Most Interesting People 2015: Kaley Ann Voorhees

Why she's interesting: She caught the attention of local producer Julie Matthews when she performed "Think of Me," the opening number to The Phantom of the Opera, during the National Singing Star Competition in June 2013. Matthews contacted the casting director in New York City and after five auditions in 2014, Voorhees landed the position as the alternate for Christine Daae, the leading lady of the longest-running show in Broadway history.

Natural talent: After watching Joel Schumacher's 2004 movie adaptation of The Phantom of the Opera when she was 9 years old, Voorhees bought the soundtrack and memorized the songs, performing them with her sister Carolyn. "We would play the CD or a karaoke version we found on some speakers, and then we'd get all dressed up in anything we had. I seem to recall it involving a lot of scarves."

Stage might: Voorhees won the 13th annual Jean L. Petitt Memorial Music Scholarship Competition in 2011, which included the prize of performing "Glitter and Be Gay" from Candide alongside the Cleveland Pops Orchestra at Severance Hall. "It felt like flying. I still remember the feeling, and it still happens to me onstage now. It's like everything is lifted and open, and the music swells behind you and it carries you."

Casting call: Her fifth and final audition for Phantom was filmed in the Majestic Theatre in New York and sent out for approval by the play's original director Hal Prince, producer Cameron Mackintosh and creator Andrew Lloyd Webber — a tradition that's been around since the play's London opening in 1986. "I don't really know where I'm going after this because this seemed so out of reach up until a couple of months ago, and this is all that I ever really wanted to do."

Show time: For her opening night in September, she performed opposite Tony Award-winner Norm Lewis in front of a sold-out crowd of 1,600. She even received the honor of taking the final bow. But what shocked her the most was finding Andrew Lloyd Webber as the first person to greet her when she came offstage. "I was still in costume, in the wedding dress, and he gave me a hug. It was the most surreal experience of my life. He said that it was all there."

Fan girl: Voorhees considers herself a nerd who likes comic books and Doctor Who. "I love fantasy because it's a form of media that transports you into a place that you wouldn't have been able to experience before."

Words of wisdom: Voorhees is the first leading actress in the history of The Phantom of the Opera's New York production to be born after its Broadway opening in January 1988. "Don't be afraid of the unknown. Don't be afraid of failing, because everyone fails. It takes failures to make you grow as a person and as a performer."