Wannabe Wendys Audition at Paper Mill

Laurie Veldheer knew she wanted to be in musical theater from the time she was a little girl. The Penn State Senior, majoring in musical theater, started dancing at 2 years old.

"I was really loud, and loved to sing," she said.

When she was 9, the Grand Rapids, Mich. native attended an open auditon for "The King and I." "That was it for me, I loved it."

Veldheer, who was an ensemble cast member in the touring company of "Hairspray," was one of the hopefuls at the Paper Mill Playhouse on Monday audtioning for the role of Wendy in the upcoming production of "Peter Pan."

Locals also auditoned for parts as one of the other Darling children and the Lost Boys. "Peter Pan" opens June 2 as the final production of the 2009-10 season.

The hopefuls auditioned for Alison Franck, Paper Mill casting director; Mark Hobee, Paper Mill artistic director; and Patrick Parker, Paper Mill associate artistic director, singing 16 bars of their chosen piece of music, played by accompanist Meg Zervoulis.