Pensacola Middle-Schooler Saves Clay's Show

We have some more information about the middle-schooler who replaced 11 year-old Gregory Ellis on the tour when he became sick earlier this month before the Atlanta concert. Ellis plays 'Tommy' a key role in the tour.

Local middle-schooler shares Civic Center stage with Clay Aiken
He learned his lines in six hours, overcame stage fright and saved Clay Aiken's Dec. 18 concert at the Pensacola Civic Center.

Connor Bond, a 12-year-old (his birthday is today) Brown Barge Middle School student, took on one of the leading roles in Aiken's Joyful Noise concert when a traveling cast member got sick. Aiken thanked Connor on stage, prompting a standing ovation from the audience, and gave him a T-shirt signed: "Connor, thanks for saving the show -- Clay Aiken."

"I know one thing for sure -- I'm not going to have stage fright for a long time," Connor said of the experience of performing in front of several thousand people. "Clay really helped me a lot."

Connor, whose only past experience was a role in the recent Pensacola Little Theatre production of "The King and I," plans to try out for PLT's upcoming "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn."

-- Kris Thoma @PensacolaNewsJournal.com