PANTO star Dean Park said today that Glasgow has discovered a new theatre star.
PANTO star Dean Park said today that Glasgow has discovered a new theatre star.
Kelly-Anne Reilly, 20, has landed the dream role of Dorothy in the panto The Wizard of Never Woz, starring alongside Dean and River City's Stephen Purden.
And Dean said Clydebank-born Kelly-Anne has the talent to go all the way in the business.
"She's fantastic," he said. "Kelly-Anne has a fabulous voice and she can act as well. Not only will she make a great Dorothy, I think she has the talent to become a big success in musical theatre.
Kelly-Anne was chosen after the Pavilion and the Evening Times launched a series of X Factor-style auditions to find a new panto star.
Hundreds of hopefuls applied, 30 were auditioned, then a shortlist of three was drawn up.
The Evening Times produced an online video of the girls auditioning and more than 250 readers voted for their favourite.
Today, Kelly-Anne, a fourth year Politics student at Glasgow University, is still delighted she won the role.
She said: "My family are so happy for me. After all these years working in amateur productions this really is fantastic."
Pavilion boss Iain Gordon said the idea of having open auditions in the city to find a panto star has proved to be an enormous success.
He said: "The whole X Factor phenomenon has grabbed the nation. We've brought a part of that to Glasgow.
"And the idea has excited the city. But apart from that, we've also been able to have a real look to discover what sort of talent is out there."
 KELLY-ANNE REILLY, 20, from Clydebank, is a Politics student at Glasgow University."I joined Clydebank Musical Society at the age of 11 and I am still a member," she says. "Most of my training was at the Lynne Millar Academy of Theatre Arts. I love performing. If I were to win this competition I'd take a year out from studying." | ||||
