Meet the shining stars in this tale as old as time!
Alyssa Cavazos*
(Belle)
Alyssa is humbled to play the role of her dreams, Belle, for this “tale as old as time!” You may remember Alyssa from her past roles on the DCT stage: Ella Enchanted: The Musical (Hattie), The Island of the Skog (Louise), and Treasure Island Reimagined! (Pirate Morgan). She has had the pleasure of performing all over D-FW, New York, and Missouri but is so happy she has found a home like DCT to be an actress and teacher. Alyssa received a BFA in Musical Theatre from Abilene Christian University. She would like to thank her husband, Drew, and her family for their love and support!
Ania Lyons
(Silly Girl/Salt)
Ania is so excited to be back on stage at DCT after appearing in Magic Tree House’s Holiday Musical: A Ghost Tale for Mr. Dickens last season! Most recently she was in the world premiere of The Armor Plays: Cinched & Strapped at Theatre Three. Other regional credits include Disaster! with Uptown Players, Newsies with Lyric Stage, Elemental: Nature’s Rhapsody with the ATTPAC’s Elevator Project, and many exciting productions onstage and backstage with The Firehouse Theater.
Camille Jett
(Silly Girl/Knife)
Camille is thrilled to make her Dallas Children’s Theater debut! Other productions include The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Rona Lisa Peretti/Olive’s Mom) at McKinney Boyd High School; and Big Fish (The Witch) and Sweeney Todd (Aldolfo Pirelli) at Genesis Children’s Theatre. Camille also has a passion and love for choreography. Philippians 4:13. @camillejett
Caroline Bush
(Chip)
Caroline is proud to be returning to the DCT stage, having previously been seen in the productions of Into the Woods, Jr. (Little Red); Magic Tree House’s Holiday Musical: A Ghost Tale for Mr. Dickens (Colin/Young Charles); and Alice in Wonderland, Jr. (March Hare). Caroline takes musical theater classes from Mr. Doug Miller at the DCT Conservatory and studies voice with Ms. Cherry Hanes. She has also been seen at The Firehouse Theatre in James and the Giant Peach, Jr.; Disney’s The Little Mermaid JR.; and Madagascar, Jr. Caroline sends her heartfelt thanks to Ms. Nancy and the cast andcrew for this wonderful experience!
David Coffee*
(Cogsworth)
Debut! In a career that spans 50 years, David has been welcomed by audiences from Portland, Oregon to Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Long associations include Casa Mañana (89 productions) and North Shore Music Theatre (59 productions). Next, David will return to New England where his Scrooge has become a Holiday Tradition for the past 26
seasons. DavidCoffee.org
Debbie Brown*
(Mrs. Potts)
This is Debbie’s 19th production at DCT. Other recent appearances include Man of La Mancha for Lyric Stage, Opal’s Husband for 1:30 Productions, and Ripcord at Circle Theatre. Debbie spent 15 years in the Casa Mañana Children’s Playhouse Company, is a recipient of the LTL of Fort Worth’s Lifetime Achievement Award, and is a long time member of Actors’ Equity Association.
Duke Anderson*
(Lumiere)
Duke Anderson is enchanted to join the DCT family! Previous theater credits include National Tours of Murder for Two (Marcus) and Sweeney Todd (Anthony). Regional credits include The Sound of Music at Paper Mill Playhouse, Les Misérables at The MUNY, Camelot at Casa Mañana, and Exit, Pursued by a Bear at Circle Theatre. Opera credits include Samson & Dalila and The Flying Dutchman at The Dallas Opera, and The Bremen Town Musicians (Eddie Pensier) with TDO’s Education Outreach Program. Thank you to Nancy and Adam for bringing this inanimate object to life!
Edward Houser
(Beast)
Edward Houser is delighted to make his debut with Dallas Children’s Theater! Recent credits around town include As You Like It (Oliver) with Shakespeare Dallas, Mamma Mia! (Sky) and Bye Bye Birdie (Birdie) with CORP, and Moon Over Buffalo (Paul) with Runway Theatre. Ed is a proud graduate of the University of Dallas where his favorite productions included Three Sisters (Vershinin), Measure for Measure (Angelo), and Candide (Pangloss).
Ethan Rodriguez-Mullins
(Lefou)
Ethan Rodriguez-Mullins is absolutely thrilled to be back at Dallas Children’s Theater after just finishing up the national tour of Diary of a Worm, a Spider & a Fly (Spider) this summer! He was previously seen making his music directing debut at CORP in their acclaimed production of Godspell. Favorite roles include: Grease (Doody) and Gypsy (Yonkers) at The Firehouse Theatre; Hello, Dolly! (Barnaby Tucker) at Garland Summer Musicals; The Yellow Boat (Benjamin) at Resolute Theatre Project; and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Chip) at Collin Theatre Center. He would love thank Nancy and Adam for the amazing opportunity to play one of his dream roles and his friends and family for their never-ending support and love.
