Anjali Rooney has experienced a great deal in her 11 years, and now she’s adding a new experience to her resumé: performing on stage in a main stage production at Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre.
Born in Dublin, Ireland, Anjali and her family have lived in San Francisco, New York City, and now in Carmel. Most of her family resides outside of the United States as her mother, Jini, is from South Africa and her father, Terence, is from Ireland.
It’s a combination that has resulted in a talented Clay Middle School sixth-grader who has made quite an impression already in Indiana, where she has lived for just over a year. She won the under 12 age category of CarmelFest Has Talent in July, where she sang “Waiting for Life” from Once on This Island. Earlier this year she performed “Naughty” from Matilda for the Big Broadway Sing Along at the Palladium Center for the Performing Arts on World Voice Day in April.
She’s made it to a national stage as well, performing in the centennial gala concert presentation of “In The Fiddler’s House” at Carnegie Hall in New York City in March. She was part of a children’s choir that accompanied Itzhak Perlman and the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene.
Appearing in eight stage productions since 2011 – six of which were in New York City – Anjali is making her first appearance at Beef & Boards where she’s playing the role of Ngana in Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “South Pacific.”
While Anjali admits acting can be challenging, she insisted she can’t stay away from the spotlight.
It’s a love she plans to turn into a career.
“It is my dream to become a star on Broadway,” she said.
“South Pacific” is on stage through Oct. 4 at Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre. For tickets, visit beefandboards.com.
