A feeling of down-to-earth, human warmth pervades the atmosphere in the office of Hughes Moss Casting Ltd.-none of the clich d heavy-duty "hustle" that many people expect when they think of life behind the scenes at high levels in show business. And Hughes Moss is a high-level and a high-class outfit. For more than 20 years, business partners Julie Hughes and Barry Moss have matched the right actors to the right roles for a dazzling list of hit Broadway and touring theatrical productions, for major television series, and for feature films.
Reading the posters lining the walls of their offices is like visiting a great art museum. Each one conjures up vibrant memories of scenes, of songs, of characters it seems impossible to separate from the actors involved. Hughes Moss has cast more than 100 Broadway shows in all, including Tony Award-winners "Nine," "Children of a Lesser God," "Torch Song Trilogy," "42nd Street," "The Will Rogers Follies," "Crazy for You," "Jelly's Last Jam," "Dancing at Lughnasa," "The Who's Tommy," "Titanic," and "The Life." The firm's earliest show was "Spotlight" (1978). Right now, it is represented on Broadway by "Jekyll and Hyde" and "Footloose," and across the country in the touring versions of these shows and of "Titanic" and "Spirit Dance."
The films HM has worked on include "The Champ," "A Soldier's Story," "The Cotton Club," and "A Chorus Line." And in the world of television, it has cast eight seasons of "The Cosby Show," as well as "A Different World," "As the World Turns," and "The Cosby Mysteries."
What makes Hughes and Moss run? In speaking with them it's clear that respect, even love, for actors and the work they do is the underlying motivation they bring to each project. "We need actors far more than they need us," says Barry Moss. "Without actors we don't have jobs."
But the very "practical" sound of this observation is only a small part of it all. Both Hughes and Moss strongly believe in the actors they select and nurture. It is readily apparent that what Barry Moss describes as "the joy" the two partners feel when they watch a show they have cast particularly well is what their work with actors is all about.
"Those are the wonderful moments," he says, "when you see an audience love and applaud an actor, or an entire cast, that you knew from the start were the ones who were meant to play these roles. It's easier to see the role that casting directors play when you see a role that is miscast. When it's cast well, everything is just as it should be, perfectly natural."
Making the Right Choices
Moss stresses that he does not believe casting directors "discover" future stars, even though he and Hughes were the first to spot for their breakthrough roles such actors as Tom Cruise (hired at age 15 for the film "Endless Love") and Ricky Schroeder (hired for the film "The Champ"), among many others. Adam Sandler, now one of the highest-paid stars in film, was cultivated by Hughes Moss, and, in fact, got his start on "The Cosby Show" as Theo's friend Smitty. HM convinced the producers of "Blood Simple" to see fledgling actress Frances McDormand, after the producer had decided on another actress. This led to McDormand landing her first major role.
The two partners believe it is the talented actor who discovers them, when it becomes clear that the person who suits the role at hand has emerged. Hughes has said that actors must know they have at least one friend in the audition room-and "that's the casting director." This is certainly the case when performers try out for these two casting directors.
Although the stars of top shows are often picked by the producers, the casting directors' job is to audition performers for all of the other roles and to select the "finalists," so to speak, for the director and/or the producers, who have the final say. There is clearly a reason that the people who put together top shows for top stars repeatedly turn to this duo. That reason is their long track record of making the right choices again and again.
Their input is often sought. "Zev Bufman came to me to discuss the fact that he was looking for a Broadway vehicle for Elizabeth Taylor," recalls Moss. "I thought "The Little Foxes' would work well, and it did."
There's an old saw that "90% of directing is casting." Both Hughes and Moss had extensive behind-the-scenes backgrounds before turning to what would become their special niche within the performing arts world, and so they bring a director's eye to their work in making their choices.
Julie Hughes was born to a New York theatrical family. Her mother, Julia Johnston, was an actress who appeared on Broadway in several plays, including "Look Homeward Angel." Her father, Del Hughes, was the stage manager of the original Broadway production of "Death of a Salesman." He was a beloved figure within the industry. The Del Hughes Award for Outstanding Stage Management is named for him. Del Hughes was also a director, a post he held for the television series "One Life to Live" and "All My Children" for many years.
With this fabulous training practically part of her life's blood, Julie Hughes went to St. Lawrence University, then to work for Broadway producers Lee Guber and Shelly Gross. She started casting for Theatre Now, a general managerial and production firm, doing all of the shows produced by Zev Bufman. She was personal assistant to Alexander Cohen, associate producer of "Shelter" and the Pulitzer Prize-winning "The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man in the Moon Marigolds."
Barry Moss hails from Los Angeles. "I was a child actor at the Geller Theater Workshop," he recalls, "but my parents were not stage parents. They didn't want me to go on auditions." He later studied theatre at UCLA. Ironically, in view of his later conclusions about "discovery," he says that as a young man he had a fantasy of being spotted "while sitting in Schwab's or some similar thing."
But, in reality, while he knew that the theatre was his destiny, Moss had decided by the time he was in high school that "acting was just too much work," as he watched his close friend Paul Keith study fencing, voice, and so many other things with the intensity needed to hone his craft as a thespian.
