From First Steps to Center Stage
Izzy Rita is Showing the World a Life Without Limits
January is a very special month for 12-year-old Izzy Rita, a patient at Children’s Specialized Hospital and the 2019 Children’s Miracle Network New Jersey Champion. Ten years ago, on January 14, 2016, Izzy took her first independent steps during a physical therapy session at CSH. The very next day, she finished the last of 42 rounds of chemotherapy to shrink a tumor on her spinal cord.
While January marks a time of reflection for her family, their attention is drawn to who Izzy is becoming today. In December, Izzy made her Off-Broadway debut as Tiny Tim in A Christmas Carol at PAC NYC. For 22 of the 45 sold-out shows, she performed alongside Tony winners and nominees to audiences of 680 people a night, proving that the little girl who once asked her mom, “How do you get inside the TV?” has found her answer.
Where it All Began
When Izzy was a baby, her world revolved around hospital rooms, therapy gyms and hard-fought milestones at Children’s Specialized Hospital (CSH). Diagnosed with a spinal cord tumor, Izzy underwent 42 rounds of chemotherapy and intensive therapy at CSH, embarking on a journey that would shape not only her body but her spirit.
Izzy’s path to performing began quietly and organically. As a toddler at CSH, she was expressive, dramatic, and unafraid of an audience. Her care team encouraged that spark, and her parents, Sonia and Marco, leaned into creative outlets that made therapy feel less like work and more like possibility.
Early on, her parents decided to never limit Izzy. They looked for ways to make the treatments and procedures she required more enjoyable, and even fun. When Izzy’s kyphosis, an excessive forward curvature of the upper spine, was causing her to have trouble breathing, Sonia enrolled her in voice lessons. “It was a great alternative therapy,” Sonia explained. “Izzy didn’t even realize she was working on her breathing while singing. Rehabilitation doesn’t always have to feel like rehabilitation.”
Izzy’s confidence grew. Her care team at CSH nurtured more than just her physical development. “They always encouraged my performing,” Izzy remembers. “I was a dramatic little toddler. Having that support group so young really helped me realize how much I love to perform in front of an audience.”
Looking back, Sonia acknowledges that CSH played a central role in helping Izzy become the person she is today. “It’s the community,” she reflected. “That support helped our family so much and really built up Izzy’s strength and confidence.”
Finding Home on the Stage
At five-years-old, Izzy was in halo gravity traction, a procedure that gently and gradually stretches and straightens spinal curves over several weeks, followed by months in a hard torso cast. Summer activities were limited. Swimming was out. Playing outside in summer heat was impossible. But Sonia and Marco found something Izzy could do: theater camp.
That was the beginning of everything.
“I don’t think it was so much of an epiphany,” Izzy reflects on her growing passion for performing. “It was gradual, which I think is good, because you have to put a lot of thought into something that you become passionate about.” That passion led her to Annie’s Playhouse in Far Hills, NJ, where she trained in voice and musical theater and to The Lee Strasberg Theater & Film Institute in New York City for method acting and stage combat. It led her to Abeson Studios where she gets to dive into her love of stories and characters in scene study. And it led her to roles in shows at local community theaters, including her first major role as Pugsley in The Addams Family Jr.
Izzy recalls, “When I was performing as Pugsley, it was the first time I had my own song. At the end, I was alone on stage, and the whole audience was clapping. That was the first time that had ever happened for me.”
A Rising Star
Today, Izzy’s resume reads like a dream. Beyond her Off-Broadway debut, she has appeared on Sesame Street, starred in the Together We Can music video series for PBS Kids and Sesame Workshop (now nominated for a Children and Family Emmy Award), and landed a supporting role in Patrice: The Movie for ABC News Studios. She has even performed at Radio City Music Hall in the Garden of Dreams Talent Showcase.
When she’s not on set or on stage, Izzy plays guitar, ukulele, and drums. She continues therapies as needed, and enjoys adaptive, therapeutic horseback riding at a farm near her New Jersey home. She navigates her full life with assistive mobility devices, but she never lets anything slow her down.
Asked what performing gives her that nothing else does, Izzy paused thoughtfully. “It’s a feeling of contentment,” she said. “This completely relaxed feeling. After the A Christmas Carol run was over, I just had this feeling of ‘dang, you’re twelve and you’ve really lived.’”
Breaking Barriers, Opening Doors
Inclusion matters deeply to Izzy. She is keenly aware of what representation means, especially for people with disabilities. Izzy draws inspiration from performers like Ali Stroker and Jenna Bainbridge, who have paved the way for actors with disabilities. But she is not content to simply follow, she intends to lead and to become a mentor herself.
“People have a lot of things they think they know about the disabled community,” said Izzy with quiet conviction. “The truth is, you don’t know what having a disability is like. Not just because you don’t have one, but because everyone is different.”
That conviction drives Izzy, shaping how she approaches her work and how she supports others. During her Off-Broadway run, she naturally stepped into a mentoring role for her Tiny Time counterpart. “I don’t think of it as mentoring,” she said. “I just want others to feel encouraged and supported.”
Izzy’s goals are as big as her personality. She wants to write a screenplay, star in it, and deliver a message that empowers the disabled community. She wants to write books and ultimately, she wants to change how people see disability on screen, on the page, and in everyday life.
She advises young people who see themselves in her, “Always find a place that welcomes you as you are, not trying to fit you into a mold they already had.” She adds advice about breaking into showbusiness, “Work hard, make good friends, and make sure you’re happy and comfortable. You’re going to get a lot of ‘nos’. Don’t take it personally. You will find something where they will be so amazed by you that they will change their mold to fit you.”
A Decade of Possibility
When Izzy’s parents think about those early days at CSH and the uncertainty they felt about what school, friendships, and life would look like for their daughter, they find themselves smiling proudly about how far they’ve come.
“I was worried about what her friendships would look like,” Sonia admits. “But it was always so great to know that she had a huge community at CSH rallying around her. Doctors, therapists, and volunteers who have watched her grow, cared so much for her, and cheered her on since she was a baby. As parents, we were naturally inclined to never limit her and there was always this sense of optimism at CSH. It was contagious. Even when I was feeling despair, that optimism assured me that Izzy was going to live a beautiful life.”
The girl who took her first independent steps in a Children’s Specialized Hospital therapy gym now commands the stage alongside Broadway veterans. The girl who wore a torso cast through a summer of theater camp now holds an Actors’ Equity Association card. The girl whose mother hoped voice lessons might help her breathe a little easier now has a vocal range that spans G3 to C#6. Izzy is, indeed, living a beautiful life.
Ten years ago, Izzy took her first steps after 42 rounds of chemotherapy and months of physical and occupational therapy. Today, she’s showing the world there are no limits to where those steps can lead.
Donor support helps Children’s Specialized Hospital give children like Izzy the foundation they need to chase their goals. Because of our generous supporters, kids of all abilities are achieving their greatest hopes and dreams.
