Way to Go: Ava Della Pietra, Stony Brook
Ava Della Pietra, 9, a fourth-grader at W.S. Mount Elementary School in Stony Brook, is in the midst of a six-city national tour of Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas,” a musical based on the 1954 film.
Ava Della Pietra may only be 9, but she is no stranger to the stage and footlights.
The fourth-grader at W.S. Mount Elementary School in Stony Brook is in the midst of a six-city national tour of Irving Berlin's "White Christmas," a musical based on the 1954 film.
Ava's achievement follows a 27-city national tour last year for the 25th anniversary of "Les Miserables," in which she played Little Cosette and Young Éponine.
"Ever since I was 3 years old, I knew I wanted to be on stage," Ava said. Of her love of stage performance, she said: "I like the idea of making everyone in the audience happy."
In "White Christmas," Ava is playing the role of Susan Waverly, who is the general's daughter. She is being tutored by a wrangler on tour.
The show, which kicked off last week and ends in January, includes stops in Boston, Cleveland, Minneapolis, Pittsburgh, Peoria, Illinois, and New Haven, Connecticut. The tour is coordinated by New Jersey-based Work Light Productions.
Locally, Ava has performed with the Performing Arts Studio of New York in Port Jefferson and Productions Over the Rainbow in Holbrook. She was featured earlier this year at the World Science Festival Gala in Manhattan.
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