As long as she can remember Evie Crothers has loved to sing. When she was just five years old she announced to her parents, “I’m going to be a rock star!” Evie is 15 years old from Chillicothe and is the daughter of Dr. Rob Crothers and the late Christie Crothers.

Evie began taking piano lessons and auditioning for musicals in the 3rd grade and started voice lessons when she was in the 6th grade. Her first part was in Aladdin Jr. with the Chillicothe Players. After her first show, she was hooked! Since then Evie has been in numerous musicals with the Chillicothe Players, the Peoria Players, The Nitsch Theater Arts, as well as plays at IVC High School where she attends.

Evie’s first voice coach was Steve Gokool from Peoria. After he relocated, she has since been taking voice lessons from Amanda Bach in Chillicothe. Asked what she likes best about being in musicals, she replied, “I love telling the stories and seeing them come to life onstage and also the emotions it brings to the audience.” She also says she makes lasting friendships with many of the cast members of each show. “I love everything about being in the shows; the auditioning, the practices, and the performances. It’s very time-consuming and sometimes hard to fit together my play schedules and my school work too. It usually takes three months of practice before the show opens. I go over my lines so many times it just comes out naturally onstage. If something unexpected happens onstage, you just keep going and roll with it.”

Evie saw on Facebook that the On Stage Collective from New York was holding auditions in Peoria. They were only picking 50 people nationwide for the show they were putting together to perform on the off-Broadway stage in NY. Only six people were chosen from the Peoria Area and Evie was one of them! Soon she will be sent her music and will have three months to study and rehearse at home. Then on June 23 she will board a plane and fly to New York with her godparents, Dan and Karyn Terpstra and their daughter Meri as her chaperons.

Evie will be practicing and performing at The Green Room 42 where the Broadway icons she looks up to will be practicing and performing too. Some of the artists that have performed on that stage are; Josh Groben, Tina Fey, Sara Bareilles, David Phelps, and over 5,000 others. The production will be a collection of songs from musicals and will be live-streamed on June 28th.

The On Stage Collective does not pay for any of her expenses for the trip, so the Crother’s family is setting up a Go Fund Me on Facebook and also holding a couple of fundraising events to pay for all her expenses, watch for them online.

Evie’s goal is to be a Broadway star someday. Right now she is on the path to achieve that goal. Her Father, brothers, and grandparents are so proud of her. Her mother Christie was especially proud of her daughter and was her biggest fan. Evie knows her mother is looking down on her smiling and helping her along her path to success.

Shoot for the stars, Evie, and always... Follow Your Dreams!