Gulotta flies to NYC for Broadway audition: Top 3 #thesearchforroxie finalist has local ties
Published 12:00 am Saturday, November 23, 2019
- Katelyn Gulotta
NEW YORK — Will the name on everyone’s lips be “Katie” during an upcoming Broadway debut? Katelyn Gulotta, daughter of Will and Maria Stelly of Reserve and Shannon and Joe Demmick of New Iberia, was recently named a Top 3 finalist in Broadway.com’s search for the next Roxie Hart in Chicago the Musical.
As one of the top vote getters in the nationwide search, Gulotta, 26, was flown out to New York City this week for a once-in-a-lifetime audition. She met up with fellow Top 3 finalists Emma Pittman and Khalifa White for a “Roxie boot camp” and got one-on-one tips from Chicago the Musical’s creative team.
It was Gulotta’s first time visiting New York, and the results of her big audition were still a secret as of press time Friday. The official announcement will soon be released on Broadway.com.
Katelyn Gulotta, right, is one of three finalists in the national search for the next Roxie Hart in Chicago the Musical. She is pictured with fellow finalists Khalifa White and Emma Pittman.
Gulotta found out she was a Top 10 finalist for the role late last month when she was sitting outside with her husband and her infant daughter. She recounted the experience with Broadway Veteran Paige Davis, who previously starred in Chicago.
“I was going through emails from all these car salesmen, swipe, swipe, scroll, scroll, when I noticed one of the subject lines said something about Roxie,” Gulotta recalled. “I completely stopped in my tracks. I was kind of shaken. I opened it and I was tearing up.”
Davis then surprised Gulotta with the news that she had made Top 3, a testament to the friends, family, fans and community supporters who voted for her to reach the top.
Gulotta has had a love for performing for others since she was a little girl. While she currently resides in New Iberia, she made her first debut on stage at St. John Theatre in Reserve at 8 years old in a production of The Three Little Pigs. As her love for the stage grew, so did her roles and her territory.
From New Iberia to New Orleans, she appeared on stage as Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, Belle in Beauty and the Beast, Reno Sweeny in Anything Goes, Elle Woods in Legally Blonde, and Roxie in Chicago.
She also starred as Grace in River Parish Community Theatre’s box office hit “Annie” in 2017. She currently performs as a Victory Belle at the World War II Museum in New Orleans, and she has brought the patriotic performance to the residents of the Southeast Louisiana Veteran’s Home in Reserve.
In spring 2019, she performed at a ceremony that named a wind of the Southeast Veteran’s Home in honor of her late step grandfather Emile Hotard. Her father, Will Stelly, is a commander in the St. John Parish Sheriff’s Office.
While reviewing Gulotta’s video package, Chicago casting directors Duncan Stewart and Benton Whitley and longtime Roxie Hart Charlotte D’Amboise said she came across as an honest performer with a story to tell.
For more information and to view videos in #thesearchforroxie, visit chicagothemusical.com/roxiecasting.
