Life’s musical journey

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BRANSON MO NEWS: “Forever Young” is a story I wrote with Josh and Justin Sassanella. Growing up as childhood best friends in the Auburn/Fort Wayne area, the three of us enjoyed playing sports and being involved in school choir and theater programs. We were a part of DeKalb Classic Connection, one of the nation’s top show choirs, and performed on school stages across the area, including Northrop, Bishop Luers, Carroll, New Haven, Homestead and many more all over the Midwest.
Under the direction of our iconic show choir director, Shelley Johnson, Classic Connection was named grand champion at Disney World’s Showstoppers competition.
After high school graduation, we went our separate ways. Josh followed his Broadway dreams and has performed in musical hits – “Rock of Ages,” “Mamma Mia,” “Spider-man: Turn Off the Dark,” and “High School Musical,” to name a few.
Justin, his brother, was talented in many areas and was drafted out of high school by the New York Mets, where he played in the team’s minor league system before pursuing his passion for music. He took to the stage professionally and has performed in numerous shows including “The 12 Irish Tenors” and “New Jersey Nights,” as well as on cruise ships across the globe.
After graduating from college, I also took to the stage, opening for LeAnn Rimes, Vanessa Carlton and the Backstreet Boys at multiple Six Flags theme park concerts. I’ve shared stage time with the late great Andy Williams, the Osmond Brothers and many more. My musical gifts have afforded me the opportunity to work on cruise ships as a headline entertainer, and I’ve performed all over the world while visiting over 110 countries.
A few years back, Josh, Justin and I decided to write a story about our lives, using the greatest musical hits of all time. It begins with …