‘Really Rosie’ opens season at Growing Stage
In 1991, a 12-year-old girl named Melinda Bass played the unstoppably sassy title character in a production of the musical “Really Rosie” at The Growing Stage, then based in Chester.
A lot of bowls of chicken soup with rice have been consumed in the past 14 years. The Growing Stage is now officially designated “The Children’s Theatre of New Jersey” and occupies the former Palace Theatre in Netcong.
The Growing Stage is preparing to revive “Really Rosie,” this time with 13-year-old Kayla O’Brien of Delaware Township as Rosie.
One of the people guiding Kayla’s performance is the show’s musical director: Melinda Bass O’Neill, now married and living in Lincoln Park.
For O’Neill, revisiting ‘Really Rosie” has been eye-opening. “I now have great respect for the music director,” she says. “It isn’t as easy as performing.”
O’Neill had only had one role at The Growing Stage (in “The Nutcracker”) before she was cast as Rosie. “That was my first leading role, and I remember almost everything about it,” she says. “I remember having some trouble with certain songs.”
The book and lyrics for “Really Rosie” were written by the late children’s author Maurice Sendak (“Where the Wild Things Are”), while the music was composed by Carole King.
Rosie is the self-described “sassiest kid on Avenue P” in Brooklyn. One hot summer day, she enlists her friends to act out some of her show-biz fantasies, particularly her dream of directing and starring in an award-winning movie based on her life.
O’Neill says that she always saw a lot of herself in Rosie. “I used to have friends over to my house and do shows. This musical captures that feeling,” she says. “Kids nowadays don’t play the way we used to.”
Nonetheless, Kayla O’Brien echoes O’Neill in her identification with the lead character. “Rosie does remind me of me,” Kayla says. “She’s very imaginative, and so am I. Rosie is sassy and funny, but she just wants her friends to have fun.”
Kayla says that O’Neill has been instrumental in helping her. “Melinda said that I would love these songs after I practiced them. And she was right. I do love these songs.” She singles out “Chicken Soup with Rice” as her favorite number in the show.
“Rosie is a challenging part for any singer,” O’Neill says. “She’s on stage for basically the entire time. Everybody in the cast has a solo at some point, but Rosie is there for the whole show. Plus, a lot of her songs involve high belting.”
O’Neill observes that the song “Avenue P,” which comes late in the second act, is particularly demanding. “It’s the big dramatic number, the 11 o’clock number,” she says.
Kayla is making her Growing Stage debut, along with several other young performers: Sasha Nelson of Sparta, Lauren Hertzig of Flanders, Jon Wade of Budd Lake, and Grady Morgan of Great Meadows.
O’Neill has been working closely with the show’s director, Lori B. Lawrence, and choreographer, Jillian Petrie, on the production.
“The Growing Stage is a great place to work,” says O’Neill. “Steve (founder and executive director Stephen L. Fredericks) and Laura (original music director Laura Petrie) were like my aunt and uncle. They raised me as a performer.”
O’Neill says she is happy to be passing the torch to Kayla. “I feel Kayla is perfect for Rosie,” she says. “She’s got the sassiness, but she also has the likeability.”
After 14 years, O’Neill still feels affection for “Really Rosie,” and she hopes that audiences will share that enjoyment. “This is a fun musical about a group of quirky kids who put on a show,” she says. “I hope kids will identify with it and embrace it.”
REALLY ROSIE
WHEN: Through Oct. 18. 7:30 p.m. Fridays,
4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays
WHERE: The Growing Stage – The Children’s Theatre of New Jersey, Route 183,
7 Ledgewood Ave., Netcong
TICKETS: Fridays: $15; Saturdays and Sundays: $25, $15 for students, $20 for seniors
INFO: 973-347-4946 and
www.growingstage.com