Monica Tipperreiter, playing Lily, dances on stage with Haggai Simon, who plays Archibald Craven, during a special performance of the musical "The Secret Garden" Friday night at Mundelein High School. Monica, a senior, had been set to play the role this past spring, but she was unable to after she was diagnosed with a brain tumor.
Mark Welsh/mwelsh@dailyherald.com
Cast and audience members shared an emotional performance of "The Secret Garden" Friday night at Mundelein High School.
Senior Monica Tipperreiter debuted in one of the play's lead roles, which she had been meant to play in the high school musical this past spring.
She had her heart set on the role, but after seven months of pursuing what she regarded as the opportunity of a young lifetime, she learned a week before opening night that she had a brain tumor and was whisked into surgery.
The tumor proved benign. So, on Friday, the play's cast restaged the production with Monica in her rightful role as Lily.
As Lily, a ghost, Monica performed the soaring solos that she'd been practicing with a voice coach before her hospitalization.
Proceeds from Friday's show will be shared between the Mundelein High School theater department and the Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital in Chicago.
Mundelein teen gets second chance at role of a lifetime
Monica Tipperreiter, playing Lily, stands backstage just before she finally gets to take the stage in the musical "The Secret Garden" Friday night at Mundelein High School. Monica, a senior, had been cast as Lily in the school musical this past spring, but she was diagnosed with a brain tumor.
Mark Welsh/mwelsh@dailyherald.com
Mundelein High School senior Monica Tipperreiter gets a hug from her vocal coach Cory Thompson before the musical "The Secret Garden." She played a ghost named Lily in the production, which had been Mundelein's musical this past spring. However, Monica was diagnosed with a brain tumor and had to miss the initial musical.
Mark Welsh/mwelsh@dailyherald.com
Monica Tipperreiter, who played Lily in "The Secret Garden," was showed with flowers by friends and family after her performance Friday night at Mundelein High School.
Mark Welsh/mwelsh@dailyherald.com
Monica Tipperreiter, center, takes a bow with her fellow actors after starring in the musical "The Secret Garden" Friday night at Mundelein High School.
Mark Welsh/mwelsh@dailyherald.com