Perez as ‘Tiny Tim’ delivers message of family, dreams
A small dream by Alexander Perez turned into a ginormous accomplishment.
Perez, 6, a diminutive student at Lore Elementary School in Ewing Twp., stands tall and impressively as Tiny Tim in a Christmas Carol at McCarter Theater in Princeton.
“He came to see the show several times with the Westminster Presbyterian Church and two years ago he said “Mom, I want to be Tiny Tim,” his mother, Frances Perez recalled.
“He was too young to audition for the first year. And then, last year, our life schedule did not meet up with their audition dates. So, he missed a second time. This year he auditioned and landed the part. It’s been fun and special for Alexander, our friends and family.”
Perez shares stage dreams with a “Young Ensemble” cast that includes Uriah Amacker, Ethan Chang, Camille Grove, Romy Johnson, Zahra Lohoue, Julianna Pallacan, Martin Pallacan, Alicianna Rodriguez, Sam Roman, Birelle Rowell and Vyshakh Thejaswi.
Every year, McCarter Theater Center casts twelve young actors in the Young Ensemble, a group of children ages 5-13 who take on roles within its annual production of “A Christmas Carol”. Members of the Young Ensemble have the opportunity to perform alongside professional actors on McCarter’s Matthews State.
Andres Perez, a Trenton firefighter, voiced pride about seeing his son take the stage.
“It’s pretty exciting. It’s been a long month but he loves being up there. I’ve seen about three or performances since the show opened,” Andres Perez said.
“No way I can attend all 33 shows or whatever the number is but I plan to go as often as possible. I went to the pre-opening show and took a buddy. He said that he’s never seen me smile like that. We had about six or seven City of Trenton firefighter families in the audience. Alexander’s got a pretty nice fan base.”
For over 10 years, Westminster has partnered with McCarter Theater to help them distribute free tickets to see “A Christmas Carol” to underserved audiences in the Greater Trenton Area.
Rev. Karen Hernandez-Granzen, pastor at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Trenton, beamed.
“He’s one of ours. Alexander and his family are members,” Granzen shouted. “It’s heartwarming to know that this all occurred because of the outreach program provided by McCarter Theater.
So, that’s the cool part of this story that underscores a need for opportunity to cultivate dreams. Without McCarter, Granzen and two parents who love their children, as with other Young Ensemble members who likely receive similar support, dreams may never happen.
We, as adults, as a society, own the responsibility to provide the necessities of food, shelter, clothing and safety for children although these items represent by-products of love. Opportunity remains crucial to child development as young minds expand.
The Arts remain almost magical for young minds who can explore myriad genres of life, creativity, selfpurpose and social engagement.
Emily Mann, McCarter Theater Center Artistic director wrote, “I passionately believe we are developing non only the great artists in our field but also the next great citizens of our world.” Through art and opportunity? Yes. A thousand affirmations exist for cultivation of young creative spirits here.
Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” delivers a remarkable tale of redemption and change as “Ghosts of Christmas” past, present and future visit Ebenezer Scrooge played by Greg Wood.
“It never gets old. And that’s pretty special,” Granzen noted. “We keep coming back every year, see the play and leave with the same hope and appreciation of time and people.”
A Christmas Carol runs through December 29. For ticket information call (609) 258-2787 or email sales@mccarter.org.