Theater / Movies
Date: 12/14/2009 Beauty and the Beast This Weekend at NIU's O’Connell Theatre
by Press Release Dreamers Theatre Group will perform Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, Jr. this weekend, December 18-20 at the O’Connell Theatre in the Stevens Building on the NIU campus. This will be a wonderful holiday outing for the entire family.
The musical tells the story of the brainy and beautiful Belle, who yearns to escape her provincial life and her brute of a suitor, Gaston. However, Belle gets more adventure than she wanted when she becomes a captive in the Beast’s enchanted castle. Dancing flatware, menacing wolves, and singing furniture fill the stage with thrills in this beloved fairy tale about very different people finding strength in one another and learning how to love.
“It’ll be a great-looking show,” says director Calvin Coran, “It features the most impressive set and special effects ever used in a Dreamers production, professional costumes, and a talented, hard-working cast.”
The cast includes Nelle Conley as Belle, Alex Riley as the Beast, Madison Bound as Cogsworth, Sean Connors as Lumiere, Cadmium Bound as Mrs. Potts, Erin Hawkins as Chip, Alexis DiVita as Babette, Erin Laino as Mdm. Bouche, Noah Brock as Gaston, David Boyer as Lefou, and Rory Gallagher as Maurice. The four narrators are played by Anna Butler, Kristina Olsen, Maria Conlon, and Samantha Magallanes. Izzy Hepker, Kara Strohm and Eliza Coran are the village “Silly Girls.” The ensemble includes Heather Potts, Kari Gennardo, Mikayla and Jyllan Torres, Kendall Hampton, Theresa Guss, Karissa Olsen, Michaela McMahon, Hannah Wells, Anna Kloosterman, Kacy Brzezinski, Sarah Lehan, Jaz Roman, Autumn Oliver, Cumorah Bound, and Siobhan Gallagher. The music director is Ellen Conley, and the choreographer is Kiah Fischer.
A non-profit, all-volunteer organization, Dreamers Theatre Group is made up of area actors from the 5th through 8th grade.
Performances are scheduled for 7:30pm Friday and Saturday (December 18-19), and 2:00 Sunday (December 20). Tickets (cash or check) are $5 for children and students, $10 for adults, available at the door one hour prior to curtain.
