Actor Heather Simms is playing Missy Judson in the current Broadway revival of Purlie Victorious. She made her stage debut in 2nd grade at PS 243 in Crown Heights, hamming it up as the mother in “Hansel and Gretel.”

It’s difficult to become a coach in the National Football League; there are only 32 teams. Lou Anarumo, the defensive coordinator for the Cincinnati Bengals, followed an arduous road to get there. And on Feb. 13, that road, which began at Susan Wagner HS on Staten Island, took Anarumo all the way to the Super Bowl.

Marisa Tomei shot to national attention in 1992 in “My Cousin Vinny,” but before all that recognition, Tomei was a Brooklyn girl whose mother, aunt and cousins all taught in New York City public schools. She grew up attending public schools in Midwood, where her dramatic talent was first sparked and nurtured. After graduating from Edward R. Murrow HS in 1982, she attended Boston University for a year before moving back to New York City to become a professional actress.