Rockville Centre teens in the spotlight

Rockville Centre’s Gina Naomi Baez, founder of Kids Performing Who Kare and select cast members from its 2010 production of the school edition of “Sweeney Todd” had a very special gift just as the holiday season started. On a late November evening, they performed with Tony award winner Karen Olivo, two time Tony nominee Robin De Jesus and numerous Broadway performers from “The Addams Family,” “In The Heights,” “Scottsboro Boys,” “The Lion King” and “Memphis” in “Broadway Broadcasts Hope,” a special event at New World Stages theater.

“Broadway Broadcasts Hope” was a benefit for non-profit organizations dedicated to the arts. The event celebrated the launch of the new non-profit collaboration website, www.dididothat.org. Members of Kids Performing Who Kare were featured in the program as special guests and performed a medley of songs from “Sweeney Todd.”

They received a standing ovation and joined in the finale with the entire cast of the benefit. The cast featured many Rockville Centre residents as well as students from all over Long Island; Lauren Marie Baez, Julia Baxley, Jackie Cano, Sara Cataldo, Ken Doyle, Dari Goldman, Andrew Kear, Jagger Kugler, Jamie Lepper, Carlie McHale, Joseph Minasi, Sean Patrick Monahan, Julia Pandolfo, Sophia Ray, Courtney Ross, Iliana Tzanis and Harley Yeager.

Kids Performing Who Kare is a non-profit theater organization founded in 2001 by Gina Naomi Baez, a cancer survivor. It is dedicated to raising money for the Cancer Center for Kids at Winthrop-University Hospital while trying to immerse children and teens in a professional musical theater experience.