"You'll die laughing"

The New York Post

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A New 'State Fair'

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COMEDY THRILLER

MICHAEL ELKIN SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

L

ife is more than a cabaret for
Jackie Angelescu.
It's a State Fair.
The 11-year-old from
Queens, N.Y., is a producer's
idea of a princess: cute, talent-
ed, boundlessly energetic.
She's able to display all those
qualities in a couple of roles in
the heralded Broadway produc-
tion of State Fair, which opened
in late March.
The stage adaptation of the
only movie musical written by
Richard Rodgers and Oscar
Hammerstein II involves a fine,
upstanding family headed by
John Davidson and Kathryn
Crosby — whose hopes and am-
\--.. bitions are centered on the an-
/—'
nual state fair.
Can a kid from Queens re-
late to a family of country
cousins?

\--

Jackie Angelescu: Broadway baby.

Sure, says Jackie. She's from
the country, too: Canada.
"Actually, I was born there af-
ter my family moved from Ro-
mania," says the youngster, who
spent her first year in Toronto
before moving on to New Jersey
and then to Queens.
State Fair isn't that great a
jump for a Jewish youngster who
knew long ago that Broadway
was in her blood.
"I started dancing at 4," says
Jackie. "At 9, when I was in a
dance recital, a talent manager
came by to see the recital, and
rpshe picked me out.
"Within days, she got me a
role in Annie. "
It's a hard-knock life? No way.
From the national tour as
Molly in Annie, Jackie segued to
the New York sequel, a produc-
tion of Annie Warbucks; the TV
"soap "All My Children"; and last
'Year's Broadway production of
The Rose Tattoo.

Imprinted in her heart, says
the youngster, is a need and love
for performing. She gets a great
chance in State Fair, playing the
part of Violet, the daughter of the
chief of police.
Jackie describes her as "a fun
character who obviously likes
older men — she gets to flirt
with Wayne," the hero/hunk of
the show played by Ben Wright.
When she's not blooming as
Violet, Jackie is dancing up a dirt
storm in her second role — as a
tap-dancing pig.
Tap-dancing pig? Well, the
show is about a state fair, says
Jackie.
Touring from state to state is
an informal education; for the
more formal kind, Jackie has
only to plug into her computer.
"I'm online with my school in
New York," she says. "My
teacher e-mails my work."
It's a different kind of lifestyle,
but Jackie insists that she
doesn't have stars in her eyes.
"I still consider myself just a
kid," she says. "I still play out-
side, get my clothes dirty, watch
TV, play with toys."
But theater isn't child's play,
and Jackie does have some adult
ambitions.
"I want this for a career" —
which delights her parents, she
says. But then, her mother is fa-
miliar with what it takes to
make art: Mom was a member
of a Romanian dance company
years back.
Stepping into her dual roles in
State Fair feels natural, says
Jackie: "I'm never nervous; this
is my natural habitat."
As proud as she is of her tal-
ent, the youngster also delights
in being Jewish, cherishing in
particular one TV credit.
"It made me feel good that
kids from my school — especial-
ly the non-Jewish kids — saw
me in "A Passover Seder," a hol-
iday special aired some years
ago.
"I'm happy when people know
I'm Jewish because I'm happy
being Jewish."
She is also happy being part
of a star-studded company on
Broadway.
"You know," says the earnest
11-year-old Violet with the blue-
ribbon attitude, "this is just the
kind of show I would go to see
even if I weren't in it." ❑

131 'Pickets for Roger & Ham-
merstein's State Fair are on
sale now at the Music Box
Theatre, 239 W, 45th St., New
York City. $60475. Call 1-800.-
223-7250.

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Presented with the
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