Jasmin Serrano and Lauren Schulman Will Perform Current Hit Song

On Wednesday, Feb. 23, Jasmin Serrano and Lauren Schulman will perform in front of a packed house at the Community Theater, a state-of-the-art performing arts space.

Their friendship, however, had a decidedly less glamorous beginning.

“I met her in a ditch,” Serrano, of Wayne, said. “She was running away from people at a party, and we met her along the side of the road and brought her home.”

The two have been friends ever since. For the past four years, they have been collaborating and performing as a duo. The two started playing music together just for fun, and then decided to start performing locally.

“We said, ‘Let’s do something with this—we’re having a great time.’” Schulman said.

“We’ve done stuff in Hoboken and Montclair,” Serrano said. “Just for fun—we just jam out.”

“We’ve always been like walking jukeboxes,” Schulman said.

The two had no plans to start entering competitions, but that changed when Serrano found out about Morristown’s Got Talent! from a sign that was posted at , where she works.

“I saw the sign the day before the auditions,” Serrano said. “So I called Lauren and said, ‘I’m signing us up.’”

Once Serrano heard that the duo had made the cut, she had to tell Schulman immediately.

“It was 2:30 in the morning, and my phone kept ringing,” Schulman said. “So I answered the phone and she just said, ‘We’re in.’ I couldn’t believe it.”

Schulman started playing the guitar a few years ago, when ample downtime after a surgery allowed her to concentrate on teaching herself a song.

“Since then, it’s been something I do on the side,” Schulman said.

Even though Serrano has sung in front of thousands of people, in off-Broadway shows and on cruises, she’s taking a laid-back approach to the upcoming show. “It’s just something fun to do,” she said. “This just happened to fall in our laps.”

The two will perform the song “Grenade” by Bruno Mars, with Serrano on vocals and Schulman on guitar.

“It’s a song that has personal meaning for me,” Serrano said. “And we like playing it for fun; it’s a cool song.”

Schulman said that she had been listening to the song for a couple of months before the auditions, but the song became more well-known in December.

“Around the time of the auditions, that’s when it started getting popular on the radio,” Schulman said.

 “We found out afterward,” Serrano added, “that like 19 people tried out with the song ‘Grenade.’”

Since they made the cut, both Serrano and Schulman have been preparing for the big night, when about 60 of their friends and family members will be in attendance.

“She got her guitar all shined and tuned,” Serrano said. “And I practice here [at Zebu Forno]; we play the song and I pretend I’m on stage.”

Unlike Serrano, Wednesday night will mark Schulman’s first show in front of a big crowd. “I’m so super-excited to be a part of this,” she said. “I’ve never had this nervous/excited feeling before. I can’t wait to do this.”

Schulman, also of Wayne, is also looking forward to playing in a town that she loves. “Morristown has such a homey, welcoming feeling,” she said. “I would love to live here.”

Of the perks of the competition, Serrano is especially enthusiastic when speaking about the friendships she has formed with fellow contestants Dermot McPeake and Robert Matarazzo, who also work in Morristown and often stop in to see Serrano at Zebu Forno.

Serrano said she would use any potential prize money toward an upcoming trip she has planned to Punta Cana, but the thrill of performing is enough of a reward.

“I think it’s going to be so much fun,” she said. “The prize money is just an extra, added part.”