Final rehearsal in Pawtucket for show remembering two ‘Heavenly Gingers’

The legacy lives on for two young women taken from the world too soon, as families prepare for the ninth running of the Heavenly Gingers show.

The performance brings together some of the area’s best young talent in song, dance, and theater.

The show is a tribute for Keri O’Donnell and Jessica Morris. The two girls danced together at Kat’s Dance Centre & Performing Arts. It’s the same studio Morris’ mother still owns, and where Sunday’s rehearsal took place.

After three year battle with ovarian cancer, Morris died in 2008 at 20 years-old. Then 18 months later, O’Donnell was killed in a rollover crash on I-95.

“They were both performers, they were both dancers,” said Patrick O’Donnell, Keri’s brother. “It’s hard sometimes because these are things that [my sister] could be doing.”

O’Donnell and Morris’ family decided to remember the two redheads by organizing an annual show in their memory. It’s called Heavenly Gingers.

Sunday’s rehearsal had 19 dancers come out to perform just one particular act in the show. The thing that makes it special was that each dancer was a scholarship winner under the girls’ names.

Over the years, hundreds of scholarships were passed out worth up to $1,000.

“This gives a chance for other kids coming up to have that same opportunity,” Lynn Nadrowski said, Jessica’s aunt. “Jessie’s always there and Keri’s always there.”

“It sounds corny, but [Keri’s] legacy is ‘the show must go on'” said Frank O’Donnell, a well-known stand-up comedian, and Keri’s father. “It’s a little selfish on our part, this is how we keep Keri and Jess alive in our minds.”

O’Donnell is promising a night filled with singing, dancing, and comedy. 

This is the ninth year of the show. It will continue next year but it will be a bit smaller.

This year’s Heavenly Gingers 9 will take place Tuesday, March 26 at the Twin River Event Center. The show starts at 6:30 p.m.