Smithtown theater community mourns Hannah Waller, 18, after three-year fight with brain cancer

Long Island’s theater community is mourning Hannah Waller, a 2026 Smithtown High School West graduate who died Sunday after a three-year fight with brain cancer. She was 18.

Waller developed her love of musical theater early in life, won numerous awards and dreamed of someday performing on Broadway.

“She was a bright light in our community, performing on stages across Long Island and sharing her love of musical theater,” Friends of Music Smithtown wrote on Instagram. “She loved books and the color pink. And to so many of our children, she was a friend.”

Waller, who graduated from high school in June, fought cancer “with the same strength and courage that she put into her friendships and caring about others,” according to her obituary.

The obituary posted by St. James Funeral Home also notes that actor Kit Connor, star of Netflix’s “Heartstopper,” made Waller’s Make-A-Wish come true.

Waller was a sophomore in September 2023 when she had surgery to remove a brain tumor, according to the Smithtown Central School District.

That December, the High School West and High School East girls basketball teams faced off in a “Here for Hannah” game to raise money for the American Cancer Society. Before tipoff, her twin sister, Mallory, spoke to the crowd and to Hannah.

“You are such a warrior,” Mallory said. “I’m so glad to be alongside you during this fight.”

Theatre Three in Port Jefferson said Waller played Belinda Cratchit in its 2021 and 2022 productions of “A Christmas Carol.”

“She was talented, smart, funny, and above all, kind,” the theater wrote on Facebook, extending condolences to Waller’s family “and all the members of the Long Island theatre community who had the pleasure and privilege of working with this remarkable young person.”

The Smithtown Performing Arts Center called her “a beloved member of our SPAC family.”

“Hannah brought endless light and warmth to everyone who knew her, both on and off the stage,” SPAC wrote.

Christine Boehm, who worked with Waller on several SPAC children’s theater productions, remembered her stepping into the role of the Seahorse Herald in “The Little Mermaid” at the last minute after another cast member dropped out.

“I remember how proud she was and how seriously she took the responsibility — practicing her big moment in Act 1 offstage over and over again,” Boehm wrote.

Boehm said her husband later directed Waller as Alice in “The Addams Family” musical.

“I remember thinking what a star she was as Alice,” she wrote. “Beyond her years in talent and in her sense of humor.”

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Monique Embee, who taught Waller French at High School West, said her talent “did not stop at the stage.”

“She was genuine, happy, and filled the room with light,” Embee wrote. “She was curious, respectful, diligent and mature.”

Heather Henken Fleming called her “a being of light who brightened every room she was in.”

“Hannah will always be remembered by us,” she wrote. “Such a beautiful, talented and kind person.”

Waller is survived by her parents, Deborah and Glen, and her twin sister, Mallory.

Visitation for Waller is Saturday from 2-5 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. at St. James Funeral Home, located at 829 Middle Country Road in St. James.

Words of remembrance will be shared from 8-9 p.m.

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_{Top: Hannah Waller (St. James Funeral Home)}