BALTIMORE — It's not often a hometown reunion requires nearly 50 musical numbers, but for 10 year old Hazel Vogel, its a life worth living.
The Towson native dreamed a dream, put the work in, and scored the role of young Cosette in the Broadway tour of Les Misérables, which comes to the Hippodrome in Baltimore next week. For Hazel, its been a lifelong journey, all ten years of it.
"I've been singing for as long as I can remember, and I started dancing when I was about two at Mid Atlantic Youth Ballet, then I started getting into acting a little bit when I was about five."
She got the role after a workshop she attended in New York City set her up with an audition. She says one of her favorite parts about the show is the getting to hang out with so many interesting people.
"It's fun to see all the different people that are in the theater business....there's four other kids in the show, and they call us the "Mis Kids."
She says as much as she loves singing the classic song, Castle On A Cloud, she also loves that she gets to share it with a fellow "Mis Kid."
"I love my role because of the song, but I also like it because I get to do two roles. I flip flop with another girl, so I do one role, young Apennine, and then I do little Cosette."
Of course, part of a Broadway tour is...the "tour." Hazel says she loves exploring the country, but performing at home will still be the most fun.
"It's definitely fun to go to all the different places and see all the history of these different cities that I've never visited before. But I'm looking forward to next week, where I'm coming to Baltimore to perform for all of my friends and family...pretty much everybody we know is coming to the show, which is kind of crazy."
Hazel certainly hasn't let the spotlight get to her head either. On top of doing six shows a week, she's still a full time student at Bryn Mawr. She says she carries all her books with her to every city the tour goes to, and does worksheets that her teachers send her every week.
Les Misérables will be at The Hippodrome from Feb. 7th-12th
