Pine-Richland middle school girl picked for cast of ‘Hits! The Musical’ touring company

Like most young people who aspire to a career as a performer, Loren Prisuta of Pine has been dreaming big about her future.

But she hasn’t been leaving those dreams to chance.

Now, with nearly a decade of hard work under her belt training in voice, dance and acting, the dream is starting to come true for the Pine-Richland Middle School student.

Prisuta, 13, is among 19 vocalists to emerge from a field of some 7,000 kids who auditioned nationwide this summer for a role in the national touring company of “Hits! The Musical,” which will make its debuts March 1 in Concord, N.H., before embarking on a 48-city U.S. tour that runs through May 8.

“My dream is to share my love of singing and performing with the world by selling out arenas or Broadway theaters one day,” she said. “I’d live to be able to earn a living in the arts by doing what I love and pouring my heart out on stage.”

The show will make a stop on March 12 at the Carnegie of Homestead Music Hall in Homestead. Tickets for the show are available online.

“Hits! The Musical” features a cast of 29 — 19 singers and 10 dancers — between the age of 8 and 23.

Described as a blend between a musical and a concert, the family-oriented show features some of the biggest hits in pop, rock and Broadway from the 1960s through the present.

The show includes more than 100 songs, including “Signed, Sealed, Delivered,” “Hero,” “I Will Always Love You,” “Singing in the Rain,” “Respect,” “Come Sail Away,” “Satisfaction” and “Livin’ La Vida Loca.”

“’Hits! The Musical’ is unique,” said executive producer Bob Gries. “It’s the first time there has ever been a cast of all performers ages 8 to 23. This cast is going to show America that they’re as good as anyone. Don’t doubt Generation Z.”

Show producers announced recently that Dionne Warwick, a six-time Grammy Award winner and a recipient of a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, has joined the production team along with her son, Damon Elliott, who serves as her manager and producer.

Prisuta’s first audition for the show was in July in Pittsburgh, where she performed a short dance routine and selected the Demi Lovato song “Anyone” to demonstrate her vocal abilities.

Within half an hour of her performance, Prisuta got a callback and was asked to perform one song from a list — “What’s Up” by Four Non Blondes; and a song of her choosing, “Right on Time” by Brandi Carlisle.

Prisuta’s talents were recognized by producers, who called three days later and invited her to attend the final round of auditions in Tampa, Fla., where 100 other singers and dancers who emerged from the early rounds of the selection process competed to make the final cut.

Prisuta said the four-days it took to whittle down the field was “quite intense” and included interviews with directors trying to gauge how well the kids interacted with each other.

The final selections were made after the potential cast members were taught a 30 minute portion of the show to perform at a local theater for their parents.

After being selected as a member of the touring cast, Prisuta attended a month of rehearsals in October in St. Petersburg, Fla.

A second round of rehearsals is scheduled in St. Petersburg during February before the cast heads to Asheville, N.C., for a week of technical rehearsals in preparation for the debut on March 1.

Prisuta began formal vocal training when she was 8 at Singer Studios and currently is studying classical voice at the Molly Slater Music Studio.

She is in her ninth year studying dance at Wexford Dance Academy, where she is learning ballet, pointe, jazz, tap and lyrical/contemporary styles.

Additionally, Prisuta has been studying piano for the past three years at Leckey Music Studio and has been a member of the Jeter Backyard Theater since she was 5.

School officials said Prisuta will be attending cyber school while she is on tour.

She was cast this past summer in iTheatrics Academy’s summer workshop in New York City for the “School of Rock Young Performers Edition.”

Prisuta said going through the selection process for the “Hits! The Musical” has been “like a dream.”

“It’s crazy this is a job, that I can possibly do this for a living someday, that I can make people happy and inspire others to go into the business,” she said.

Prisuta said her long-range goal as a performer is to “inspire and develop the next generation, just like my mentors and teachers have inspired me to keep pushing and go after my dreams.”