OC Actress Fills Dream in 'Phantom'

The Worcester County Times - Ocean City, MD

Amber McDonald - Staff Writer

originally printed on Saturday, January 20, 2007

OCEAN CITY - small-town girls with big-city dreams are almost a cliche these days, with reality TV shows like "American Idol," "Nashville Star" and "Grease: You're The One That I Want," constantly welcoming contestants who personify the image.

However, a person cannot help but be excited when someone from their small town achieves her big-city dreams. The dreams of Ocean City native Jennifer Hope Wills recently reached center stage when she was named as the lead female role in Broadway's longest running production, "The Phantom of the Opera."

Wills took over the role of Christine Daae, the young soprano who is the Phantom's object of devotion throughout his terror reign on the occupants of a Paris opera house. "I remember sitting at home with my family and watching the Tony Awards in 1988, and seeing that boat come through the mist, and thinking 'wow I want to do that someday,' " she said.

According to Wills, the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical is one of her family's favorite productions. When she was a child, her father would drive the entire family to New York City so they could wait in line for standing-room tickets to the show."Being named as the principal Christine on Broadway is not only my dream come true but an entire family's dream come true," she said.

Wills appeared in "Rumplestiltskin" before she was 1 year old. She has been performing ever since, attributing her interest to her parents' involvement in the theater.

William and Sue Wills moved to Worcester County when Jennifer was about 2 years old. The family lived on Trimper Avenue on the bayside in Ocean City. When she was about 5, her parents opened Parker Playhouse/Parker Productions Inc. For the next 17 years, Wills performed alongside her father, mother, brother, Dan, and sister, Rebecca. "I adored the time I spent performing with my family and I can't imagine a better way to grow up," she said.

Wills said some of her best memories were performing in "The Carousel Christmas" shows, performing with her mother in "I Remember Mama," her father in "Fiddler on the Roof," her sister in "Annie" and pretending to be romantically attracted to her brother in "Forum."

Wills attended Stephen Decatur High School and was active in the drama department there as well. She said she was a fan "S'Ages" productions by Gwen Lehman nee Freeman. Lehman said as a young drama student, Wills was good to work with because of her background with her theater-driven parents. "She was disciplined, focused, extremely talented and very generous as a performer. She was a very 'giving' actor and had excellent stage instincts," she said.

After high school, Wills attended Salisbury University, where she graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor's degree in music education. Wills then left the Eastern Shore and earned a Master of Music in vocal performance and pedagogy from Indiana University.

According to Wills, it was in 2000 that she left for the big-city lights. "I came to NYC on a bus with two suitcases," she said. "I was at a turning point in my life with nowhere to really go and I thought if I was ever going to try and make it on Broadway, now was the time."

Wills was right. Since arriving in New York, Wills has starred in three other Broadway productions. Her Broadway debut was as Belle in "Beauty and the Beast." She also was in "The Woman in White" and, her favorite role so far, Eileen in "Wonderful Town," which she starred in alongside Brooke Shields.

Lehman and her husband have followed Wills' career throughout the years and went to see her in "Wonderful Town" several years ago. "It made me realize that she was truly born for the stage," Lehman said. "Her voice, her acting, her dancing, her obvious love for what she was doing came through to everyone in the audience. It was one of the most memorable and delightful evenings of my life."

Wills is the 12th actress to be named the principal Christine in a production that has been on the Broadway stage for almost 19 years. Wills said she is thrilled to be a part of "living Broadway history and an iconic theatrical experience."

She said her two favorite songs to perform in the production each night are "Masquerade" and "Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again." "Masquerade" is one of her favorites because "it's so exciting to be up there with all those beautiful costumes swirling around you and when the entire company stands on the steps to sing the final chorus, I often get teary-eyed with the realization that this is what Broadway is all about," she said.

However, no matter what happens now, Wills said Ocean City will always be her hometown. Wills said she cannot visit without taking a walk on the Boardwalk, playing mini-golf and eating some steamed crabs from Phillips and pizza from Lombardi's.

Being an Eastern Shore girl who has achieved her New York City dream, Wills offered a few words of advice to those small-town individuals who aspire to one day make it in show business. "Work hard and never give up. It may seem like everyone else has more connections and more inside info when you come from a small town, but it definitely can happen," she said.