If you were sitting in the Paper Mill Playhouse this past holiday season you would have been witnessing two events: the classic musical “The Sound of Music” and a little girl having the time of her life with a smile on her face and a presence that shines.
That young girl is Maya Fortgang, an 12-year-old sixth grader from Verona who attends H.B. Whitehorne Middle School. In her professional debut, Maya portrayed Brigitta von Trapp, one of seven children whose mother recently died and whose father, a high-ranking naval officer has called upon the local convent seeking a governess to tend to his seven children.
Maya has been on the Paper Mill stage before, appearing in the theatre’s annual “New Voices” conservatory concert that celebrates the talent of the children and teenagers of New Jersey. But all through her short life, she always dreamed of being an actress.
“When I was 9, I did my first musical theatre camp in Montclair, just to try it out,” she says, “I fell in love with theatre and have been ever since.”
But the theatre is no mystery to Fortgang. Her parents, Laura and Mark, are involved in musical theater and her older brother, VHS junior Skylar Fortgang, whose acting credits include appearances in the film American Gangster and the TV series Nurse Jackie. But one thing she always looked forward to was when her grandmother would take her to see the latest in Broadway entertainment. Some of her favorite shows include notorious classics such as “A Chorus Line” and more recent successes like the newest Disney musical “Newsies.” It was this that became the inspiration for what she wanted to do with her life.
“I always thought that it looked fun and I hope to begin a career on Broadway.” Some of her dream roles include Sally Brown in the popular “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown,” the evil and conniving Miss Hanngian in the classic “Annie” and even the main character, Maria, in “The Sound of Music.” Her inspirations for her performances are Tony Award winning Broadway actresses Kristin Chenoweth and Sutton Foster.
It was this dream of becoming a Broadway actress that led her to the Paper Mill Playhouse, a renowned local not-for-profit theatre in Millburn, New Jersey. First established as a Mill in 1795, and later converted into a theatre in 1934, Paper Mill Playhouse has become the staple performing arts theatre of New Jersey.
With over 1,200 seats, Paper Mill’s size, location and the ability to put on large scale productions have made it a Broadway theatre not on Broadway. It was in 1972 that New Jersey Governor William Cahill proclaimed Paper Mill the “Official State Theatre of New Jersey.”
And now Maya Fortgang joins the long list of talents that have crossed the famed Paper Mill stage. Such talents include award winning actors and actresses of both stage and film including Kristin Chenoweth, Liza Minnelli, Patrick Swayze and Nick Jonas among many, many more. Even famed actress Anne Hathaway got her start at the Paper Mill Playhouse performing in the exact same conservatory concert only a little over a decade ago.
“The audition process was very long but fun,” she says, “My favorite part was learning the dances. I had a couple callbacks and then they asked me to come back on the following Tuesday for another callback.” The hardest part was, of course, waiting.
“I wasn’t as nervous when I auditioned but the waiting was very nerve-wracking.”
But then the day came when her mother took the call saying that Maya had won the role of Brigitta in “The Sound of Music.” When Maya was told, she reacted as most girls her age would when being told the most thrilling news ever.
“My mom drove all the way home,” she says, “I opened the door and she screamed in my face that I got the part. I then screamed in her face! I was so excited!”
“(She) flipped out when we told her and my father was just as thrilled as I was!” she says of her grandmother and father’s reactions. But her friends and peers weren’t told directly.
“I kept it cool at school and didn’t tell anyone until they asked,” Maya says.
The next step was rehearsals. Most professional shows rehearse in a studio and in this case the entire cast was given the opportunity to rehearse their show at the 42nd Street Studios, a well-respected rehearsal hall in New York City.
All of this must be pretty strange for a child who has never been through this before but Maya says she felt right at home.
“I have to admit that it was way better then having to go to school,” she says with enthusiasm. “Rehearsing in the city really made it real for me that I was doing a professional show!”
But keeping up with grades is a must for any child who takes on a role in a big production such as this and the children are never exempt from the obligations of school. When they are not needed during rehearsal, they are given a three-hour school session with a tutor who helps them with the work set up by their teachers back at their home school. Once the show moves into the theatre and starts its run, the children are put back into their regular classes.
“When I walked into Paper Mill, I was finally relaxed,” she says, “It’s like my home away from home. When I walked on stage for the first time, I knew this was how I wanted to live my life. It felt amazing.”
After rehearsals, the cast is put through the ‘preview’ period in which they perform the entire show in front of an audience. These are test performances to see what is working and what isn’t working.
“It’s such a big stage,” she says, “so it was just so amazing to perform on the Paper Mill stage every night.”
“I was so excited,” Maya says with a smile as she describes opening night, “but I was a little nervous. But that is okay since it’s always good to be nervous.”
During the run, Maya started back to school, leaving early on Thursdays to perform the 1:30 matinees. Performing eight shows a week can get tough, especially on an 11-year-old girl trying to keep up her grades. “It was hard,” she says, “especially school work. But keeping up with everyone asking questions about it was easy. It made me feel like I’m famous!”
“I loved to perform ‘Do-Re-Mi’ every night,” she exclaims, “it was so much fun!” And for audiences, that was their favorite too. The number received cheers and applause every night at the end.
On December 30, after nearly a month and a half of performances, the curtain came down on the show. Maya recalls shedding tears.
“It was really sad that day, but one of the mothers of another cast member always said ‘Don’t be sad that it’s over, be glad that it happened.’”
Maya has since returned to her regular life, going to school and hanging out with friends. But getting back to it all wasn’t easy.
“My grades, unfortunately, suffered a little from when I was in the show but I have since made it all up and things are going smoothly.”
Now that the show is over, one has to wonder: so what’s next? Will she be back on stage anytime soon?
“Hopefully,” she says in a one-word response. She says she would love to perform on Broadway, maybe in the upcoming “Matilda” or the revival of “Annie.” But one thing is certain: she will get back on stage.
Asked to describe the whole experience in a word, she called it “inspirational!”
And do the kids at school treat her differently now that she’s a star?
“Not really. I’m still Maya,” she says. “I just have one more story to tell.”
