Reed Iacarella had never been in a play or show before he was cast in "Bring It On," the musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Tom Kitt and Amanda Green that opens Tuesday at the Ordway Center in St. Paul. In fact, he had never taken a theater class.
The 2007 Apple Valley High School graduate played football in college before becoming a cheerleader. That training set him up for the part in the popular musical, based on the 2000 film, about competitive cheerleading.
We talked with Iacarella about his trajectory from college cheerleader to cast member of a nationally touring musical:
"I was born in Minneapolis, the youngest of three boys. My mother, Cheryl Invie, is a sales rep with Medtronic. My father, James Iacarella, is a mortgage broker. My oldest brother, Taylor, works for Medtronic as an inventory analyst. My brother Collin, who lives in L.A., works for Medtronic as a sales rep. You could say Medtronic is my family.
"I played college football at Augustana for a year. I was an outside linebacker. I switched from playing football to cheering when I saw my brother on TV. He had made the switch, too, and was having so much fun. He traveled to bowl games. He was riling up 80,000 people in a stadium. And he was hanging out with nothing but pretty girls.
"I transferred to the University of Wisconsin at Madison, where I majored in economics. After college, I got my master's in business at Southwest Missouri State. Then I moved to Arizona, where my family has a home. I was trying to find a career, but the job market is really competitive now.
"Through cheerleading circles — it's a pretty tight-knit community — I found out about the tryouts for 'Bring It On.' I have a background in choir, which I thought would be helpful. So I auditioned in L.A. for my first show ever.
"And, lo and behold, I got it. I'm basically a swing. I'm responsible for covering three acts in the show. The main guys I cover are cheerleaders, something I know very well. They're doing basket tosses and stunting.
