Phoebe Bellagamba to be featured in “The Little Dancer”
Eleven-year-old Cherry Hill resident Phoebe Bellagamba is already a local theater veteran, but she’s ready to tackle her greatest role yet as a member of the cast of an upcoming Off-Broadway production.
The sixth grader at Beck Middle School will be appearing in “The Little Dancer,” a holiday musical written by Steven Fisher, which was to make its world premiere on Saturday, Dec. 1 at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. at Theatre 71 at Blessed Sacrament in New York City. She is expected to be featured in the ensemble called “The Musical Theater Geek Chorus.”
“The Little Dancer” is a holiday family musical that tells the heart-warming story of the most famous dancer in the world, Marie Van Goethem, who served as the model for Edgar Degas’ one and only sculpture.
Since she decided to take up acting four years ago, Bellagamba has won roles in “Alice in Wonderland,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “Aladdin” and her favorite, “The Lion King,” where she played Timon. When Phoebe and her family attended a production of “The Lion King” this summer in New York, the thrill of witnessing a Broadway show was magnified when she got to meet the actor who played Scar.
“She was in ‘The Lion King’ at the JCC camps at Medford, and they have an ‘open heart, open doors program’ where Broadway actors come and they help raise money for this program,” said Lisa Bellagamba, Phoebe’s mother. “That’s how we were able to meet (the person who played) Scar because he was part of that.”
In a brief conversation, the actor found out Phoebe was in the local production of “The Lion King,” and invited her backstage following the Broadway performance.
Phoebe faced some stiff competition to win a role in the new work, with approximately 250 children trying out for various roles. After only a single audition, which occurred back in May, 36 kids made the cut. Some had to drop out, like Jessie Gollin, another local actor, who suffered an injury.
The cast includes five professionals, as well as Phoebe and 32 other talented singers chosen from the ranks of the Garden State Girlchoir, the Keystone State Boychoir, the New Jersey Boychoir, and the Pennsylvania Girlchoir. These young thespians have been participating in a weekly workshop with Broadway veterans Richard Vida and Lainie Sakakura in Philadelphia.
“They started the workshop in September, so they started rehearsing back then, out in Germantown, every Sunday. We’ve also been in New York twice. She had one all-day rehearsal a couple days ago and then, this past weekend, they had a weekend rehearsal, where they practiced two days in a row with the New York actors,” noted Lisa.
On such a tight deadline, interaction between the young cast and the professional cast has been all business, but it doesn’t seem to faze Phoebe at all as she took note of their talents.
“We really didn’t get to ‘meet’ them. One of the actors is really funny, and they all seem nice. They’re all really good actors and dancers and singers. It’s been a lot of work, but it’s been fun. I’m excited for opening weekend,” she said.
On opening weekend, Phoebe will take part in one Saturday performance and both performances on Sunday. From that point until the end of the show’s run, she will either take part on Saturday or Sunday, but not both days, for a pair of performances. Phoebe will end up appearing 13 times in all, quite a workload at a tender age.
“The Little Dancer” will run every Saturday and Sunday in December at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. From Dec. 26–31, it will run every day at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at https://www.thelittledancermusical.org/.
