Kyli Rae might be a newbie to "Flashdance the Musical," but the actress is anything but new to show business.

Rae and the rest of the crew of "Flashdance the Musical" rolled into Hershey Monday for an eight-show-in-six-day stretch that begins Tuesday evening at Hershey Theatre. Rae joined the show just two stops ago — in Cleveland — after being hired to play Tess, the older and wiser exotic dancer who is something of a mother figure to Alex, the lead character, and the other dancers.

During a phone interview last week, Rae said she's been to Hershey before, but not Hershey Theatre. Upon learning of the theatre's history and beauty, the California-born actress said she couldn't wait to see it.

"I've driven through Hershey and stopped there," she said, "but never played there."

Rae has enjoyed a long career in show business. She has been dancing and acting since age 8 while growing up in southern California. Her resume in theatre is not extremely long, but it is extremely impressive.