Caitlynne Medrek is pretty in pink. That’s fortunate since the CityPlace resident plays a young girl who turns pink in the children’s musical Pinkalicious. It’s now playing at the Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts through March 21. Drawn to her current production despite the uptown location because of her love for the colour pink, Medrek likes the impact theatre can have on young minds. 

 

“The best part about doing theatre for children is the fact you could end up changing their whole lives,” said Medrek. “The look in their eyes when you’re performing because they admire you and look up to you so much is so influential to them. It’s a really cool experience.” Medrek auditioned and was cast in her first paying job at the age of 10 in a major production the Wizard of Oz playing the part of Toto. “There was an ad in the paper for the Wizard of Oz and my mom asked me if I wanted to audition for the play and I said yes,” 20- year-old Medrek told The Bulletin. “I got cast and never turned back.”

 

Medrek particularly enjoys performing in comedies and has had some unintentional laughs. One night during a performance of the Sound of Music she danced and sang three scenes with her dress tucked in the back of her underwear. One time I was in the Sound of Music at Stage West in Calgary,” laughed Medrek. “I was playing one of the Von Trapp children and I came on stage with my dress tucked right into my underpants and did two to three musical numbers.” She was eventually saved by one of the other Von Trapp children when they pulled out her dress.

 

When Medrek is not in the theatre spot light she spends her off-hours working at Spot Coffee at City Place on Bremner Boulevard and doing voiceovers for animated cartoons such as the popular Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball GT. For information or tickets to Pinkalicious, or to arrange for a pink party, visit pinkaliciousthemusical.com/toronto.