INPERSON
ALL IN THE
FAMILY
THE PARSONS
FAMILY TAKES A
MULTIGENERATIONAL
APPROACH
TO MUSICAL
THEATER.
BY PAUL GLASSER
A
fter singing together in “Annie,” the Parsons family would
like to perform next in “The Sound of Music.”
“It would be a perfect fit for us as we often joke that we
could be just like the Von Trapps, performing together around
town,” says Tracey Parsons. “But instead, we call ourselves the
Von Parsons.”
In high school, Tracey played Maria in a production of “The
Sound of Music” at Serra Catholic. She hopes she’ll have a chance
to perform alongside her daughters in the same musical in the
future.
They all performed in “Annie” at the Palisade Playhouse earlier
this year. Rachael, a 7th grade student at Pleasant Hills Middle
School, took the title role, while her sisters Nicole and Danielle
filled the roles of other orphans; Tessie and Molly, respectively.
Nicole and Danielle are both students at Gill Hall Elementary.
Tracey’s husband, Craig, also participated as a member of the
stage crew.
Tracey has a special place in her heart for “Annie” because she
also played the title role when she was in middle school.
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“To come back to it, after all these years, with one daughter
playing Annie and the other two as orphans was a beautiful
experience,” she explains. “It was very emotional and felt as
though life was coming full circle in so many ways.”
It was a unique experience that left its mark on the whole
family, as well as the audience.
“Something very special was happening on stage,” Tracey
recalls. “It was a moment that captured the essence of family
and the beauty of sharing a common passion together that spans
generations. We were really singing from the heart on stage.”
Rachael says that performing with her mom was a dream
come true. Nicole adds that the family still sings “It’s the Hard-
Knock Life” together at home. She says she felt brave when she
performed in front of so many people.
Matt Belliston, who directed the musical and co-owns the
Palisade with his wife, Michelle, said he thought directing
an entire family would have been more difficult, and was
surprised at how the Parsons family used their ties to bolster each
other’s roles.