Teens prepare to present ‘Beauty and the Beast’

Published 7:00 am Friday, July 11, 2014

A very enthusiastic group of teens is working very hard to present “Beauty and the Beast,” a modern musical version of Disney’s children’s classic at the Bainbridge Little Theatre next week.

The older group (ages 13-18) of the Class Act Summer Workshop has a cast of 19 for this production. The best part is that 15 of them are veterans of other productions – many of them having appeared multiple times on the BLT stage in both class act shows as well as regular BLT stage presentations.

They love the theater and are committed enough that they have taken on much of the work of producing Beauty by painting their own set pieces and raising nearly $4,000 to order professional costumes.

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The original Broadway production ran for over 13 years and was nominated for nine Tony Awards, including best musical.

It is the story of Belle, (Jill Overman) a young woman, and the Beast, (Eli Poche), who is really a young prince trapped by a spell. If the Beast can learn to love and be loved, the curse will be lifted and he will be changed back to his former self. However, time is running out for him to make the change before he and his whole family are doomed for eternity.

This is billed as a great family show — a magical fairly tale come to life on the BLT stage. It is under the direction of Ida Cooksey, with Ariel Brock as choreographer.

Showtimes are Friday and Saturday, July 18 and 19 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, July 20 at 2:30 p.m.