Farrah

"When I’m on that Broadway stage, it’s like being in my own world."

By Students of NYC

April 17^th, 2025

"I still remember my first show. I was behind the curtain practicing and could hear the noise of the theater. And I'm like, oh my God, I have not felt this feeling before. All these people are talking about, 'I can't wait to see the show.' And it's a lot of pressure. I have to do really well. But then it starts, and I feel natural, comfortable. When I’m on that Broadway stage, it’s like being in my own world. You can’t really see anything but these bright lights and then the dark beyond it. And I like it, honestly, having all that attention on me.

I’ve always loved Disney movies. I love 'Moana.' A lot. Her hair. Her independence. Her songs. I’d be in my house just singing ‘How far I’ll go.’ My mom heard me singing and she put me in a free online class she saw during COVID taught by a woman named Alison, and that turned into private lessons. Dance was my first love. My mom would play music in the living room when I was little, and I couldn’t stop dancing. So she put me into dance at Alvin Ailey. Every day if I was home I’d ask her, do I have Alvin Ailey today? I started with ballet. As I grew, I felt like I had a more energetic feeling inside of me. When I tried hip hop I was like, oh this is me. In hip hop, you’re so free.

It was my aunt's idea for me to audition for 'The Lion King' to play young Nala. I practiced so much for that audition. My aunt would come over to my house and we would practice acting skills. We’d do warm-ups and scenes. And then I sent in my audition tape. I got to the final round of auditions and was on a Zoom with all the directors and producers, and they said, 'We really love your videos, and we’ll get back to you soon.'

I remember that day in school — I was not having a good day. I had gotten marker on my new overalls and I was so upset. When my mom came to pick me up, I didn’t want to tell her, because you know how moms can be when you get your clothes dirty. But she was smiling and happy, and my aunt had come with her too. I was like, okay, I guess they don’t mind the marker. We went back to the house and she sat me down. I wasn’t thinking about the 'The Lion King' on Broadway audition at all because you know, I was young. She set up a camera and I looked around, like what the heck? And she said 'guess what? I got a call today.' I said, 'oh my gosh, did I get "The Lion King"'? When she told me, my dad and my grandmother came out and surprised me, and I started to cry.

I had the choice to do the show in New York City or go across the country on tour. I chose to travel. I had only lived in New York, and I just wanted to see other places and experience new things. I wanted to go to Texas because Beyonce lives in Texas, and I wanted to go to California because Disney is in California. My mom was with me the whole time. We would spend two or three weeks at a time in a city. Pack up everything, travel, unpack again. It was really fun getting to know the kids. Traveling together everywhere, being in the hotel, it was really fun. We would switch off show days, and on the days I wasn’t Nala, I’d have to stay in the back and do school with a tutor, be ready to stand in at any moment in case my friend the other baby Nala got sick or couldn’t finish.

My mom — she's literally the best person in my life. She's helped with everything. She's the one who put me into all the dance classes and told me about the vocal lessons, and she's the one that hit up people to help me. She's the one that found people to support me, and she traveled with me everywhere and she would get me ready for my shows. And then, I'd come out from the show and see her. She would always have a treat for me or a surprise. A special person waiting there, or a little present or a snack. My mom — she just brings a lot of love. She works at the Gap now with her best friend. And she comes home from work and she's tired and like, ugh, I just want to lay down. And I'm like, I'm hungry. I want mac and cheese. And she's always like, okay."