A future star, nurtured by Broadway Bound

Shaniqua Bodary is a star in the making, and she keeps landing the lead stage roles to prove it.

Since joining Broadway Bound Children's Theatre a year ago, the 17-year-old has been cast as Effie in "Dreamgirls" — the role that won Jennifer Hudson an Oscar and a Golden Globe — and in an upcoming production of "Grease" she plays Rizzo, a role that helped kick off Stockard Channing's career."I love singing and performing, because it's a way of relieving a lot, and it's my way of expression," said Bodary, a junior at Rainier Beach High School. "That's how I get through things."

Singing helps Bodary to deal with her diabetes and stress, added her older sister Dee Dee Hall.

"Shaniqua sings 24/7," said Hall, 23. "Her singing is a blessing."

Bodary sings lullabies to Hall's daughter, J'Lecia, to help her sleep. And, she is already teaching the 1-year-old how to sing, too.

Bodary is one of thousands that the Seattle-based Broadway Bound has served. More than 1,500 a year — nearly 20,000 children since 1997 — go through the program, with camps, musicals, dramas and dinner theaters, performing all around the area.

Executive artistic director Jimmy Nixon joked about Broadway Bound's long-standing legacy in the theater community. "These kids now have babies," he said of his earliest students.

Nixon began Broadway Bound 11 years ago when he couldn't find another children's theater training program for his son Xan and daughter Ryah Nicole Nixon. (Ryah is currently playing Amneris in the Village Theatre's production of "Aida.")

And the demand for training keeps going up, about 40 percent annually, said Nixon. To meet this need, Broadway Bound doesn't use only one cast per show, but four to five, and sometimes as many as seven casts per show.

This way, more stars like Bodary can earn their spotlight.

"I have a gift, and I'm going to use it," said Bodary, who has been singing since age 3. Broadway Bound "sees that in me, and I finally see that in myself."

Marian Liu: 206-464-3825 or mliu@seattletimes.com