Mesa actress has star role in Chandler musical
Kaitlynn Bluth of Mesa thought she had seen the end of her princess days on stage. The Chandler Center for the Arts is staging Disney’s Beauty and The Beast Live in Concert with Showtune Productions on Friday and Saturday, March 22-23. Kaitlynn Bluth of Mesa has been asked to play Belle in the musical, stating that she is more of a hero in the show than many other princesses. The Beast is played by Loren Battieste of Phoenix, Caden Marshall of Queen Creek plays Lumiere, Courtney Washington of Mesa plays Mrs. Potts. The musical will be performed by professional actors and musicians from around the Valley. Seth Raines, director, has updated the experience to modern times with the use of animated projected scenery provided by two companies.
Publicerad : 2 månader sedan förbi Tribune Contributor, Srianthi Perera i Entertainment
Kaitlynn Bluth of Mesa thought she had seen the end of her princess days on stage.
She had done many that required her to be just beautiful, wear a pretty dress, sing a classic song and fall in love with a handsome prince.
Then, she was asked to play Belle in “Beauty and The Beast.”
The Chandler Center for the Arts’ is staging Disney’s Beauty and The Beast Live in Concert with Showtune Productions Friday and Saturday, March 22-23.
“I am really excited to be able to play Belle,” Bluth said, noting that unlike other Disney princesses, Belle is special because she has a fully fleshed-out type of character.
“I think she was different when the movie was made and they’ve even fleshed her out more in the musical and given her a lot more of a commanding role. She’s more of a hero in the show than many other princesses,” she said.
The Beast is played by Loren Battieste of Phoenix, who is moving into musical theater from an opera background.
Queen Creek resident Caden Marshall, an accomplished music director and composer, plays Lumiere. Courtney Washington, of Mesa – described as “a performer with a big voice” – plays Mrs. Potts.
In this classic French tale, Belle is taken prisoner by a beast in a castle when she trades place with her father. As time goes, she loses her fear of the beast and even grows to love him. This causes a spell to be broken and the beast turns back into the handsome prince he used to be until an evil fairy had changed him.
The live orchestra is led by JR McAlexander.
The classic musical – with beloved songs like Be Our Guest, Beauty and The Beast, and Human Again – will be performed by a company of professional actors and musicians from around the Valley.
The orchestra on stage makes the musical different visually, said Seth Raines, director.
McAlexander will use three keyboard players in addition to the live instrumentation to bring out the lush score, he said.
This is Raines’ first time directing this show, although he has produced it many times, including at the now defunct Broadway Palm theater in Mesa.
He has updated the experience to modern times with the use of animated projected scenery provided by not one, but two companies.
“One of them has special effects that we are able to use for the transformation of the beast,” he said.
“Then, there is a rose that drops petals, it’s kind of a big stained-glass window. You can rent or buy or build props of these roses but it’s such a large theater that I wanted to make sure that the audience could see it,” he added.
The costuming by Celia Erickson sports the usual Disney appeal audiences are used to seeing – with bright, bold and captivating primary colors.
Is it suitable for adults?
“You think it’s a children’s show, but it is a lot more sophisticated than that,” Reines said. “The humor is really adult.”
While the script stays true to the original play, the characters will bring their own sub-text to it, Reines said.
“I’m trying to make them more real so that you care about them more. I think that each cast member will be bringing their own take to the character. It doesn’t have to be done exactly like it was done originally,” he said.
“If you are on stage with any other character or any other person, you have to know your relationship as a character to each of those people,” he added. “Maybe the audience will get it. It’s not just a chorus of people doing things.”
Belle is particularly rounded out.
“I really like that she takes command of taking care and protecting her father, of being the one that drives the story,” Bluth said. “She’s the one that’s creating her own path throughout all of the things that happen… I’m really trying to hone in on that.”
Bluth says of Belle that “I’m also trying to underscore that fire that she has that would drive her to stand up to the Beast, to choose to trade places with her father, to choose to go back and save her father.
“Those are the things that I’m trying to really highlight.”
Bluth’s three young children are old enough to appreciate the show, so they will be in the audience. What’s more, she will share the stage in some scenes with her husband, Jordan, playing Gaston, who has designs on Belle.
He has also performed in operatic and musical theaters across the country and is a recording artist, plays Gaston.
“Especially it will be fun because he’s playing the villain,” Bluth said. “Instead of falling in love in the show, this time we get to spar a little bit and that, honestly, is really enjoyable. So, we are having a lot of fun.”
Disney’s Beauty & The Beast Live in Concert presented by Showtune Productions runs 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 22 and 3 and 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 23 at Chandler Center for the Arts, at 250 N. Arizona Ave. Tickets are $15 for youth and $38, $48, and $58 adults. Details: 480-782-2680 and chandlercenter.org.