Harlem’s famed Apollo Theater is becoming an extension of the Morristown music scene.
On Wednesday, seventh-grader Hanna Neil gave a solid performance, joining kids bands Boys Night Out and Art of Play on the list of local acts that have competed at the Apollo’s Amateur Night.
The Frelinghuysen Middle School student, a past finalist in Morristown’s Got Talent!, sang Clown by Emeli Sandé.
“I wasn’t nervous. I was happy with my performance,” Hanna said afterward. She competed against two other female singers and a male dancer from Paterson.
The crowd voted for a Japanese 14-year-old, who sang And I Am Telling You from Dreamgirls, to move forward in the $10,000 competition.
This actually was Hanna’s second appearance at the Apollo. She was called from the audience to sing a few lines last year, when Art of Play performed there.
In a nice gesture of support, members of Art of Play–we saw Domenico Randazzo, T.J. Coon and Ricky Webber–came to Wednesday’s show.
Hanna also got a good turnout from the Presbyterian Church in Morristown, including Pastor David Smazik, Associate Pastor Cindy Alloway and Music Director Matt Webb. Anne Dodd from Morris Arts cheered her on, too.
