Will this Minneapolis boy make his Broadway debut as an actor or composer?

Minneapolis native Huxley Westemeier alternates in the title role of "August Rush" with another young actor. (Liz Lauren)

Yes, Huxley Westemeier is currently starring in a musical directed by Tony Award winner John Doyle. Yes, the musical also has its sights on Broadway. But he's not putting all his eggs in one basket.

"August Rush" is playing in Aurora, Ill., through June 2, with Westemeier, 11, and another young actor playing the titular musical prodigy. Based on a 2007 movie that starred Keri Russell, "August Rush" is about a boy who is separated from his parents but believes he can find them if he follows a series of musical clues.

Westemeier has appeared in Children's Theatre Company's "Diary of a Wimpy Kid," the Guthrie Theater's "Watch on the Rhine" and the national tour of "School of Rock." But he says the "August Rush" role is the best fit yet of his 14-show record.

"I feel music the way August does. We're actually similar people and I'm a composer, so I feel connected to him," said Westemeier, who is home-schooled by his mother, Liz Anderson (who travels with him while dad Ryan Westemeier stays home with dog Rufus). "It's helped me make August feel like a more real person because I understand the emotional part of the character."

The young actor, who made his acting debut four years ago in a Morris Park Players production of "Willy Wonka," said the cast hopes "August Rush" will get a Broadway berth this winter. But reviews have been mixed. And Westemeier knows getting a show ready for the Great White Way can take time, perhaps so much time that he'll outgrow the part.

"If it takes too long and I'm too old -- or, in the Broadway world, too tall -- to play him, I hope I can at least see the show when it opens and feel like a part of it, because I was the original August," said Westemeier, who also made his New York debut (in a cabaret) while in rehearsals for "August."

Once "August" closes, Westemeier is planning a "normal" summer of biking, sailing and playing the piano, with plenty of time set aside to work on "Lost in Thyme," a cooking-themed musical for which he's writing the book, music and lyrics, inspired by his love of "The Great British Baking Show" and other kitchen competitions.

Westemeier's culinary interest is exclusively TV-based, incidentally. He says he doesn't do any actual cooking. Between piano and composing and school and sailing and hanging out with Rufus, when would he have time?