Nick Earl has a lot for which to be thankful. The 17-year-old from St. George, Utah, never watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on television. And as a young actor, dancer, and singer, he only dreamed of walking amid the bedazzling lights of New York City.
Tomorrow, not only will he see the parade for the first time, but he will perform in the opening number that kicks the whole thing off with a troupe of students hand-selected from across the nation.
"It's my first trip to New York," says Earl, in a cab en-route to a four-hour rehearsal at Herald Square. "It's really overwhelming, and energetic. It's kind of a rush being here!”
Diane Thoreen, Earl's 65-year-old grandmother from Phoenix, Ariz., arrived to the city with him, making sure he got to his first practice on Saturday. And, she'll be watching the parade without missing a beat. After all, it was Thoreen who heard about the auditions for the spot last summer and encouraged her grandson to try out.
Ever since he was a boy, Earl would spend one week in the summer visiting his grandparents. Thoreen knew of her grandson's interest in theater and about three years ago found a performing arts program, Camp Broadway, at nearby Arizona State University in which to enroll him.
After camp ended this season, along with about 60 fellow campers, Earl auditioned. He sang a song for the panel of judges, was taught a dance routine and asked to mirror it. Within days, he received the good news: He made the cut as one of only a handful of performers selected to make the trip to the big city.
"He called to tell me — Oh, goodness, I was so thrilled he was chosen. And, surprised he heard back so quickly!" says Thoreen.
“As a grandparent, you don't have to worry about the day-to-day discipline," she says. "You're just there to support everyone in the family."
Thoreen fondly recalls how her grandson naturally took to the stage, taking part in church plays from the time he was 5 years old.
And of course Thoreen was there for her grandson's first stage performance, in a production of Peter Pan when he was 9. She can rattle off the other plays in which he has acted — Hello, Dolly!; Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat; Fiddler on the Roof — faster than her grandson. She's seen them all.
Earl smiles, near blushing. “My grandmother supports me a lot in what I do. She's how I found out about this!” he says.
Thoreen adds with a laugh, “Once, in church, just before a performance, Nick's mom asked him if he was nervous — 'You'll be in front of hundreds of people,' she said. And do you know what his reply was? 'Don't worry, Mom! One day I'll be in front of thousands.'"
Well, that day has arrived. And tomorrow, Earl won't be performing in front of thousands, but millions. At the 81st annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, 2.5 million spectators are expected, to say nothing of the 44 million Americans who will tune into NBC to watch.
Home
