Maplewood’s own Alexandra Pease (Columbia High School, '14) will sing and dance in the opening number for this year’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, alongside 140 other students from Stagedoor Manor, an intensive musical theater camp located in Loch Sheldrake, N.Y.

Pease also participated with Stagedoor Manor in last year's Macy's Parade. Her brother Tyler appeared with Stagedoor in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parades in 2010 and 2009.

Following the opening, the students will make their way to the top of the parade route and march the entire length of the parade, escorting Santa Claus into Herald Square for the national telecast’s finale.

The parade airs nationally on NBC-TV to an estimated 50 million viewers. The broadcast this year is from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. (EST) on Thursday, November 24.

Pease's appearances in the Macy's Parade are not a foregone conclusion due to her participation in Stagedoor: More than 400 Stagedoor Manor students apply for the opportunity each year. This year’s participants represent 27 states, as well as Canada, Jamaica, Sweden and Saudi Arabia.

Participants will gather for the first time in New York City three days before the Parade, and will learn the routine in a twenty-four hour rehearsal period, according to a release sent by Stagedoor Manor.

Stagedoor Manor boasts such alumni as Zach Braff, Natalie Portman and Robert Downey Jr. For the 2012 summer camp, each 3-week session costs $5,395. No scholarships are available through Stagedoor.

For more information on the Macy’s Parade, visit
www.macys.com/parade or call the Parade hotline at (212) 494-4495.