Orange grad to direct Broadway vets in 'The Who's Tommy' for charity

How would you imagine the average high school grad uses those precious summer months before college?

Baking by the pool? Check.

Trolling the Chipotle patio for dates? Check.

Directing a 30-person musical starring a handful of Broadway actors to raise money for charity? Ch — huh?

Miles Sternfeld got his diploma from Orange High School in June. The next month, he jetted to New York City to begin rehearsals for “The Who’s Tommy” with three vets from the Great White Way.

And for the last week, he and his hybrid cast, a collection of Cleveland and New York talent, have been honing the show in a studio space in PlayhouseSquare. His vision will culminate Monday in a one-night-only performance at the Cuyahoga Community College Eastern Campus Theater in Highland Hills.

What started as an idea for a senior project has blossomed into a benefit for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, an event that marks, as you might imagine, 18-year-old Sternfeld’s directorial debut.

It’s not that he’s had that many opportunities to helm a production. “When you’re under the age of 18, it’s difficult to ever direct anything,” he says. “Nobody’s gonna hire you.”

So, he hired himself. “I wanted to do a show that I was really passionate about the way I thought it should be done,” he says. “If you’re gonna raise money for a cause, you wanna go big or go home. That’s kind of my mantra — go big or go home.”

Given that philosophy, The Who’s broad, brash rock opera, which premiered on Broadway in 1993, is a good choice for his first outing in the director’s chair.

Sternfeld, who’ll begin classes as a musical theater major at Point Park University in Pittsburgh this fall, got his first taste of the spotlight in a production of “Tommy” at Orange’s Stagecrafters Youth Theatre. The 8-year-old actor played the titular character at age 4 — an easy gig, as he didn’t have memorize any lines.

Like a savvy artist twice his age, Sternfeld exploited his relationships to lasso industry vets, beginning with Jodie Langel, the creator of “Making It On Broadway,” a weeklong, intensive seminar in New York.

That’s where Sternfeld met Langel, who appeared in the likes of “Les Misérables” and “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.” He also took master classes from Tony-winning actors and composers.

“I sang for Kristin Chenoweth, who of course we all know,” he says.

When Langel heard that her former student wanted to try his hand at directing for a good cause, she signed on as Mrs. Walker, the role made famous by Ann-Margret — dig those groovy pantsuits! — as Tommy’s boozy ma.

Soon, Michael Berry — who met Langel in “Les Miz” and was last seen on Broadway as an original cast member in “Next to Normal” — agreed to play Capt. Walker, Tommy’s doomed father.

With that sort of clout behind the project, Sternfeld did what any self-respecting teen would do. He reached out to his friends — on Facebook.

That’s how he landed Nick Blaemire (“Godspell” and “Cry-Baby”) as Tommy and Adrienne Warren (“Bring It On: The Musical”) as the Acid Queen.

Sternfeld says casting by Facebook isn’t as indiscriminate as it sounds.

“By then, we had Michael and Jodie on board, so it seemed legitimate. Obviously, it wasn’t some random message that was like, ‘producing this show in my basement . . .’¤”

And, though she won’t be taking the stage Monday night, ticket holders will hear from Tony winner and Kent State University alumna Alice Ripley — a member of the original Broadway cast of “Tommy” — via video screens posted around the Tri-C theater.

If Sternfeld’s name is familiar, you’re likely thinking of his uncle, well-known area director Fred Sternfeld, who heads up the Hathaway Brown Theatre Institute.

Has the wunderkind taken any pointers from his seasoned relative?

“No, not really. I told him to just show up,” the younger Sternfeld says.

“You can’t start asking people, ‘Oh, what do you think of this? Does this work for you?’ I can’t worry about what everyone else thinks. You’re not gonna be able to please everyone.”

Watch your back, James Lapine.