Neillea Dee
There’s an old saying: Don’t get mad, get even.
That’s exactly what Neillea Dee decided when she discovered that her older brother Malachi and his pal Glenn Terry were trying out for Morristown Onstage as a duo.
“I was mad at them for not including me,” said Neillea, 28. “So I told them I was going to beat them!”
The showdown comes on Feb. 26, 2020, at the Mayo Performing Arts Center. Fifteen top amateur acts from Greater Morristown will vie for cash and glory in a benefit for programs in the Morris School District.
Neillea, a Morristown resident who is a chef at the Balthazar Bakery in Englewood, will play guitar and sing an original love song, Lift You Up. Her brother also will perform an original composition.
She cites Malachi and their father Bobby, who plays several instruments, as her inspirations.
“He can listen to me play the same song 700 times and not get bored,” Neillea said of her dad.
She admires her brother’s stage presence– a reversal of their childhood roles, when she was the extrovert.
The siblings insist they will be rooting for each other.
“She listens to me, and I listen to her…it’s very much a healthy competition,” Malachi said. “I’ve told her to breathe, and relax. She does great when she tries to execute her own thing.”
Regardless of who prevails at Morristown Onstage, Neillea, a graduate of the New England Culinary Institute, said she is grateful for a musical escape from cooking. She appreciates the simmering rivalry with her bro and his bud, as well.
“Of course,” she said, ” I would love it if they would win.”
Produced by the nonprofit Morris Educational Foundation, Morristown Onstage is open to amateurs who live, work or study in Morristown, Morris Township or Morris Plains, and to alumni of Morristown High School. From more than 60 acts that auditioned, 15 were chosen to compete on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2020. Show business pros will award $1,000 to the top youth and adult performers, and the audience favorite will take home $500. Tickets go on sale Jan. 29. Proceeds benefit Morris School District programs.