Without having realized it, Moss had begun to gravitate towards his true calling long before. "Years later Paul found billing lists I had made as a teenager, detailing which actor I thought would be right for which role in many films and plays. I even wrote to the studios with my suggestions. It was just a fantasy then, but I was already casting dramatic works."
And so Moss became a director. His love of live theatre led him to leave L.A. and come to the Big Apple. Moss directed for Off-Broadway's Manhattan Theatre Club, which produced new plays; and became actively involved with MCC's Chamber Theatre series, which did the opposite-staging revivals and holding audience discussions with directors afterwards. While at MTC, he encountered Mary Jo Slater, who suggested he take over a job she was leaving-as an agent in the Morton Schwartz Agency. He briefly did so, but somehow that wasn't it either.
A Team Is Born
It was during this era that Moss crossed paths with Julie Hughes. She was casting the touring production of "Hello, Dolly!" starring Carol Channing. "We just hit it off right away," Moss says. The first time he worked with her, he didn't even ask for a credit. But soon they realized they were a team, and they've been one ever since-often accompanied by a third team member-Moss' trusty friend "Zach the casting dog," known to many actors for the homey touch he brings to the proceedings.
Julie Hughes has often praised Barry Moss' creativity, saying he comes up with amazing ideas "just out of the blue." She says that she is the organized one. She hires the pianist, the rooms, and readers and other logistics. Moss feels she is equally creative and that they complement one another. "Our biggest talent," he says of the Hughes Moss team, is being able to figure out what producers and directors want, while staying as true as it can to its own casting instincts. When the casting directors believe an actor is right for the part, they will speak up strongly. And the people they work for, listen.
While the team was working on "The Cosby Show" at one point, an array of teenage boys was being auditioned for the role of one of Theo's friends. The writer-producers liked none of the actors Hughes and Moss chose. "What's the problem?" Bill Cosby asked. When told of the writer-producers' reaction, Cosby told Hughes and Moss to ignore them and to go ahead and make their choice. "Of course, the writer-producers were furious and no one wants to go over anyone's head," says Barry Moss, "but still, those are the moments a casting director lives for-knowing that you have earned an artist's trust in your instincts about something this important to them creatively is a great thing."
Of course, things haven't always worked out quite that way. Moss recalls with bemusement the time that he and Hughes worked with Bob Fosse to cast the syndicated cable version of "Pippin." Moss was passionately eager for Ethel Merman to play a particular role. But Fosse said Merman was "too Merman" for the part, meaning too strong. Moss remembers reading a list of possible candidates and commenting, "You wouldn't want Martha Raye," and continuing to read the list. Moments later, Fosse interrupted him, saying, "Wait a minute-who was that person you said I wouldn't want?" When Moss repeated Raye's name, Fosse exclaimed, "That's exactly who I want," to which Moss responded, "Damn! Why didn't I say you wouldn't want Ethel Merman?"
But even though the star Moss had in mind wasn't chosen that time, the impressive fact remains that a demanding and great artist like Bob Fosse chose Hughes and Moss as the people to consult with closely in putting a production together.
An important part of a casting director's job is to maintain a theatrical production after original cast members leave. "Very often, one of us will fly out to see how a touring show we've cast is doing out on the road, to make sure things are as they should be," says Moss.
When it comes to making choices-original or replacements-Hughes notes that reading resumes is important in narrowing down those choices in advance. An actor's credits will often supply strong hints as to what his or her strong points may be.
Moss notes that in film acting, "the eyes do most of the work. Watching an actor's eyes during an audition gives you a picture of what the camera will capture for the screen."
Interestingly, although Moss' love for the theatre is what brought him to New York, he declares himself to be "a big TV fan." He feels that people who say they never watch television are missing out on a great deal of good acting and good entertainment.
The excitement of theatre is still there for both partners, but there have been some changes Moss feels are definitely not for the better. These can be summed up as "the corporatization of the theatre," and to a certain extent of all acting venues. This corporatization has brought about an emphasis on hiring stars that often rules out strong, experienced character actors who might be better suited for a given role. Another example of corporatization is an emphasis on special effects that detract from the actors in some plays or films.
Worst of all, is the application of corporate-style "downsizing" to theatre life. Not only is it increasingly difficult for a play with "too many" characters to be produced, but plays have temporarily closed and then reopened with smaller casts.
Which brings it all back to Hughes and Moss' greatest concern-the actors and their essential role in the artistic expression of the work at hand, which is the very reason the work is being produced in the first place. That is why both he and Hughes, active members of the Casting Society of America, believe that that little box in every newspaper review listing a play's credits should list the casting directors.
"They should be there," says Moss. "And there should be a Tony for casting. It's the only way to honor a show's entire cast."
But whether their names are listed in the opening night credits or announced on Tony night, everyone involved with a show, a film, or a television program knows that the casting director has been very much there-playing a key role in bringing characters to life.
In the case of Hughes and Moss, that has meant selecting the faces that leap to our minds when we think of many of the top shows and films that have played such a strong role in our lives. These shows are our culture, and these dedicated casting directors have been shaping that culture with joy, warmth, and inspiration from 1978 right into the next millennium!