Community Corner

Hoboken Girl Steals The Show

Maddy Novak, 12, has been performing on broadway for the past year.

It was 12-year-old Maddy Novak's dream to one day perform on Broadway. 

"I never thought it'd be so soon," said Novak after a free lunch-time performance at New York City's Bryant Park on Thursday afternoon.

Novak plays the part of Margaret Gormly, who is one of the ballet girls on the show, in the Broadway musical Billy Elliot. Billy Elliot, based on the movie from 2000 with music by Elton John, won ten Tony awards in 2009. 

Find out what's happening in Hobokenwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The lunch performance, in front of hundreds of New Yorkers who enjoyed show tunes with their lunch, does not include the usual eight shows Novak performs per week. On top of that she rehearses at least twice a week, on Thursdays and Fridays. 

Novak attends Stevens Cooperative in Hoboken, and said she is "very busy." 

Find out what's happening in Hobokenwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

It all started about two years ago, when Novak saw a flyer in her dance school, for an open audition for Billy Elliot. She decided to go and try out for the original cast of the show. Although she got through several rounds of the auditioning process, she didn't make the cut.

About a year later, Novak received a phone call, asking her to try out again because one of the girls was leaving. This time, she got the part. 

Novak started as Margaret Gormley on June 16, 2009 and has been performing ever since. 

"It's really fun," she said. But, she admitted, "it's a little nerve wracking."

Novak performs eight shows a week, she said, which means she's very busy during the week. During the school year she spends the time back stage with the other girls doing home work, but now that it's summer, she said, they play mostly games. 

As I am interviewing Novak after her performance in Bryant Park on Thursday afternoon, a group of three tourists comes up to Novak, who is still dressed in her Billy Elliot shirt she wore for the performance. She smiles professionally until three separate pictures have been taken. 

"It doesn't happen a lot," said Novak, adding that mostly the boys who play Billy Elliot are asked to pose for photos. But when people do come up to the ballet girls, she said, "it's like: finally."

Looking at the scene were Novak's parents Michael and Jane. Michael Novak serves on the board of the Chamber of Commerce. "She's quiet," Novak's mother said, "but she's fierce."

Since her dream came true much sooner than expected, Novak said she may want to focus on starring in a film in the future (Anne Hathway and Sandra Bullock are her two favorite actresses). And although being on stage full time as well as going to school is very time consuming, she said she'd like to keep performing and maybe get other roles. 

"It's tiring," she said, "but I want to do more."


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here