For actress-singer Kim Anderson, musical theater is a thrill ride.

"It surpasses anything I've experienced," she said. "It's where I get my kicks. People ride roller-coasters; I do theater."

Her journey already has taken her down the Yellow Brick Road: At 13, she played Dorothy in Diamond Head Theatre's "The Wizard of Oz," earning a 2004 Po'okela Award for Leading Female in a Musical.

Now, at 17, she is portraying Esther Smith in DHT's musical, "Meet Me in St. Louis," which premieres tonight.

It's her second starring role linked to one of her longstanding idols, Judy Garland.

"I do love Judy Garland — she's been one of my favorites," said Anderson, a student at Leeward Community College. "She just has this timeless feeling and she brings a certain air to all her work, especially innocence. And this reminds people of more innocent times."

Her first brush with "Oz" was the film classic, annually revived on television during the holidays. "I must have been very young," she said. "But the family watches it every year on my father's birthday; it's his most favorite movie."

She wasn't as familiar with "St. Louis" but watched a video of the 1944 movie.

"The screen version was very different from the musical; but the dialogue is there, word for word," she said. "But (the musical) has scenes and songs not in the movie."

She was 5 when she started doing theater, as part of DHT's Shooting Stars program with other youths in the community.

"I blossomed on stage — I used to be the most shy little girl," she recalled. "Theater helped me come out of my shell, gain confidence. I used to close my eyes and hope people would go away when I started out. It don't know how to explain it, but when I play a character, I become someone else, you're not exposing yourself."

She's done a lot more roles than her youth might indicate. And they've been mostly musical.

Her portfolio of performing credits is growing by the year. She recently played all five Junes in Manoa Valley Theatre's "The Musical of Musicals: The Musical." Earlier, she had roles in "South Pacific," "Here's Love," "Annie," "The Sound of Music," "Peter Pan" and "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat."

She also has another life as a writer-director-performer of improv shows and original musicals with her unnamed church-related ensemble at New Hope Leeward, for which she even composes music. Part of the five-member group, Anderson creates mini-shows and skits weekly, which tours to three New Hope campuses, but turns out a big production once a year.

She is enjoying her work with guest director Greg Zane, a locally trained actor-singer-dancer-choreographer with New York ties, as well as the other talent in the cast. "It's such a learning experience," she said.

Further, her stage experiences have given her "a sense of accomplishment.

"There are no words to explain everything I've learned, how I've grown as a person. One of the best things about theater is the friendship and all the bonds that have helped me develop as an artist."

As for the stagework becoming a livelihood, Anderson is cautious. "I hope to make it a career, but it's not the most practical. But it's definitely my passion; and I believe in pursuing passion."

Reach Wayne Harada at wharada@honoluluadvertiser.com.