When the national tour of “Mrs. Doubtfire” stopped Tuesday at the Hilliard Center, one cast member had a special connection to the Coastal Bend.

Ten-year-old Vivian Atencio plays Natalie Hillard in the Broadway musical based on the hit 1993 film starring Robin Williams.

Although she was born in San Antonio, Atencio told KRIS 6 News, “Corpus Christi is my second home because every summer we have a condo here, so every summer we go here and go to the beach and just have a lot of fun.”

Atencio said she has loved singing since she was very young. “One audition I sang and my agent was like, oh my gosh, we have to start auditioning her in musical theater,” she said. Her previous national tours performed including the roles of Little Cosette and Young Éponine in “Les Misérables”, Cindy Lou in “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” for two years, and now Natalie Hillard in “Mrs. Doubtfire”.

Atencio also had a recent appearance on the big screen with a role in “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2”.

Young performer returns to ‘second home’ for ‘Mrs. Doubtfire’ tour stop in Corpus Christi

The movie version of “Mrs. Doubtfire” has been a favorite of hers for years. “’Mrs. Doubtfire’, the movie, is my favorite movie, so to be on this Broadway national tour is really special to me,” she said.

Finding out she was cast was a moment she will never forget. “I was so excited, my agent called me and said, you looked the part, and I was like, oh my gosh, I started crying and I was just really happy,” Atencio said.

Touring with the show has been “a real experience.” She added, “The cast and crew are just amazing, especially the crew, and it’s just a dream come true to me. I love this tour.”

One of her favorite moments on stage comes during a song called “What the Hell.” “I just love listening to it, I love singing it, and it’s just really fun,” she said.

Looking ahead, Atencio said, “I’d love to be in ‘Matilda’ and ‘Annie’. I’d love to be in both of those.”

For other young performers wanting to pursue musical theater, she offered simple advice: “You have to follow your dreams and just you have to be confident in yourself and just a lot of confidence with yourself and believe in yourself.”

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