11-Yr. Old Broadway Actress Shannon Tavarez Passes Away
Shannon Tavarez was a multi-talented young singer/dancer/performer who recently played the Young Nala in “The Lion King” on Broadway. According to Broadway World and People.com, she was battling acute myeloid leukemia. Shannon was only 11 years old and had recently received an umbilical-cord transplant after a bone marrow match could not be found.
She attended Harlem School of the Arts and won her role through an audition at the Apollo Theater.
Read more about this short, but remarkable life:
Her first role was in the highly acclaimed, independent film “Nothing But a Man,” starring alongside fellow actor Ivan Dixon –an actor later known for his work on television’s “Hogan’s Heroes.” Ms. Lincoln’s understated portrayal of a privileged Black, middle-classed school teacher in a rural, country town who falls for an itinerant migrant worker with big dreams propelled her to other roles, including the lead role in “For the Love of Ivy,” co-starring Sidney Poitier. She continued acting until she fell in love with Bebop pioneer and jazz drummer and activist Max Roach, in the late-1950′s. They soon married, and her career was changed to one of activism and jazz.
They divorced in 1970, but Ms. Lincoln continued her music career, influencing other musicians and creating music that was played well into her career. She was also introduced to a new generation of admirers through a short monologue in Les Nubians song “Makeda” and had songs featured in films such as “Drugstore Cowboy.”
