STAGE TUBE: Remembering Shannon Tavarez - 'Tomorrow'

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BroadwayWorld.com last night reported the sad news that, 11 year old Shannon Tavarez who received an umbilical-cord transplant in late August to combat her acute myeloid leukemia has passed away.  The soprano from Queens recently played Young Nala in The Lion King on Broadway. 

A friend of the family passed us along this video of an incredible performance by the young star at the Harlem School of the Arts earlier this year. It's moving and inspirational in every sense of the word.  

Serving as an alternative to a bone-marrow transplant, Shannon received the umbilical-cord blood from an anonymous donor, as doctors were unable to find a bone marrow match. Since her diagnosis last spring, she had been through extensive chemotherapy and had spent most of her days and nights in the children's ward of a hospital in New York. She has recently been in a children's ICU struggling to stabilize.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Shannon's friends, family and all who knew and loved her. 

And, to further Shannon's mission and Shannon's family's devotion to recruiting donors, click here to find out about GetSwabbed.org.