Carmel senior a sure bet for Broadway

Standing on the hood of a 1930s Rolls-Royce Phantom, Sean Ronayne began to sing and dance. Smiling and clapping, the audience loved it.

Ronayne played the part of Bobby Child during the recent spring musical "Crazy For You" at Carmel Catholic High School. The high school senior showed off his skills as he tap-danced and sang songs from the 1930s Gershwin musical comedy. Ronayne has held the lead in every musical for the last three years at the school, including "West Side Story" and "Kiss Me Kate."

Ronayne has not only been entertaining audiences at Carmel, but he's also gained accolades at the 2009 Illinois High School Theatre Festival. He played the lead in the Broadway hit "Hairspray."

"It was really exciting," Ronayne said. "We were actually only the second amateur group to get the rights to do the show. I was in the All-State show last year, and it was way above and beyond what I could have expected."

This is the second consecutive year Ronayne won a role in the All-State show, with a part in the musical "Parade" in 2008.

Ronayne was chosen for the coveted role after competing against hundreds of student actors from across the state. He was opposite junior Demi Zaino of Lake Zurich High School, who played the part of Tracy. The play was performed at the festival at the University of Illinois in early January.

"Winning the lead role in this play is like a football player being named all-state quarterback," explained Ann Marie Higgins, public relations coordinator for Carmel's drama department.

The Illinois High School Theatre Festival claims to be the largest high school theater festival in the world. The three-day event draws more than 3,000 students participating in more than 150 workshops and 25 high school productions. The venue alternates between the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Illinois State University.

Carmel theater director Denise Sebastiano had only praise for Ronayne.

"He can dance, sing and act in a guy that's 6 feet tall," Sebastiano said. "It's great to have a kid get the lead and then go in the show two years in a row. It's pretty cool."

Next year, Ronayne is headed to Elon University in North Carolina. The school is well known for the excellence of its theater program. After college, he hopes to go to New York and perform on Broadway.