I’ve Got a Dream: Tori and Tommy
Photo by Ben Krantz
Elmer Strasser, Tori Speed and Tommy Lassiter star in Anastasia.
Tori Speed (23) and Tommy Lassiter (24) have a dream to perform on Broadway! Their bags aren’t quite packed yet, but they’ve got their June plane tickets and keys to an apartment sublet. “We are ready to make it happen,” says Tommy. “There is nothing else we would rather do than perform in musicals in the Big Apple.”
The couple met two years ago on stage (where else?), when they were both cast in Newsies at Tri-Valley Rep Theater and they’ve been playing together ever since: Something Rotten! (TVRT), Bright Star (TMC Arts and CVAF), and Legally Blonde (TVTC). Their last show before becoming New Yorkers is Anastasia at the Douglas Morrisson Theatre in Hayward, April 19-28. (For tickets: douglasmorrissontheatre.thundertix.com)
Tori has lived in Castro Valley her whole life. She graduated from Marshall Elementary, Creekside Middle School and CVHS. She attended CSU East Bay and CSU Long Beach. Tommy grew up in Pleasant Hill and was a theater major at Diablo Valley College. When not performing, Tori teaches dancing at the Performing Academy in Moraga and hostesses at the First Street Ale House in Livermore. Tommy is an automotive photographer.
Both Tori and Tommy are excited to be “on their own,” but admittedly “a little scared.” They recognize there are a lot of unknowns: managing finances, finding “a day job,” making new friends, learning the subways. Tori can’t wait to sign up for classes taught by New York professionals. Tommy already has a New York agent and manager and an invitation to perform at 54 Below, a popular cabaret/restaurant in August. Tori thinks they are a good balance for each other. She is usually cast as the ingenue, and Tommy is “the boy that gets the ingenue.” Both actors enjoy doing comedy, but would welcome the challenge of playing the villain sometime. Their faces light up when they talk about their plans. Tori and Tommy definitely have the New York vibe. We wish them well.