WRITTEN BY: Linda Woolverton
MUSIC BY: Alan Menken, Howard Ashman, and Tim Rice
PERFORMED AT: Watkins Glen High School, Watkins Glen
PERFORMED ON: November 10-11 (8pm) and 12 (2pm), 2006
DIRECTOR: Joel Wilbur
MUSIC DIRECTOR: Renee Brubaker
SPONSORED BY: Lake Country Players
CAST:
* BEAST- David A. Scott
* BELLE- Holly Campbell
* GASTON- Tim Benjamin
* COGSWORTH- Richard Little
* MRS. POTTS- Lisa McKnight
* LUMIERE- Greg Fusare
* MAURICE- Gary Yoggy
* CHIP- Manley Gavich
* LEFOU- Adam Zimmer
* BABETTE- Debbie Troia
* MADAME DE LA GRANDE BOUCHE- Kathy Gill
* MONSIEUR D'ARQUE- Gary Judson
ENSEMBLE:
* Michelle Benjamin- Silly Girl/Napkin
* Thomas Blake- Young Prince/Crony/Tom/Candle
* Sara Caldwell- Silly Girl/Plate
* Cynthia Clark- Villager/Knife
* Charlie Cole- Villager/Crony/Bartender
* Nancy Cole- Villager/Bartender's Wife
* Deanne Combs- Spoon/Rug/Wolf
* Anthony Curren- Shephard Boy/Villager
* Jackie Eakin- Lady With Cane/Plate
* Lavon Finnefrock- Aristocratic Lady/Plate
* Caleb Harrington- Villager
* Hasniyah Larayos- Fruit Sller/Knife
* Zachary Little- Villager
* Kristina Liu- Villager-Maria/Spoon
* Melissa Manzer- Villager-Lady With Baby/Fork
* Kathryn Martin- Sausage Girl/Knife
* Meghan Moore- Spoon/Wolf
* Amy Moore- Fork/Wolf
* Rebecca Moore- Villager/Pepper
* Felisha Noble- Silly Girl/Knife
* Katie O'Herron- Bar Maid/Napkin
* Tom Primerano- Baker/Crony-Dick
* Roy Reed- Villager/Crony-Stanley
* Katy Ruda- Villager
* Ashley Savard- Villager/Spoon
* Sarah Schlueter-Eisman- Villager/Salt
* Josh Shamx- Egg Man/Crony/Candle
* Sara Solomon- Villager-Hat Seller
* Meghan Strang- Silly Girl/Fork
* Katie Strawer- Enchantress/Fork
* Edward Thompson- Villager/Crony
* Tracey Thompson- Narrator/Bookseller/Plate
* Brenton Whiting- Villager
* Emily Wickham- Silly Girl
CREW:
* STAGE MANAGER- Jane Daum
* ASSISTANT DIRECTOR- Casey Manzer
* CHOREOGRAPHER- Brianna Hurley
* COSTUMES- Linda Brown, Marty Evans
* VOICE COACH- Jessica Ossiboff
* PIANO- Donna Christoffels
PLOT: A beautiful townsgirl (Holly Campbell) befriends a monster (David A. Scott) who is really an enchanted prince. A musical, based on Disney's adaptation of a reknowned fairy tale.
HISTORY: As a young high school student in 1991, I went to see Disney's then-new animated movie, "Beauty and the Beast", at a local theater. Little did I know that fifteen years later, I would be starring in a live version of this same movie. Until then, it was simply a great Disney movie, perhaps my most favorite one (next to "Pete's Dragon", perhaps). I recall watching with great disgust as it lost that year's Oscar award for Best Picture to "Silence of the Lambs". By the time that the Broadway stage version premiered in 1994 (which I didn't see), I was becoming involved in plays of my own.
In August 2006, after a few months' rest from theater-related projects (which I'd been doing nonstop from February 2005 to June the following year), I was alerted to the finalized audition dates for a Watkins Glen production of "Beauty". Two weeks before auditions, I decided to leave a copy of the Broadway soundtrack in my work vehicle, listening to it during the majority of my solo drives from, to, and within Corning. Getting a sense of the vocals required for each character, I made my decisions on which principal roles I would try out for. More often that not, I would sing along with "If I Can't Love Her", a song unique to the stage version, and sung by the Beast character.
Listing Lumiere as my second choice, I tried out for the Beast role, not truly knowing what I would sound like when reading or singing the lines onstage. The auditions went better than any I could remember, but having rarely had a principal role in a musical up to that point, I wasn't going to assume what the end result of my efforts would be. However, at the end of the week, it was official: I was in the show, and I would be playing the Beast.
The cast included 1996 "Bells Are Ringing" co-stars Gary Yoggy, Kathy Gill, and Tom Primerano. According to Tom, by encouraging him to do "Bells" ten years ago, I'd introduced him to a hobby he'd been enjoying ever since.
Meanwhile, fellow Market Street Irregulars in the cast included Debbie Troia, Kate O'Herron, Cindy Clark (my fiancee), Felisha Noble, and Greg Fusare, with Jane Daum and Amanda Fenn in the crew. Jane and I played a part in constructing many of the sets and props, joining several others each Saturday in piecing and painting the show's often-large props and set pieces, including the castle's interior. Jane was also responsible for the impressive make-up job on my "Beast" face.
Cindy, meanwhile, depsite not having done a major play before, gave maximum effort for her several ensemble appearances in the show (as a villager and a dancing knife), and her committment won her the respect of the cast and crew, including many that had not previously known her. She looked great onstage, too.
The majority of the cast, a mix of high school students (or younger) and Lake Country Players veterans, were new to me, as this was my first LCP show. Among them, Holly Campbell (Belle) was, like me, experiencing the role of a lifetime, after a history of minor roles in major plays, accompanied by periods of inactivity.
As this was my first truly large role in a musical, I'd not yet learned how to sing to the best of my abilities. With the help of Renee's music direction and Jessica's private voice coaching, I was able to sing the high notes of my song with greater ease than I could have ever imagined. For each of the three shows, I was able to hold the last note to my song longer than I did on the previous night.
The thousand-plus people that came to see us over the course of that weekend included theater colleagues, co-workers, family members, and friends that had never seen or imagined me in such a role before, all seeming very pleased with both my performance and the show as a whole. Each night ended with a standing ovation from the audience.
The third and final show, which brought in the biggest crowd for that weekend, was followed by a cast party, where Shelly Schleuter (Sarah's mom) surprised me with a cake for my 30th birthday, and the entire cast sang "Happy Birthday" to me. After blowing out my candles, I replied, "I was going to make a wish, but it already came true this weekend."
Indeed, thirty years, half of them spent wondering who I was, or what I had to offer, in both life and theater, had ended on a triumphant note. Five years of tries and misses, another five years of distracted absence, and two years of unprecedented comeback had all proven worth it with this one role, this one show, and this wonderful cast and crew. The fairy tale had indeed come true.
PHOTOS:
* Me as the Beast, final show (photo by Charlie Haeffner)
* Dancing with Holly Campbell, final show (photo by Charlie Haeffner)
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