Broadway Dreams Come True

The Times Press - Ocean City MD

Susan Canfora, Staff Writer

Originally printed on Thursday, July 15, 2004

Ocean City native Jennifer Wills, understudy for the part of Belle in Beauty and the Beast on Broadway, was on stage in the lead role for four consecutive performances while current star Christy Carlson Romano was vacationing.

The daughter of Bill and Sue Wills, formerly of Ocean City, Jennifer Wills grew up performing in theater in the resort with her parents, sister Becky and brother Dan.

She had the starring role in the classic fable for Broadway shows June 22-24. "It was fantastic, " Wills said. "There was one moment on Thursday evening that I will never, ever forget. The number 'Be Our Guest' is a huge spectacular. There is one moment where Belle turns her back to the audience and looks at everyone else on the stage. I turned around and saw all the beautiful costumes and all of the smiling faces of these incredible people that had been so supportive of me and had truly lifted me up and it hit me that I was living my dream."

"I was playing a leading role on a Broadway stage. I suddenly became so completely overwhelmed by the meaning of that moment that when I turned back around to the audience, tears of complete happiness were streaming down my face. There are so many people that work so hard for this one moment and never get to experience it and there I was living the dream. No matter what happens next I will always have that moment and I will never forget it," she said.

For the June 23 performances, her family was there. "My mom and dad were in the audience Wednesday afternoon and then Wednesday evening my brother joined them. He is currently in the army and stationed in Germany but he just happened to be home on leave. My sister Becky, a mother of five living in California, also got to be a part of the experience as my dad called her on the cell phone and just let her listen to the first part of the show," Wills said.

A bus carrying 44 people traveled to New York from Salisbury for the show. "All in all, 87 people traveled up to New York City to see me as Belle in three days, and that didn't include the NYC locals, she said. "It was truly a very special experience and the love and support was overwhelming."

Among those attending the show at the Lunt Fontanne Theater was family friend Mary Veise of Salisbury, who watched Wills grow up on Ocean City stages and who later performed with the Wills family when the presented adult shows. She said she was very impressed with Wills' performance.

"I saw the children in those shows years ago and then later, when they started doing shows with adults in them. My husband and I are members of community players in Salisbury but we began being in shows with them in the summer time," she said.