"Presenting, in person, Baby June!"

Vivian Holt, 10, clearly remembers the call she got from her mother telling her she not only got a part in "Gypsy," but that she was cast as Baby June.

"I started running around the house screaming!" she said.

A Joplin resident, Vivian was cast in Joplin Little Theatre's production of "Gypsy" at age 6.

"I was one of Uncle Jocko's kids in the Kiddie Show at the very beginning of the play," she said. "We were just on stage for a few minutes then there was a lot of waiting in a trailer on the parking lot until the curtain call."

Vivian had her sights set on a larger role with this production; it would mean driving to Pittsburg from Joplin every night for several weeks for rehearsals and the performances, and she didn't want to do it for a bit part.

It worked out in her favor that she was cast this time as the younger version of Cassie Hurt-McLarty (Dainty June), an experienced teen performer with similar coloring as Vivian.

"I didn't get to do much else this summer because of this, but I'm really glad I did it," she said. "I want to grow up and be a singer or movie star."

She belts out a solo number, "Let Me Entertain You," while dancing, and has a fast costume change of about 20 seconds, but handles it like a pro. Vivian attends the Briley Performing Arts Center in Joplin.

She credits her mother, Karen, who Vivian says is nothing like the pushy stage mother Mama Rose, for driving her back and forth each night, her grandmother for taking care of her during the day while her mom works, and her dad for enduring not getting to see much of her in recent weeks.

Don't miss Vivian on stage as Baby June in Gypsy July 28-31; tickets are on sale now at www.memorialauditorium.org and at the box office at 503 N. Pine, 620-231-7827.
The real-life Gypsy Rose Lee in 1956.