Carmen Cusack the standby, Jemma Rix, had been given the lead role. Cusack was with the company from June 10 to July 10, 2009. She left to begin rehearsals for "South Pacific". In 2009, Cusack played Nellie Forbush in the first national tour of "South Pacific". Based on the 2008 Broadway revival, performances began September 18, 2009 in San Francisco. For this role Cusack was nominated for the Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Non Resident Production. In 2012, she played the role of Miss Gardner in the Off-Broadway revival of "Carrie - The Musical", which began performances at
Nellie Morse Stakes Nellie Morse was a daughter of Luke McLuke and to date is the only horse ever to win both the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes and the Preakness Stakes. She won those races three days apart and ended the year with $60,250, which was the most earned by any thoroughbred that year. As a broodmare, Nellie Morse left a legacy. Her daughter Nellie Flag was named two-year-old champion in 1934 and was the morning line and post time favorite in the 1935 Kentucky Derby (she finished fourth). Nellie Flag also raced in the Preakness Stakes but finished seventh. Nellie Morse's descendants, through