Broadway Date for Derry's Úna

Úna Morrisson, from Hazelbank, will travel to New York on May 1 where she’ll perform a solo piece as part of the musical, ‘Daddy Long Legs’. Local people were asked to lend their support to Úna by voting online over a one week period.

“I found out last Thursday and I couldn’t believe it. I really want to say a big thank you to everyone here who took the time to vote for me, the support has been amazing,” said Úna. “People voted so much that I was told by the organiser that I had so many votes there was no way anybody could’ve caught up with me.”

Úna, who is studying Performing Arts at the North West Regional College, found out she’d won the competition last Thursday but had to keep the news to herself for a full day before telling anyone because of competition rules.

“That was the hardest part of all!” she laughs.

A past pupil of the Foyle School of Speech and Drama, Úna has a passion for musical theatre and has appeared on stage in Derry several times.

She was the only Irish candidate in the ‘Give A Girl Her Chance’ competition, and says she owes her success in part to her teachers who helped her prepare for the audition video.

“My singing teacher, Laura Sheerin and piano teacher, Kathryn O’Callaghan helped me a lot with the preparation for the competition so I want to say a big thank you to them,” she says.

When she arrives in the U.S, Una will have a voice session with the Broadway actress who plays the lead part in the show and will then perform a solo version of ‘The Secret of Happiness’ in front of American audiences.