Sabrina Chevlin of West Windsor is making her stage debut with “Gypsy,” a musical opening at Kelsey Theater on Friday, March 15. Outside of dance recitals and a camp performance at Arts University, this is her first time on stage. “I am so excited that I’m in my first show,” says Chevlin. “I found out about the audition because, my mom and I were checking out the website and we said, ‘well why not give it a shot?’”
The classic musical fable about the road to stardom will be produced by Pierrot Productions on weekends from Friday, March 15, to Sunday, March 24. A reception with the cast and crew follows the opening night performance on March 15.
“Gypsy” is loosely based on the 1957 memoirs of the famous striptease artist Gypsy Rose Lee, and her mother, Rose, whose name has become synonymous with a stage mother determined to focus on the stars. With lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and music by Jule Styne, the show follows the dreams and efforts of Rose to raise two daughters to perform onstage. The show first opened on Broadway in 1959 and has had Broadway revivals in 1974, 1989, 2003, and 2008.
Cast members for the Kelsey production include Pam Jorgensen of Franklin Park as Rose; Jenna Scannelli of Manalapan as Louise; Tom Chiola of Trenton as Herbie; Samuel Spare of Howell Township as Tulsa; Aziza Seven of Lawrence as Tessie; Grace Matwijec of Newtown, PA, as Baby June; Caitlin Sprang of Lawrence as June; Danielle Grosso of Hamilton as Mazeppa; and D. Nixon of Ewing as Electra. Chevlin is an ensemble member.
The only cast member Chevlin knew before rehearsals is Lisa Diaz, who is playing the role of Baby Louise. They have done several auditions together.
Chevlin attends a private school in Yardley, Pennsylvania, where she is active in music and a member of the volleyball club. At home she plays U-11 travel soccer. “I usually go skiing in the winter, and I love that as one of the best things I do because when you ski it feels like you are the only one on the mountain and it is so peaceful,” Chevlin says. In the summer she goes to the beach, visits with her cousins, and knits with her grandmother.
“I started loving theater and acting when I was about 9, but I knew I wanted to sing as soon as I could talk,” she says. “I guess I started since I was growing up with both my sister and brother playing instruments, so my house was filled with music.”
Chevlin studies singing and piano with Patricia Bartlett and goes to acting camps in the summer. “My family and I love theater events,” she says. “We rarely have time to fit it in, but whenever we have time we try to go to Broadway shows.” Though she has not seen any stage productions of “Gypsy,” she has seen the film.
Her mother, Jill Schwartz-Chevlin, is a board certified physician in internal medicine, hospice, and palliative medicine, and owner of Princeton Home and Primary Care PC, a practice focusing on primary care for the aging population in their homes in the greater Princeton area. Her father, Brian Chevlin, is the deputy general counsel at Pernod Ricard USA, and the immediate past president of Beth El Synagogue in East Windsor. They both acted in school shows.
The family has lived in West Windsor for close to 15 years. Her sister, Lindsay, 15, and her brother, Ben, 17, attend school in Philadelphia. “They are very athletic and fun,” she says. “They play basketball, and we all play soccer. Lindsay also plays the violin.”
“Our family is very busy; my dad works in New York, and my mom is out seeing patients all day,” says Chevlin, who is also active with community service. “I sometimes go to nursing homes with my mother,” she says. “I also helped clean up a cemetery for my brother’s bar mitzvah project and went to nursing homes with my sister when she played violin for her bat mitzvah project.
“Since I have never been in any show before it is an overwhelming feeling but in a good way. I have gotten to bond with new people, and they are all so nice and welcoming,” says Chevlin. “I feel like it is a second family, and I’m having a spectacular time at rehearsals.”
Gypsy, Kelsey Theater, Mercer County Community College, 1200 Old Trenton Road, West Windsor. Musical based on the life of Gypsy Rose Lee presented by Pierrot Productions. $18. Weekends, Friday, March 15, to Sunday, March 24. 609-570-3333 or www.kelseytheatre.net.
