Sonnie Betts makes it back to the main stage

Sonnie Betts, a 9-year-old fourth-grade student at East Moriches, was cast as Grace Smythe and served as the understudy for Tiny Tim in Gateway’s “A Christmas Carol,” at the Patchogue Theatre for the Performing Arts. The show ran from Dec. 16 to 18.

When asked about her character, she said, “Her mom died and her dad can’t pay for the funeral expenses and are having a very hard time, going through a lot, with Scrooge not letting them get more time to pay.”

The role marks the third that Betts’s plays with a mother who has died. Her real mother, Gerilyn, however, is alive and well, and attended all 15 shows.

As for memorizing her lines, Betts said, that’s the easy part. The hard part is managing schoolwork and show work, as this was her first show while in school.

“But I still love it, and it’s worth it to get to go on stage,” she said.

She was most excited to play alongside the Gateway’s director of development and public relations, Scot Allan, who played her dad in the show.

“I have known Sonnie Betts since she appeared in ‘The Sound of Music’ as Gretl at age 5. She stole the show every night with her charm, poise, and complete devotion to the show,” Allan said of the young actress. “She is a pro, and I have enjoyed watching her career grow as a young actor. Her mom, Gerylin, saw something early on and enrolled her in The Gateway School of Performing Arts. She has now, at such a young age, worked and met some of the greats like Julie Andrews, and I’m honored to share the stage with her every night as her father in our production of ‘A Christmas Carol.’”

“I just love being with the adults,” she said. “It’s just really fun.”

Betts discovered her love for acting at the age of 4, and by the age of 6, she made her main stage debut at The Gateway Playhouse as Gretl in “The Sound of Music.” Throughout her young career, Betts has performed in a wide variety of shows at both the Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center and The Gateway Playhouse, and most recently, this summer, appeared in Bay Street Theater’s “Ragtime.”

The actress has two younger brothers and parents who are in the gardening and technology fields. She is the only actress of the family. When asked about her daughter’s early acting career, Gerilyn, said she believes it’s her stamina that gets her roles.