Matilda to Maturing with Analise Scarpaci
At 25, Analise Scarpaci spends her days helping the next generation of child actors avoid the pitfalls she knows all too well. But a decade ago, she was living her Broadway dream—juggling algebra tests and curtain calls.
Scarpaci’s love of performing blossomed while watching Shirley Temple videos at 5 years old.
At the time, she said, “Mom, I want to take acting classes. Do they have that?”
She began to take classes at an acting school in her hometown of Staten Island. Although she was following her passion, it wasn’t until Scarpaci saw Billy Elliot at age nine that she realized a career on Broadway was achievable in the near future.
She said, “I didn't realize that you could do ballet and be in a musical at the same time, and the fact that kids my age were currently up there … I just didn't grasp the concept that I could actually be on Broadway.”
Analise Scarpaci headshot c. 2012. (Credit: Playbill)
As a child, there’s not much you can do without permission. So, what does one do in this situation? If you’re Scarpaci, you immediately find an agent inside the playbill and mail her your resume and amateur headshots. Scarpaci received a call from that agent, booked an appointment, and was signed as her client the same day.
Scarpaci said, “The next day, I had my very first audition for Billy Elliot, and I had a panic attack in the room because I didn't know how to tap dance … Three years later, I was on Broadway.”
Scarpaci performing in A Christmas Story, The Musical in 2012 (Courtesy: Analise Scarpaci).
Her Broadway debut came during a new golden age for child stars – one Scarpaci remembers fondly.
Scarpaci made her Broadway debut in A Christmas Story, The Musical on December 18, 2012. The cast included 15 child actors, which is unusual for current Broadway shows. However, it was not the only show with a significant number of children in the cast.
Scarpaci said, “We were a part of a time that was kind of revolutionary for children in theater, because you had Billy Elliot with like a million children, Mary Poppins with six kids, then you had Kinky Boots with four, A Christmas Story with 15, Annie with 10 … Matilda had 16 kids.”
Many child actors during this brief period created friendships amongst their casts and across productions that created long-lasting memories.
Scarpaci said, “...[W]e would all hang out in the park together in the spring and summer and in between shows on Saturdays. If you were at the 43rd St. park on a Saturday, every child there was in a Broadway show.”
Scarpaci in rehearsal for Matilda c. 2015 (Courtesy: Analise Scarpaci).
She enjoyed her time amongst her castmates but felt responsible for being a role model for them. Scarpaci was one of the oldest among her fellow child stars; she was attending high school while performing as a swing in Matilda.
She said, “I got to live my Hannah Montana life!”
However, her Hannah Montana double life wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows.
Scarpaci had been diagnosed with Crohn’s disease at the start of her career. She made a vow that she would never let her diagnosis and treatments interfere with her career. Managing chronic illness as a performer is difficult, but for Scarpaci, it proved advantageous.
She said, “Honestly, having Crohn's saved my career, because everybody at Matilda was having a heart attack that I was turning 14. Then I was like, ‘Hey, people, I have Crohn's. I'm not growing,’ and it saved my ass. I was there for two years, but I was still under the height requirement. That's literally why I work. It has nothing to do with anything else. It's because I'm short and I was really cute.”
From left to right: Scarpaci’s debut as Hortensia in Matilda on Broadway (2013), Scarpaci’s last performance as Hortensia in Matilda on Broadway (2015), and Scarpaci’s first performance as Hortensia on the Matilda National Tour (2016). (Courtesy: Analise Scarpaci)
After making a career out of playing children and teens, Scarpaci has restricted the age of the characters she’ll play.
“I've auditioned for multiple things in recent months. For Lempicka, I was in final callbacks for the daughter, who was 10, and I was 24. They hired a 15-year-old, as they should … After that, I said I don't want to go in for anything under the age of 16 unless it's super important that I can't pass up.”
From left to right: Avery Sell as Natalie Hillard, Analise Scarpaci as Lydia Hillard, Jake Ryan Flynn as Christopher Hillard, and Rob McClure as Mrs. Doubtfire on Good Morning America (2021).(Courtesy: Analise Scarpaci)
Before this self-imposed age restriction, Scarpaci’s most recent Broadway role was that of 14-year-old Lydia Hillard in the Broadway adaptation of Mrs. Doubtfire.
The show’s closing and her college graduation sparked the addition of a new side hustle. In making the slow transition out of playing children, Scarpaci began coaching them.
Coachings with Analise began in late 2022, offering private coaching in acting, singing, and dancing for children and teens. Her students have appeared in national tours, community theatre, short films, commercials, and multiple voiceover projects. Her background as a child on Broadway differentiates her from other coaches.
“I see them because I was them. I like to give that perspective to them and also to assure them that it's okay to grow up.
Her advice?
“Eat chicken. You'll be fine.”
A subtle nod at the immense pressure for child stars to stay small.
Professionally, playing children kept her working. Personally, it kept her frozen in time. When strangers assume she’s just like the characters she played, she’s reminded how far reality diverges from her résumé.
Scarpaci said, “I think it was proof with Empire Records, like, if you saw any of the pictures of what I looked like during that show with a literal bleach blonde wig, buzz cut… when I was doing that audition, I never felt more like myself with someone who was so unlike me on the outside.”
Scarpaci as Debra in the world premiere of Empire Records, The Musical (2024).(Courtesy: Analise Scarpaci)
As a former child actor, she emphasizes the importance of leaving space to grow beyond the roles you play — and making time to discover who you truly are outside of them.
Scarpaci said, “I call it my Miley Cyrus/Britney Spears era.”
This discovery period has led her to realize her career aspirations. In 2021, Scarpaci released her album Pathetic Little Dreamer. In 2024, she released her single Flashbacks. Currently, she is playing the role of Persephone in Mythic at the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park.
Scarpaci performing in her concert “Where I Belong” (2025). (Courtesy: Analise Scarpaci/Credit: Rebecca J Michelson)
She can and will do it all, but what motivates her to venture outside of theatre?
“I've always said Sara Bareilles is like my lifeline and my goal,” Scarpaci said. “I want to do what she does. I want to write. I want to act. I want to be on TV. I want to create and get nominated for a Tony Award one day.”
In proper Sara Bareilles form, Scarpaci has more to say, more to sing, and more to create. Whether coaching young performers, guest-starring on primetime TV, or writing her next song, she’s not chasing the spotlight — she’s building one that fits.
And if her Hannah Montana life taught her anything, it’s this: you can grow up without growing out of your dreams.
