Hickory – Winthrop University musical theatre major Danielle Banks will be playing the role of Vanessa Nadal, the shampoo girl who dreams of leaving the neighborhood and her alcoholic mother in IN THE HEIGHTS. Performances of this hit Broadway musical will run June 7-28 in the Jeffers Theatre at the Hickory Community Theatre.

Banks is in her senior year at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, South Carolina, where she is the President of the “Improv This” performance organization. Her performance credits at Winthrop include ROSSUM’S UNIVERSAL ROBOTS, THE COURAGE TO RIGHT WOMEN’S WRONGS, and NOISES OFF. She is thrilled to be playing the role of Vanessa and becoming part of the next chapter in history of HCT.

Banks has been pursuing acting since her freshman year of high school. She had heard of a theater club at her middle school that piqued her interest.

“One of my favorite memories is the first time I was on stage,” she recalled. “I was in a musical called BYE BYE BIRDIE. I was feature ensemble and I was nervous because I’d never acted on stage before. I was backstage and I hear my cue and the lights go on and I run out there and I feel this wave of all the anxiety I had built up just leave my body. I felt probably the most endorphins I had felt in a long time.”

Performances of IN THE HEIGHTS will be June 7-29, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30pm, Sundays at 2:30pm and Thursday, May 16 at 7:30pm in the Jeffers Theatre. Tickets are $16 for adults and $10 for students. Tickets may be purchased online at hickorytheatre.org or by phone at 828-328-2283.

IN THE HEIGHTS is rated PG-13, with mild profanity and adult situations.

The Hickory Community Theatre’s 75th anniversary season is sponsored by A Cleaner World, Green Park Dentistry, Paramount Automotive and Sunbelt Xpress. The Hickory Community Theatre is a funded affiliate of the United Arts Council of Catawba County. The Theatre also receives organizational support funding from the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

PHOTO: Danielle Banks plays Vanessa Nadal in the Hickory Community Theatre’s upcoming production of IN THE HEIGHTS. Performances will run June 7 through 29 in the Jeffers Theatre. Tickets are $16 for adults and $10 for youth and students. Photo by Jordan Spears.