Four Elon University students performed for Laura Bush in a private theater production on July 28 that took place as part of the First Lady’s visit to western North Carolina.
Senior Katie Walters, juniors Justin Noga and Roy Sanfilipo, and sophomore Maddisen Franke were among the 10 performers for the First Lady. Their skit followed Bush’s $50,000 grant presentation at the Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site in western North Carolina.
Bush attended the performance with Republican Sen. Elizabeth Dole shortly after speaking at the Carl Sandburg Home. The site, part of the National Park Service, is the former residence of an American writer who created a series of fairly tales in the book “Rootabaga Stories.”
And it was two of the “Rootabaga” stories that the Elon students performed with six other actors on apprenticeship with the Flat Rock Playhouse, the State Theatre of North Carolina, south of Hendersonville and near the Carl Sandburg Home.
“I knew it was going to be a kid’s show and expected to see parents and kids and youth groups,” Noga said. “That we expect. But when you get the notification one week ahead of time that you’ll be presenting for the First Lady, it’s a bit of a shock.”