{"id":487296,"date":"2026-01-02T14:49:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-02T14:49:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/487296\/"},"modified":"2026-01-02T14:49:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-02T14:49:09","slug":"addie-morales-januarys-fort-worthian-spotlight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/487296\/","title":{"rendered":"Addie Morales \u2014 January\u2019s Fort Worthian Spotlight"},"content":{"rendered":"

In November, Addie Morales slipped back to her adopted hometown to fill the iconic dome at Casa Ma\u00f1ana with her angelic soprano, delivering Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim\u2019s celebrated show tunes from \u201cWest Side Story.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

She was taking on the role of Maria, the story\u2019s luminous leading lady.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Little did I know that before me, as I watched her onstage, was a gifted performer who literally represented that unfurled rosebud revealing color that no one \u2014 except perhaps her parents \u2014 knew was waiting inside.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI went to a camp at Casa when I was 11,\u201d Morales says. \u201cI was forced [by her parents] to do it. I was incredibly shy as a child. I didn\u2019t want to be onstage. I cried when I had to audition. I got a call back, and I cried because I was like, \u2018I have to sing again!?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

It was \u201cSeussical,\u201d she remembers, she says, like it was yesterday.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we got into it, I fell in love. It totally changed my life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Morales, 28, today is a professional actor \u2014 a member of the Actor\u2019s Equity Union \u2014 based in New York carving out a career in the uber-competitive realm of stage acting. She has enjoyed two national tours of \u201cLes Mis\u00e9rables\u201d (Cosette) and \u201cAusten\u2019s Pride\u201d (Jane Bennet).<\/p>\n

She is also a newlywed. She and fellow performer Jordan Arredondo tied the knot in August.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Her credits in regional productions include \u201cAmerican Mariachi,\u201d \u201cIn the Heights,\u201d \u201cEvita,\u201d \u201cThe Sound of Music,\u201d \u201cSteel Magnolias,\u201d \u201cTick, Tick \u2026 Boom!,\u201d \u201cThe Buddy Holly Story,\u201d and, yes, \u201cWest Side Story.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2019West Side Story\u2019 is one of my first professional roles,\u201d she says of portraying Maria. \u201cAnd it was hard. That is a journey. You\u2019re taking from a girl to a woman. And the first time I played that role, I was 19. I had the girl part down. The woman part was hard. So, it was a formative role, and I think one of the best formative roles to have to teach you everything that you need to be a leading lady.\u201d<\/p>\n

She eventually enrolled in the Fort Worth Academy of Fine Arts.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like by middle school I wanted to move to New York,\u201d she says. \u201cI wanted to be a performer, and I was lucky enough to have parents to support that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Just two short years or so after being \u201cmortified\u201d by the thought of an audition.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Morales is the fourth of five siblings born in New Orleans. The family was forced to relocate in 2005 after Katrina\u2019s very unwelcome visit. The Morales family settled in Arlington.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything was gone and, so, it was like you stay and rebuild or you moved and started over. We just started over.\u201d<\/p>\n

Morales spent her first year of college at TCU before transferring to Baldwin Wallace University in Ohio, renowned for its conservatory of music.<\/p>\n

\u201cMusic is my first love,\u201d Morales says. \u201cThe voice is my first instrument.\u201d<\/p>\n

She stayed two years in Ohio before going off to work to New York in 2018. \u201cI\u2019ve been working ever since.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her transition to the Big Apple was smooth because of the acting community in Fort Worth and Dallas, she says. She had a ready network because of Casa and the shows she did in Dallas.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cFort Worth is so wonderful, and the training that is available is unmatched. I felt ahead of the curve when I got to college, and it is because of the arts and culture that is in Dallas-Fort Worth. I am excited for the next generation of kids to get bit by the bug and go into it. It really is a passion of mine, and I\u2019m happy to come home anytime, truly.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

BY THE WAY …\u00a0<\/p>\n

A selection of Addie Morales\u2019 favorite roles:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Cosette \u2014 <\/strong>\u201cLes Mis\u00e9rables\u201d (Broadway National Tour, directed by Lawrence Connor & James Powell)<\/p>\n

Jane Bennet \u2014 <\/strong>\u201cAusten\u2019s Pride\u201d (National Tour, directed by Igor Goldin)<\/p>\n

Maria \u2014 <\/strong>\u201cWest Side Story\u201d (Barrington Stage, Casa Ma\u00f1ana, North Carolina Theatre, New London Barn, various directors)<\/p>\n

Eva Per\u00f3n \u2014 <\/strong>\u201cEvita\u201d (Drury Lane Theatre, directed by Marcia Milgrom Dodge<\/p>\n

Nina Rosario \u2014 <\/strong>\u201cIn the Heights\u201d (Marriott Theatre, Cleveland Playhouse, directed by James Vasquez)<\/p>\n

FROM THE FEED<\/p>\n

1.<\/strong> A portrait of a young woman radiating warmth and ease, happy with her life as a stage actor. Photo by: Sam Pickart\u00a0<\/p>\n

2.<\/strong> Bows for the Broadway National Tour of \u201cLes Mis\u00e9rables,\u201d as Cosette.<\/p>\n

3.<\/strong> Our wedding in August. Addie Morales + Jordan Arredondo = Love. Photo by: Chase Castor with Kindling<\/p>\n

4.<\/strong> Photographer Shelby Griswold catches me in a moment of quiet, radiant repose.<\/p>\n

5.<\/strong> Opening night of \u201cAusten\u2019s Pride\u201d at STAGES in St. Louis.<\/p>\n

6. <\/strong> Backstage, readying for a night with Maria in \u201cWest Side Story\u201d at Casa Ma\u00f1ana.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In November, Addie Morales slipped back to her adopted hometown to fill the iconic dome at Casa Ma\u00f1ana…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":487297,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5138],"tags":[568,5229,8067,59039,7371,220041,36789,7372,13814,15164,9221,5921,10077,358,7453,3187,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-487296","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fort-worth","8":"tag-actors","9":"tag-america","10":"tag-artist","11":"tag-casa-manana","12":"tag-fort-worth","13":"tag-fort-worth-academy-of-fine-arts","14":"tag-fort-worthian","15":"tag-fortworth","16":"tag-john-henry","17":"tag-singer","18":"tag-stage","19":"tag-style","20":"tag-tcu","21":"tag-texas","22":"tag-top-story","23":"tag-tx","24":"tag-united-states","25":"tag-united-states-of-america","26":"tag-unitedstates","27":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","28":"tag-us","29":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115826063016791536","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/487296","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=487296"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/487296\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/487297"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=487296"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=487296"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=487296"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}