Broadway Stars Lead North Fulton’s Young Performers to the Big Stage

publication date: Jun 16, 2008

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author/source: Jamie Woodhead / STAFF

By Jamie Woodhead / STAFF

Broadway’s Gavin Creel, as Bert the chimney sweep, sang ‘Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious’ with the campers.

It was 7:30 p.m., time for the show to start. But at exactly 7:30, the sound system for the children’s theatrical performance died. At most shows, while waiting for maintenance to fix the problem, dead silence would fill the air or awkward emcees would strain to tell painful jokes. Instead, on Monday at the Murray Arts Center in Kennesaw, two famous Broadway performers took the stage to sing and to kill some time.

Not many children’s shows have Tony nominated Gavin Creel from “Thoroughly Modern Millie” and composer Adam Guttel, whose newest musical “The Light in the Piazza” received six Tony Awards, to save the day. The show’s beginning was unlike most, and the uniqueness continued throughout the night at Broadway Dreams Foundation’s “Oh What a Night” Performance.

The Broadway Dreams Foundation, a not-for-profit organization that offers hopeful young performers the chance to work with famous professionals, held a Broadway Boot Camp at Centennial High School June 5-10.

Annette Tanner, the Founding Managing Director of the camp, described it as “bringing the reality of Broadway to talented young performers. We show them a path to how their dreams can be achieved by bringing in teachers and faculty who have already done it.”

Tanner went on to explain how the boot camp differed from other theatrical camps.

“As far as I know, Broadway Boot Camp is the only camp that has current Broadway professionals teaching for the entire week,” she said. “Many camps have people giving one-hour workshops and then they leave, but our famous staff is there for every minute. I believe we also have the best caliber of staff.”

Broadway Boot Camp is designed for students who are serious about getting into show business. In order to be admitted into the camp, students first performed a singing audition. They then had to audition a second time if they wanted a feature singing or dancing role in the show.

Besides preparing the students for Monday’s show, the camp guided students on how to pick the right headshot, create a resume, behave around business professionals and audition for shows. The cost of the camp is $675.

The ones who made the cut had just three days to learn their roles for “Oh What a Night,” in which the campers performed various songs from Broadway shows alongside their famous Broadway teachers. The show caught the attention of talent agents and casting directors from both New York and Atlanta. For instance, Joy Pervis of Hot Shot Kids/Teens attended Monday’s performance along with Alpha Tyler, a casting director for Tyler Perry Studios.

Chase Crandell, a 12-year-old from Alpharetta, is the type of young performer that the talent agents are looking for. Unfortunately for them, the Broadway Boot Camper has already been snatched up by Broadway Dreams Foundation faculty member Jamie Harris, a New York talent agent, choreographer and performer. According to Tanner, Crandell is auditioning for the show “Metropolis.” He is also doing another show next year on Broadway which Tanner believed “came as a direct result of doing the camp. It’s possible that at the end of the year he could be doing two shows. And he is only 12.”

Kelly Washington, a 2008 graduate of Chattahoochee High School and two-time Broadway Boot Camp member, hopes to achieve success in the entertainment industry as well. Washington will be attending Pace University in New York City as a Musical Theater major. She hopes to work in television, film or Broadway in the future.

Washington, who has attended other theatrical camps, found the Broadway Boot Camp to be special because of the experienced faculty.

“Being able to work with people in the business who know what they are talking about is so unique,” she said. “They are so nice, and they are there for the right reasons.”

Many people would find working with Broadway stars to be intimidating, but Becca Katz, a 17-year-old Alpharetta High School senior, did not.

“You feel comfortable with them because they just want you to succeed,” she said. She saw the camp as a way to get her to the next level in order to reach her goal to work in musical theater.

Although the camp is an enjoyable experience, most campers participate because they are serious about their dreams to work on Broadway or musical theater. Rico LeBron, a 16-year-old Centennial High School junior, is no different. LeBron found that one of the most important aspects of the camp was that it “gives you relationships with famous people. I got to know Michael Lavine, a famous vocal coach. At camp they kept telling us that you need to make relationships now, and the camp has helped get me ahead of the game to pursue my goals.”

Around 70 percent of Broadway Boot Campers came from the North Fulton area. After just three years of existence, Broadway Boot Camp has already had numerous success stories of former campers going onto Broadway shows and television dance hits. As the Broadway Dreams Foundation and Broadway Boot Camp continue to grow, more and more local performers will have the chance to attain their theatrical dreams.