Arts & Entertainment
Moorestown Theater Star 'Excited' by New Opportunity
Fourteen-year-old Natalie De Rosa has been starring in Moorestown Theater Company plays since she was 6.
Natalie De Rosa, one of Moorestown Theater Company's (MTC) brightest stars, plans to make a splash on an entirely different stage this summer.
After wowing the judges at iPOP!—a weeklong talent showcase held twice a year in Los Angeles that gives young performers exposure to agents, scouts and casting directors—earlier this year, Natalie got a letter from National American Miss asking her to compete in the group's New Jersey pageant in August.
It came as a bit of a shock to the 14-year-old Moorestown High School freshman, who said she attended iPOP! with her mother, MTC administrative director Annette De Rosa, with no real agenda or expectations.
"We wanted to try it and see what happened," said Natalie, who hopes one day to take her talents to the bright lights of Broadway.
As she preps for the Aug. 18-19 pageant—at the Hilton Hotel in East Brunswick—the teen said she's "excited, but a little nervous, because I'm not involved with pageants. I'm not exposed to the pageant world."
Natalie, who played Miss Adelaide in MTC's Guys and Dolls Jr. over the weekend and stars as Betty in Bye Bye Birdie this weekend, said she may draw on her theater experience and compete in the singing portion of the pageant.
The winner of the pageant will receive a $1,000 cash award, the official crown and banner, and air transportation to compete in the national pageant at Disneyland in California.
Win or lose though, Natalie said she's happy just to be there.
"I'm grateful that I've had the opportunity to do all these kinds of things," she said.
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