NEW YORK (WABC) — When you speak to those within the Broadway community, they’ll often tell you, they are more like family. And those family bonds were on full display Wednesday at The Museum of Broadway.
It hosted an event called “Casting the Role of a Lifeline” to find bone marrow matches for those with blood cancers. It’s a cause that hits especially close to home for the cast of “The Lion King,” who lost one of their own 15 years ago, Shannon Tavarez.
“Shannon, she was definitely a light, very talented. And she just had a huge personality,” her mom, Odiney Brown told Eyewitness News reporter Joelle Garguilo. “She was about 5 years old, and I could see this little girl is talented.”
Tavarez could sing. She could dance. And she landed a dream role as young Nala in “The Lion King” at 10 years old. But everything changed when she was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia, and doctors told her there was only one way to cure it.
“We were looking for a bone marrow donor, a match,” Brown said. “We were like ‘ok, lets do it.’ And what we found out was the numbers for African Americans are very low. Only about 6% of African Americans are registered. So there was only about a 29% chance of her actually finding a 100% match.”
The entire Broadway community stepped up to try to help Tavarez, but she lost her battle with leukemia in 2010. She was just 11 years old.
“She was super vibrant, full of life. She really was somebody who embodied the themes of our show,” said L. Steven Taylor who plays Mufasa in “The Lion King.” “She was a pleasure to have and then to have her go through what she went through and still be that person, full of life, full of passion, and uniting people all the way to the end really speaks to who she is.”
Now, her Broadway community continues to come together every few years for drives like the one held on Wednesday.
“This is casting the role of a lifeline,” Taylor said. “I actually got involved in this whole process of getting swabbed and becoming part of the donor registry through Shannon S.H.A.R.E. One of Shannon’s wishes was to get as many people as possible on the bone marrow registry.”
“I started a foundation along with my very close friend,” Brown said. “And one day we were deciding, ‘what are we going to do. How are we going to carry on her legacy?’ Because she was such an advocate for helping others even at such a young age. We go out to different communities, especially those of color, to try to encourage people to register.”
The process is simple: a swab on the cheek and just one form to fill out. Then you’re on the bone marrow registry until you’re about 61.
“You just never know,” Brown said. “Shannon never lost that light. One thing she said during an interview was if I was 18 and I had the opportunity to swab to save someone’s life, I would do it. And that stuck with me. So this is why I carry on her legacy and her name to continue to help others.”
To find out more about becoming a donor, visit https://www.dkms.org/. And to learn more about Shannon and her battle, visit https://shannonsshare.org/.
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