Musical 'Maria' hopeful has deep N.B. roots
Elicia MacKenzie called Moncton home until she was six and still has plenty of family in the region
Fans of The Sound of Music have been eagerly watching the summer's latest reality series offering, How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?, to see which talented young Canadian will win the title role in a revival of the beloved musical being staged at the Princess of Wales Theatre in Toronto this fall.
Among the eight remaining finalists is one young woman who lists her hometown as Vancouver, but whose roots are straight from the Hub City.
Elicia MacKenzie, 23, was born in Moncton and lived here until she was about six before moving west.
But her very proud dad, Steven MacKenzie, as well as numerous aunts, uncles, and cousins still call New Brunswick home and have been cheering her on every step of the way.
"It's kind of funny turning on the TV set on Sunday nights and watching her," Steven MacKenzie says. "So far everything we've seen, she's done really well."
MacKenzie, who now lives in Apohaqui, just outside Sussex, travelled to Toronto to attend the very first live show of the series and is planning on heading up again in a week's time.
"Hopefully she's still in there. If we get enough people voting, she will be," he says.
MacKenzie is a service technician with Atlantic Lottery Corporation, which means he spends a lot of time on the road visiting different retailers to repair video lottery terminals and other ALC equipment.
The job has coming in handy for helping drum up support for Elicia as he has the chance to mention her involvement in the show to the many people he meets each day.
MacKenzie says it was "very moving" to watch his daughter perform live on a nationally broadcast program.
"We were on a backstage tour and a lot of people were coming up and getting her autograph," he says. "She finds it funny."
While the show will offer only the winner the chance at the plum role of Maria, MacKenzie says the contacts Elicia is making are invaluable, whether she wins or not.
"Like she said, just to get to meet Andrew Lloyd Webber and all his acquaintances, all his friends, it can't hurt anything," he says. "I think that business, that is what it is all about.
You have to have the talent, but after that it is all about connections."
MacKenzie says music has always been a big part of his family.
"I play guitar and sing myself, or I used to," he says, "and my whole family is like that -- they play the guitar, the piano."
He says his daughter has been heavily involved in the arts from a very young age, even attending a school for the performing arts in Surrey, B.C. from Grade 6 to 12.
How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria? airs Sunday and Monday evenings.
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