I could sing before I could walk,” says Katie Merriman of West Windsor, a senior at the Peddie School who will play the role of Ethel McCormack in the school’s production of “Footloose,” Thursday to Saturday, February 19 to 21, at 8 p.m. A former member of Princeton Girlchoir, she has sung with church choirs and was a member of the chorus in “Tosca” at McCarter a few years back.
“Footloose” is a musical based on the popular film about a teenage boy, his mother, and their move from Chicago to a small town. The play celebrates the wisdom of listening to young people while guiding them with an open mind. The play is directed by Dennis Trainor Jr.
No stranger to the footlights, Merriman has been both behind and in front of the curtain since she attended Community Middle School, where she appeared in “Give My Regards to Broadway” and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” She takes acting courses at Peddie, and is involved in playwriting and directing this year. “I love backstage and acting came naturally as a fusion of the arts.”
She has also appeared in “Chorus Line,” “Cabaret,” and “Anything Goes” at Peddie.
Born in New York, she grew up in Chester Heights (former home of the real Frank Abagnale, the main character from “Catch Me If You Can”), a hamlet between New Rochelle, Tuckahoe, and Eastchester.
A leader in the arts department at Peddie, she is a member of the chorus as well as of the Peddie Singers, a select mixed choir. Katie has been named a co-director of Project: What If?, a community service improv theater troupe of Peddie students who perform for area elementary and pre-schools. Offstage, she participates in field hockey and crew programs.
Other West Windsor actors include Alex Schlosser, Bridget Bagel, and Anna Brickner. Schlosser is a lifelong resident of West Windsor. This is his second Peddie production — he played the part of Motel in “Fiddler on the Roof” last year. “I enjoy theater, he says, “It permits me to take on new and different characters.”
Footloose, Peddie School, William Mount-Burke Theater, Hightstown, 609-490-7550. $10. Friday to Saturday, February 19 to 21, 8 p.m.
