Sick child star helped by cast of "Lion King"
Sick child star helped by cast of "Lion King"
Eleven-year-old actress Shannon Tavarez should have been belting out songs in her starring role as Nala in Broadway's "The Lion King."
Instead, the 78-pound actress lay curled on a hospital bed as a doctor injected her spine with her first dose of chemotherapy.
Earlier that day in April, her doctor had first said, "leukemia." That was when the young star's big acting dreams were overtaken by a bigger one: survival.
Shannon will need a bone marrow transplant but hasn't found the perfect match, says her physician, Dr. Larry Wolfe, of the Cohen Children's Medical Center in New York.
Her search is especially daunting because her mother is African-American and her father is Hispanic, from the Dominican Republic. For bone marrow transplants, minorities and those of mixed ancestry have a more difficult time finding good matches — there aren't as many people from those groups signed up as potential donors.
The cast and crew of "The Lion King" are coming together for Shannon at the Minskoff Theater on Friday to hold a donor registration drive, letting people know that getting on the donor registry involves just a simple cheek swab. Shannon's Broadway friends from "Wicked" and other shows will attend.
Shannon beat out hundreds of other hopefuls last year to earn her spot playing Nala, the girlfriend of the main "Lion King" character, Simba. For six months, she performed four shows a week, rushing to the theater after school each day.
Shannon told The Associated Press she was "devastated to have to leave the show."
After a hospitalization due to an infection, Shannon was back home in Queens last week. She limped across the room, hospital tags dangling, and sank into the couch, visibly tired. But she immediately brightened when she began to talk about acting.
"It's an indescribable feeling, being on stage," she said. "I portray this character with fears, but who is so tough. I feel like that's who I am.".
Shannon's mother, too, has been working hard to get as many people as she can to sign up for the registry. She partnered with DKMS on Sunday to hold a midtown Manhattan donor drive, which brought out nearly 400 people. One man drove from Virginia after he read about Shannon in news reports.
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- Posted on July 22, 2010
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That is amazing, that poor little girl! My mother's friend from high school, her daughter was getting a dog in a couple months and so the make a wish foundation took her on a shopping trip to buy things for the dog and when they got home the make a wish King brought her a present. When she opened it, it was a puppy!!! She was suffering Leukemia but was getting better!!!!!
When I was little I watched Lion King all the time so my grandmother took me to see the musical over the summer and I got to meet her. She was my favorite character in the musical. I was amazed when I saw this article when I was there she looked fine. I feel so bad for her! I had a connection with this because one of my best friends has cancer.
That is so sad . I`m so asking my mom to pray for her. Poor girl,I feel so bad.HOPE YA GETS BETTER SOON, I BE PRAYIN FOR YA!!!!!
I feel so bad that she has to battle that at such a young age when she can instead acting and singing like she loves. My mom had cancer. But it wasn't leukemia. She got over that cancer and now has diabetes.
I met that girl. When my family went to see the "Lion King" in chicago she was in the lobby signing autographs. She looked tired and depressed although she was smiling. I hope you feel better!
I would be so scared if I needed a bone transplant . I hope she recovers soon . What if she does not recover . So scared . I'm not joking .
It sounds like she really wants to be able to act again.It must be horrible to have cancer get in the way of her getting to do amazing things like being an actress.
I hope she recovers soon. Poor Shannon, had to give up her dream to lay in a hospital bed foe how long. I hope soon she can go back out there and be the best she can be in her play. I'm sure she would do a great job. GET WELL SOON SHANNON!
That must be terriable for her! To have to give up your dream, and go through having cancer. At least she has a lot of people supporting her, so maybe she will see herself back on the stage soon.
I feel really bad for her. I mean, having your acting hopes dashed because she has cancer? That has got to hurt. I would have a hard time going through that if I were a friend or family. I really hope that she is able to conquer the leukemia and that it doesn't come back. That would really stink if it did.