Stagedoor Manor Joins Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Lineup

A group of 136 Stagedoor Manor students from all over the world will sing and dance the grand finale at this year's Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade®, marking the famed theatrical summertime training ground's fourth consecutive Parade performance. After traveling the entire parade route, the Stagedoor Manor students will arrive at Herald Square and introduce Santa Claus by performing the number "Santa By The Book" from Macy's new program Yes, Virginia The Musical. Yes, Virginia The Musical had its world premiere at Stagedoor Manor earlier this year and its original cast, made up of 28 Stagedoor Manor students ages 10-13, will accompany Santa and Mrs. Claus on their float for the entirety of the Parade route.

Perhaps the most iconic annual event in the history of broadcasting, The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade airs nationally on NBC-TV to an estimated 50 million viewers and is widely considered to be the "official start of the Holiday Season." It will air from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. (EST) on Thursday, November 22, 2012.

Each year, more than four-hundred Stagedoor Manor students apply for the opportunity to participate in the Parade. This year's cast will represent 27 states, Canada, and Saudi Arabia. Participants will come together for the first time in New York City, just three days before the Parade, and will learn the entire routine in a quick twenty-four hour rehearsal period.

This year's participants include Dani Apple, Laura Axelrod, Shannon Behrens, Julia Belanoff, Samantha Bluth, Katherine Boorstein, Greta Bradbury, Jack Brosnan, Ainsleigh Caldicott, Sadie Calvano, Susie Carroll, Sara Davis, Christa DeAngelis, Lily Discepolo, Missy Dreier, Sandy Durst, Grace Eberle, Brett Effes, Maddie Eisler, Bailee Edebrock, Casey Esbin, Sydney Feder, Erin Foltz, Katie Frorer, Alex Galletto, Lina Gamerman, Mackenzie Gannon, Weston Ganz, Elisa Garber, Jon Gomolka, Olivia Grant Adams,Gabriella Green, Katie Hansen, Drew Hawkinson, Andrew Heddleson, Dan Hoy, Adler Hyatt, Lily Kamp, Elizabeth Katz, Peter Klein, Daniel Klingenstein, Alexis Krey, Ashley LaLonde, Thomas Laub, Scott Leff, Brielle Lipstein, Rachel Liu, Caroline Maloney, Casey McCoy, Miles McKee, Kyle Meisner, Zane Meyer, Jennifer Miller, Sydney Miller, Connor Morley, Erin Noll, Nicolette Norgaard, Bella Norvig, Jake Nusbaum, Allsun O'Malley, Christopher Olsen, Ian Palmer, Matthew Paris, Garison Partusch, Zack Paslay, Ali Pease, Elena Penhos, McKenna Poe, Isabelle Quinn, Rachel Ravel, Mikki Reeve, Lukas Sarnow, Cole Scherer, Chi-Chi Schneider, Sanibel Schneider, Maya Shapiro, Caroline Shea, Eric Simon, Madeleine Snow, Derek Speedy, David Stedge, Carson Stewart, Gabby Talavechia, Paris Tomlin, Joshua Tucker, Julia Tyminski, AJ Vehec, Richard Westfahl, Hollis Williams, ELena Wilson, Jillian Wipfler, Kimberly Wipfler, Olivia Woodcock, Simone Barr, Evan Brody, Gavin Berger, Jake Foster, Juliette Berger, Chris Garber, Gaby Bradbury, Michael Hall, Audrey Brown, Tim Hoffman, Jasper Conacher, Aidan Perry, Owen Cumming, Scotty Sussman, Kendall Drummond, Elliott Feder, Julie Garber, Danielle Goz, Danielle Howard, Sam Hyrkin, Emily Kopchains, Kevin Dolan, Colin Lemoine, Cali Hall, Madeleine Marum, Kai Horvit, Jamie Mayers, Christian Louca, August Murphy, Alexandra Seigerman, Nicolas Pagano, Isobel Sneva, Katherine Plutnicki, Brooke Stephenson, Jack Price, Will Stokes, Aleksei Sandals, Elle Shaeen, Mary Stewart Sullivan, Kodiak Thompson, Shoshanna Tokar, Savannah Tomlin, and Anabella Zannini.
Yes, Virginia The Musical was created and produced by Macy's and JWT in conjunction with The Ebeling Group and MEC Entertainment, a division of Mediaedge:cia. Yes, Virginia The Musical was adapted from the animated special and storybook by Chris Plehal, by Wesley Whatley (music) and William Schermerhorn (book and lyrics), the Emmy ® Award-winning creative team behind the original song "Yes, Virginia (There is a Santa Claus)."

About Stagedoor Manor: For nearly forty years, children and teens (ages 10-18) from all over the world have been traveling to Stagedoor Manor to perfect their skills in acting, singing, and dance. Boasting many famous alumni, Stagedoor Manor is widely recognized as the country's premiere training ground for young performers. As a result of its reputation, agents and casting directors seeking the next generation of talent make regular visits each year. Stagedoor frequently partners with prominent entertainment companies, such as Disney and Music Theatre International, to create new properties. Stagedoor workshops were responsible for the creation of School Editions of Rent, Sweeney Todd, Aida, Miss Saigon, and Avenue Q. There is no audition required to attend Stagedoor Manor; the program is committed to all levels of talent and experience. The campus has 8 theaters and produces 40 full-scale shows each season. Stagedoor Manor is owned and produced by the Samuelson/Samen family.

About the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade: With more than 50 million viewers across the country and more than 3.5 million spectators that line up along the streets of New York City each year, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is a national icon that has grown into a world-famous holiday event. For more than 80 years, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade has marked the official start of the holiday season. Growing in size and scale over the years, the Parade proudly marches down a more than 2-mile route in New York City with over 8,000 participants in tow including Macy's employees, their families, celebrities, athletes, clowns and dance groups spreading holiday cheer. The Parade also features America's best marching bands, fabulous floats and Macy's signature giant helium character balloons. For more information on the Macy's Parade please visit www.macys.com/parade or call the Parade hotline at (212) 494-4495.