Goshen honor student heads for Off-Broadway stage

GOSHEN—Victoria Vila, age 12, has loved to sing, dance and act since she was a toddler. Now, thanks to lots of hard work and talent, Victoria will be appearing in Broadway, Good and Evil at Dillon's Restaurant, an Off-Broadway cabaret at 245 West 54th St., New York City on May 8 at 2 p.m. The show, a performance of NSB Productions, is a compilation of many well-loved Broadway tunes. Victoria will be performing a solo of "On My Own" from Les Miserables and as part of an ensemble in "It's a Hard Knock Life" from Annie. Simultaneous with almost daily rehearsals, Victoria has been getting ready for her role as a teen dancer/singer in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, to be performed at the Lycian Centre in Sugar Loaf on May 13 to 15 and May 21 to 22. "Keeping up with my school work is my first priority," says Victoria, "so my life has been really busy. But I love every minute of it." Following the productions of Broadway and Joseph, Victoria will again be working with NSB Productions in upcoming performances of Oliver! and Annie. She hopes to someday perform in a Broadway musical. "I was so inspired by Melissa Errico [the female lead] in Dracula," she said. "We met briefly after the show and have exchanged e-mails. She keeps telling me to work hard to live my dreams." Victoria is a veteran of several musical productions at the Paramount Theater in Middletown, where she played the lead in Alice, the Musical and The Little Match Girl. She also appeared as Belinda Cratchett in last December's production of A Christmas Carol. She is a long-time member of the Goshen School Chorus and was a member of Orange County All-County Chorus in 2003-2004. She studies voice and piano at the Orange County School of Dance in Monroe. "I also love to just hang out and listen to music — especially the Backstreet Boys — I've seen them in concert twice," she said. "My favorite female singer is Mandy Moore." Victoria has also been a Girl Scout for the past seven years and a cheerleader for four years. She enjoys reading, swimming, babysitting, friends, and watching movies and "X-Files" with her Dad. She credits her close relationship with her parents with much of her success thus far. "They let me know that I can do anything I set my mind to and they are always there to help me do it," she said. For ticket information for Broadway, Good and Evil or