Sep 2, 2005 By Erin Prah For The 4 min read

Everyone has heard the stories of the small town girl with dreams of performing on Broadway, but who would have guessed that Uniontown would be the home of one of those girls who achieved that success. Mia Price, who was born and raised in Uniontown, is making her dream come true.

Price, a 34-year-old graduate of Uniontown High School, said what sparked her interest initially in Broadway was dancing.

Her mother, Paulette Price of Hopwood, was a dancer herself. When Mia was old enough, her mother took her to the Larraine Susa’s Dance Unlimited studio in Uniontown, where Larraine and her sister Cathleen became Mia’s dance teachers.

Soon Mia and her three younger sisters would all be taking dance classes at Larraine’s studio, but eventually they all grew up and spread their own wings.

Today, Amy is a professional dancer who lives in New York. Kim lives in Uniontown and is a member of the Airforce Reserves but has been stationed several places, and Brooke owns her own business, the “American Choice Auto Movers” in Fairchance. Price also has a baby brother, J.W., who is 3 years old.

Together, Mia and her sisters put in many hours practicing and going to competitions. With four girls in the house, her father, Jim “Red” Price, has attended more than his fair share of dance competitions.

“My poor dad with four girls,” Price said. “He’s seen more lyrical performances than any grown man should ever have to see.”

But apparently all the hard work paid off. After graduating from high school, Price enrolled in Point Park University in Pittsburgh and continued her dancing. She also began taking acting classes.

With the tools of the trade under her belt, Price became a freelance artist and began auditioning for roles in productions.

She has already done two Broadway shows, “Oklahoma!” and “The Frog,” performed as a Rockette during the Rockettes’ National Tour and performed in her first national tour in the show “Thoroughly Modern Millie.”

But Price really wanted to perform in the Broadway musical “Chicago.”

“I really like it. I’ve auditioned for every seven years,” she said.

This year her persistence paid off, and Price landed the role of June – a cellblock tango girl. Price’s character, June, is in prison for murdering her husband.

“Chicago” is no ordinary Broadway musical. In fact, it has been on its national tour since 1997 and is still going strong.

“‘Chicago’ is great because it speaks to everyone – the exploitation of criminals and media frenzies and what celebrity life is like. It is a very mature show – edgy, sexy,” Price said.

Of course it doesn’t hurt when you have the famous Bob Fosse to choreograph the show. “He is legendary,” said Price.

Opening night for Price was on Aug. 5 in Cleveland, Ohio.

The following week, she left for Tokyo, Japan, and will stay there for six weeks on tour.

According to Price, the show can stay in one city for anywhere from one to six weeks, “depending on the public interest and size of the city.”

In addition to her stage roles, Price has already made a contribution in the film industry. She appeared in a remake of “The Producers,” a Mel Brooks film, featuring Nathan Lane. In this film, she played the role of a Pearl Girl, one of Matthew Broderick’s girls.

When asked what awaits her when the tour of “Chicago” ends, Price was unsure.

“That’s part of the excitement of show biz. You live one day at a time,” she said. Of course, there’s no security like a day-to-day job would offer, but Price said, “I don’t think my personality would fit a 9-to-5 job. Sometimes I wish I had the security though.”

Price can remember when she was very young saying, “When I grow up, I want to be on Broadway.” With her teachers’ encouragement, she remembers giving this as her answer when asked questions at dance competitions as a child.

“At the time, I didn’t really know what I was saying,” Price said.

But when she visited New York, she said, “It overwhelmed me,” and she was very excited to begin pursuing an acting career.