeks later, Chelsea found out that she’d landed the part.
A musical about dreaming, diversity, acceptance
“The Greatest Showman” is a musical inspired by P.T. Barnum. It celebrates the birth of show business and tells the story of a visionary who rose from poverty to create a worldwide sensation.
It’s also a story about diversity and acceptance, and about breaking down barriers based on race and social class.
It took four months of rehearsal and three months of filming to make the movie.
Every day, Chelsea spent four hours in hair and makeup.
“They just put the tattoos on with water. It’s like a transfer sheet. I used to have to go home with them on. It was too much to redo them every day,” she said.
Now that the film has been released, Chelsea is getting ready to move to Los Angeles.
“It’s going to be a brand-new world. I have to kind of start over, but I feel with this on my resume now, it might be a little easier to get my foot in the door,” Chelsea said.
And, maybe, just maybe, the movie’s cast will be able to make an appearance at the Academy Awards, her mom said. “There’s talk they’re going to dance at the Oscars. We’ll see. We’re hoping.”
While the future is full of possibilities, Chelsea, her friends and family are clearly enjoying her success to date.
Harriette Jackson, whose daughter, Crystal Jackson, danced with Chelsea at Blake High, was among those invited to the private screening.
She’s thrilled for Chelsea.
“I think it’s awesome to be two years out of high school, to have landed a movie role. I am so proud of her,” Jackson said, adding “hard work pays off.”
Chelsea’s grandma is delighted, too.
“She’s always wanted to dance. She was very set in her mind what she wanted to do. She went after it.
“It’s just a wonderful moment in time — and we’re so thankful to be able to be sharing it with her,” Hoffman said.
Published January 3, 2018
