High-kicking in New York

Published 8:12 pm Wednesday, September 11, 2013

A Northern Shores Elementary School student has booked a second year performing with The Rockettes at New York’s Radio City Music Hall.

Elainey Bass, whose mom Cassie Bass helps her with her schoolwork online at their northern New Jersey base, was booked for the slot after recent auditions.

Elainey Bass

Elainey Bass

“It’s a full-tie thing,” Cassie Bass said. “Sometimes it’s five shows a day, close to the holidays.

Email newsletter signup

“It’s six days a week. She gets one day off — Monday.”

The 11-year-old, who learned the ropes with Norfolk’s Hurrah Players Theater Company, also played the role of Sarah in off-Broadway musical “Far From Heaven.”

It ran from May through mid-July after extra shows were added, Cassie Bass said.

Following the musical, Elainey successfully auditioned for a Capital One credit card commercial, appearing alongside Alec Baldwin.

The national commercial has been airing for a couple of weeks, and Elainey is one of only four children with a speaking part.

The elementary school student she plays asks Baldwin, playing a substitute teacher, “Uh, where’s Mrs. Davis?”

At the end of the commercial, she tells Baldwin, “You’re the world’s best teacher.”

“It was fun,” Elainey said. “Alec is really sweet.”

Elainey, who usually performs as a stage actor, said she felt comfortable in front of the camera. “For me, it felt like I was doing theater, just with a lower tone in my voice … and all the cameras.”

Filming took place during three eight-hour days. Two different scenes were shot, Cassie Bass said, meaning a second commercial featuring Elainey could be set for a future release.

“They had fun,” Cassie Bass said. “It was quite an experience. With me, the parents, we do more of the sitting.”

Recently, her mother said, Elainey also performed in an Internet production for preschoolers called “Mother Goose Playhouse,” singing songs, and was a voice actor for a new cartoon, “Super Wings.”
The Capital One commercial sparked a lot of calls, she added.

“When the commercial aired, that was really exciting for her.”

The commercial is online here.