‘SINGING LOUD FOR ALL TO HEAR’
Autistic Rutland teen lands lead in ‘Elf: The Musical’
Fans of Will Ferrell’s holiday classic “Elf” know his exuberantly happy character doesn’t quite fit in among his peers, be they elves or grumpy New Yorkers. That’s what makes 16-year-old Matt DiVito — who was diagnosed with autism at the age of three — the perfect actor to play the lead role in an onstage production this season.
“When I was diagnosed with autism, the doctors said to my parents that I’d never accomplish anything,” the Rutland teen told the Herald. “But look at me now.”
DiVito stars as Buddy the Elf in Central Mass Onstage’s three-day run of “Elf: the Musical,” his ninth play in less than three years. He dreamed of acting in movies and television, so his parents urged him to join his sister, Kaitlyn, in local theater. For Matt, it wasn’t an easy start.
“In the beginning, I honestly had to stand next to him, move him around the stage, and pinch him when it was his line,” said Matt’s mom, Cheryl.
But once Matt got comfortable on stage, acting was a natural fit.
“He’s been trying to mimic facials expressions: happy face, sad face, since he was this big,” Cheryl said, gesturing. “I don’t think that we ever expected that he would love it this much, and be the lead in a play.”
Cheryl, a doctor, suspected there was something different about her son when, as a toddler, he recited the make and model of every car he saw on the highway.
“Everybody was saying, ‘Wow he’s a genius,’ ” Cheryl remembers. “But I was saying, ‘Oh no, I think my child has autism.’ “
“We made the decision that we were going to raise him just like we raised our other kids,” said Matt’s dad, Jon.
They never limited his interests, which ranged from wrestling and boxing to acting and singing. That’s right, just like Buddy the Elf, Matt loves to “spread Christmas cheer, singing loud for all to hear.” But like Buddy, a human raised among elves, he didn’t always feel part of the crowd.
“He wasn’t really an accepted member of his classes. When it came to birthday parties, play dates, things like that, Matt was often left out because he was a little bit different than the other kids,” Jon said. But with his family behind him, he found a place where he could stand out.
“I just try to have confidence in my head, and I want to keep acting until I get a role in a movie, or a TV show,” Matt said.
“As the director told him, he was the best person who came out for Buddy,” Jon said. “When you see him on stage, he’s funny, and he’s explosive in his personality, in a good way.
“If you’re out there and you recently had a child who has been diagnosed, don’t believe what the experts say,” Jon added. “Defy the odds, love your child, make sure that they know you support them every step of the way. Because you might be surprised what they accomplish in the long run.”
“Elf: the Musical” by Central Mass Onstage plays Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at the Zecco Performing Arts Center at Anna Maria College in Paxton.