Rewind — (more) Year in Review

As promised in the Dec. 22 edition of The Beat, still more "Rewind — Year in Review.”

Alongside the host of tours and shows making their way through central Ohio in 2011 were a number of area natives.

An admittedly incomprehensive list (i.e. some of those who fit the above description with whom The Beat visited) follows:

• In The Beat’s review of the touring production of Mary Poppins in April, we noted that 11-year-old Camille Mancuso of Blacklick, on tour and playing Jane Banks, “looked and sounded the part of Jane Banks. Her accent was spot-on, and she played totally natural in character. She is a gifted young singer. It's not difficult to see the Great White Way in her future.”

And in November … well, let’s just say we’re not always right, but we were this time.

Here’s what she told us after making her Broadway debut in the aforementioned role in the aforementioned show: “To perform on Broadway has always been a dream of mine since I was 7 years old, and it felt great to finally get a chance to fulfill that dream. I enjoyed every moment of it so much and didn't want it to ever be over. Between the show, the costumes, sets, props, lights and everything, my adrenaline was sky high.”

When the Poppins tour was in Columbus, Mancuso was kind enough to participate in one of our favorite video projects from the past year. (Check out and “Like” The Beat’s Facebook page at www.Facebook.com/TWTheBeat to see it again.)

• Worthington native David Cook can be found playing piano in jazz clubs around New York City, but he also has made a name for himself in the biz as a music director for pop acts.

In 2011, he won a gig as keyboardist and music director for Taylor Swift’s tour, stopping in Columbus (and sporting his Blue Jackets gear on the Nationwide Arena stage) in June. The country-pop star’s management is protective of her, so we got no inside info (not to suggest there even is any) from Cook during a brief email exchange just prior to the concert (which, thanks to a variety of factors, was named Best Concert of 2011 by no less an expert than The Beat.

"I was familiar with her as an icon and as somebody who, at a young age, has had a tremendous career,” Cook told us. "As with any gig, there is a whole lot of preparation on my own. I never just turn up and play."

• You may not have recognized him, what with the giant costume head and what-have-you, but Hilliard native and 2006 Bishop Watterson High School graduate Justin Kouns returned home with Disney’s Phineas and Ferb: The Best Live Tour Ever! in November.

Kouns “graduated” to the touring production (as Buford van Stomm, the show’s tough guy and one of four characters in the live show to appear in full costume) from his regular gig as a dancer in various shows at Walt Disney World in Orlando.

“This one’s special because it’s in my hometown,” Kouns told The Beat. “It’s a big deal to me. I’m very thankful to be able to come back to Columbus and do what I’ve been doing on this tour.”