Beauty and the Beast

Before COVID-19 hit, I had the pleasure and opportunity to play one of my favorite powerful female leads, Belle in Beauty and the Beast.

After being in this musical twice already; once at a young age as Chip, and once as an unforgettable and renowned “lady with babies,” I was eager to share my version of Belle.

One of my favorite parts of creating Belle was reading one of her favorite books the original King Arthur. From page one, I knew who Belle was. I knew why this was one of her favorite books. I knew why she wanted to share the power of reading with the Beast and the ability it had to transport you to another world, just like art and and theatre.

I made the choices about her past, and discussed with the wonderful director, Samantha Bower, the introduction and significance of a necklace from her mother. Belle does not usually have this piece of jewelry, but that was one of the things I loved about creating my version of her. As the rehearsals turned into tech week which turned into performance week I had become Belle.

The cast was a delight to work with and “Chip” and I had a very special relationship, one day she will be Belle too! She was also quite the artist (see photo below).

After the matinee performances I met some of the children in the audience, some of the boys and girls pulled off the iconic Golden ball-gown better than I did! They were mesmerized by the power they could see Belle had. Touching the the heart of just one audience member, is enough for me.

It was with such pleasure and honor to share her story.