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"Up-And-Comer Steps Into The Spotlight - Dix Hills girl to star in her first off Broadway play opening Sept 11." Sarah Megan Walsh, Long Islander News. September 7, 2009. (print only, from a still captured from a video)

A Dix Hills girl is ready for her chance to stand in the spotlight, starring in her very first off Broadway show this weekend. Jenna Rose Swerdlow, 11, will take command of the stage as Odelia Williams, the leading role in "The Odella Williams Show" opening at the Sargent Theatre in New York City Sept. 11-12. The youngest member of the cast, the actress said she's excited for the opportunity to perform a stone's throw from her dreadm: Broadway. "It's a very big role, my biggest role yet. It's fun to be the main character," Swerdlow siad, " I really like being on stage in front of people." In the comedic play by Polifonic Entertainment, Swerdlow will be playing the role of a talk show host who swears Oprah Winfrey is stealing her material. Drama ensues as Williams crafts a plan to get her guests to expose their deepest secrets. "I like her character because I like her attitude, she's the boss of everyone," Swerdlow said, comparing ... (obscured)

"When I was 2, I started singing and dancing around the house, " she said. Swerdlow landed her first role as a cheerleader in High School Musical at the cultural Arts Playhouse in Mansaroneck, NY. She has acted in over a dozen lays, television and film, most recently appearing as Hellen Keller in the Gerheral Players' production of "Miracle Worker". "It's one of the only scenes I've done without taling, and it was very differetn from what I had done before," Swerdlow said. She also said when she went to audition for "The Odella WIlliams Show" she hoped to land the role of a talk show guest, an opera singer. Being cast as the lead has presented her with new challenges, Swerdlow said, includig memorizing over 30 pages of script. In addition to working on the show, the young actress has been recording her first album featuring the single "Sweet Melody" under music professional RIchie Cannata at Cove City Sound Studio. She said she will perorm at Long Island's Fall Festival in Heckarcher Park on Oct. 11. (obscured)

Partially supported by THE ODELLA WILLIAMS Show Opens 11/27 At The American Theater of Actors Sargent Theater November 24, 2009, BWW News Desk, Broadway World (Off Broadway)