Since early January, the students at Putnam County Middle School have been working hard to prepare for their upcoming shows of Disney's Beauty and the Beast Jr.
Students ranging from sixth to eighth grade auditioned for co-directors Seth Wicker and Brianna Moore, along with musical director Ontario Williams. There was such a vast showing of talent it took the directors over three hours of discussion to choose their cast. They wanted to choose a show that would give them and their cast a fun challenge.
In this rendition of Beauty and the Beast, beautiful and brilliant Belle was played by sixth-grader Kenzie Nelson, who was already familiar with having a lead role, having starred as Violet Beauregarde in a show of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.
“I’m not even nervous, just really excited,” Nelson commented.
The fearsome beast was played by Avry Shorter. Although he was a little nervous about the show, he loves to portray himself as the beast. Japheth Nelson portrayed the proud Gaston.
As a student-athlete, Nelson has put in the work to balance everything and really gets the laughs from the audience. Plus, many more talents were on display in the ensemble such as seventh-grader Payton Stokes, who said “My favorite part is seeing how the show comes together”.
Wicker, Moore and Williams were blown away by the support they received, especially from the student’s parents. Many parents came on Saturdays and after school to help build sets, create props and prepare costumes.
“We really couldn’t have done it without them,” said Williams.
Putnam County Middle School is proud to present Beauty and the Beast Jr. at The Plaza Arts Center on Thursday, May 4 through Saturday, May 6, at 6:30 p.m. Tickets ($10) can be purchased at pccss.booktix.com or at the door.