Young stars shine in 'The Music Man'
by JESSICA L. FINCH Associate Editor

Christopher Lillis and Julia DiNoto recently starred in a production of The Music Man" at the Lancaster Opera House.

You might want to keep an eye, and an ear, on these two local performers.

Julia DiNoto, 9, and Christopher Lillis, 12, recently starred in "The Music Man," produced by Coop's Spotlight Productions at the Lancaster Opera House. And they were certainly in the spotlight.

Julia, a student at Heim Elementary, played the role of Amaryllis, a young girl who takes piano lessons from Marion Paroo, who eventually falls in love with scam artist Harold Hill. Amaryllis also has a crush on Winthrop, played by Christopher.

Julia admits she is a bit of a brat - Amaryllis, that is. In playing the role she made some great friends and improved her singing and acting skills.

"I love to sing, and then I started acting," Julia said.

Her first performance with Coop Productions was "South Pacific," and she said the experience was so enjoyable she returned for "The Music Man."

When asked what her reaction was to being cast as Amaryllis, Julia exclaimed, "Yeah!" with a huge smile. But the rehearsals were difficult, in addition to the many other activities the young singer is involved in.

"The Music Man" ran from Feb. 8 to 24, and Julia admitted she was sad during the last show, tearing up off stage.

Julia said she doesn't plan to stop with this latest production. Given a singing voice that has impressed many area musicians, Julia said she wants to continue to sing, act and dance.

She is currently a two-year member of Amherst BelCanto Choir, and takes private lessons with voice coach Tom Doyle.

"She is the youngest student he has ever had," JoAnn DiNoto, Julie's mom, said. "(Doyle) said he had never heard such a mature voice on a such a young child in 33 years."

Julia, the niece of a professional opera singer, started singing as a young child. DiNoto recalls a time when a woman was working at their home and heard Julia singing in her bed when she was supposed to be napping, and the woman exclaimed, "She has the voice of an angel."

Julia also composes, writing, "I Love You," one day on the school bus. She wrote the lyrics and melody.

While being interviewed for The Amherst Bee, Julia performed "I Love You" impromptu at a Tim Hortons. Her song and voice are at a very mature level, as Doyle has said.

Julia could be a "triple threat" because in addition to singing and acting, she is training at David DeMarie Dance Studio.

But she wasn't the only Amherst resident demanding attention on the Lancaster Opera House stage. Christopher Lillis as Winthrop nailed the part - lisp and all.

The brother of Marion, Winthrop forms a bond with Harold Hill and learns to come out of his shell, which was the result of a speaking impediment - his lisp.

"I thought it was kind of easy, you just stick your tongue out when you talk," he said of the lisp. "Some people thought I had something in my mouth."

For the role of Winthrop, Christopher also had to sing with a lisp, including, "Gary, Indiana."

He played the same role in St. Joseph Collegiate Institute's production of the show, having to travel a lot for rehearsals. His brother, a student at St. Joe's, said the school was looking for younger actors to fill in the roles, so Christopher was a natural for the part.

St. Joe's held its productions this past weekend.

Christopher said handling both productions, in addition to his other activities, was a challenge.

"He is very motivated," his mother, Kathy Lillis, said.

Christopher is also an honor student and plays for Amherst Youth Hockey. Finding a balance and learning sacrifice has been the most challenging part of his busy schedule.

Because of the show dates, Christopher wasn't able to compete with his team, the Black Sabres, in most of their games. He has returned to the ice now that rehearsals have stopped.

Back on stage, Christopher has been excelling. A seventh-grader at St. Gregory the Great, he performed in "Godspell Jr." and "Adventures of a Comic Book Artist." He also performed with the Theatre of Youth's "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever." The theatre is located in Allentown in downtown Buffalo.

His family had season tickets for the theatre for years before he and his sister, Alexandra, were cast in the holiday show.

"I really enjoy the singing part (of a performance). I don't really get that nervous," he said.

Christopher also takes voice lessons with Doyle.

He said he plans to continue to audition for performances around Western New York.