Gena Loe*
(Babette)
Gena is excited to return to DCT! Her previous work on the DCT stage includes The Island of the Skog (Hannah), Ella Enchanted: The Musical (Olive), and Seussical (Bird Girl). She has also performed locally in Disaster! at Uptown Players and Sister Act (Sister Mary Lazarus) at MainStage Irving-Las Colinas. She would like to thank her family and friends for encouraging her to continue dreaming.
Grace West*
(Madame de la Grande Bouche)
Grace is thrilled to return to the DCT stage after previously being seen in Miracle on 34th Street and Pinkalicious, The Musical. Grace is a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association.
Isaiah Christopher
(Lord Harris Baker/Monsieur D’Arque/Whisk)
After spending a year on the road in DCT’s National Touring Production of Diary of a Worm, a Spider, & a Fly (Worm) Isiah is beyond thrilled to return home to Dallas Children’s Theater! Previous work includes: Priscilla Queen Of The Desert (Jimmy) at Uptown Players; Grease (Sonny) at The Firehouse Theatre; Mickey’s Most Merriest Celebration (Reindeer Dancer) at Walt Disney World; Chicago (Aaron) at MainStage Irving-Las Colinas; The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Leaf Coneybear) and The Drowsy Chaperone (George ) at Collin College. Isaiah would like to thank his family & friends for their immense amount of love & support over the years, and God for his unconditional love. Instagram: @Turk8_
Julie Rhodes
(Enchantress/Villager/Plate)
Julie is thrilled to return to DCT where she appeared in The Secret Life of Girls (Abby’s Mom). Other work includes Babette’s Feast (Philippa) at Amphibian Stage Productions, Who Am I This Time? (And Other Conundrums of Love) (Helene/Catharine) at Circle Theatre, Into the Woods (Cinderella) at Stolen Shakespeare Guild, and multiple productions at Casa Mañana (favorite: Mrs. Darling in Peter Pan) and Lyric Stage. Lots of love and thanks to Gordon, Drew, and Maddie. Visit juliekrhodes.com.
Karl Schaeffer*
(Maurice)
Karl has appeared in many DCT productions including last season’s Blue. Additional credits include Skippyjon Jones; Dr. Seuss’s The Cat in the Hat; Night of the Living Dead; Pinkerton!!!; The Emperor’s New Clothes; Babe, the Sheep-Pig; Holes; The Mummy’s Claw; Pecos Bill; The Island of the Skog; Frankenstein; The Stinky Cheeseman…; Honus & Me; Junie B. Jones & a Little Monkey Business; The Best Christmas Pageant Ever; The Pied Piper’s Magic; Junie B. in Jingle Bells, Batman Smells!; Go, Dog. Go!; Charlotte’s Web; Balloonacy; Junie B. Jones Is Not A Crook; and Goosebumps the Musical: Phantom of the Auditorium. He also performed with Dallas Theater Center, Shakespeare Dallas, and Theatre Three. Karl is an Artist-in-Residence at DCT and teaches video acting classes for the DCT Academy.
Megan Lagemann
(Silly Girl/Pepper)
Megan is thrilled to make her debut with Dallas Children’s Theater! Education: Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance at DBU. Her recent credits include: The Fantasticks (Luisa) at DBU; and Meet Me in St. Louis (Esther) and Newsies (Katherine) at Artisan Center Theater. She would like to thank Nancy Schaffer for this amazing opportunity to perform and her family and friends for all their support. IG @meganlagemann, meganlagemann.com
Phillip Brown
(Bookseller/Plate)
Phillip is thrilled to return to the DCT stage after appearing in Jungalbook (Hathi). Additional credits include: Little Shop of Horrors (Audrey II) at Stages Repertory Theater; Unlock’d the Musical (Zeus) at Queensbury Theatre; Shrek the Musical (Donkey), How I Became a Pirate (Sharktooth the Pirate), and The Magic Tree House: A Night in New Orleans (Big Nose Sydney) at Main Street Theater for Youth; and A Lesson Before Dying (Jefferson) at The Encore Theatre. Film/TV credit: My Brothers Keeper.
Tabitha Ellis
(Chip)
Tabitha is delighted to make her DCT mainstage debut. She previously appeared in Next Stop Broadway at DCT; and she has performed in many other productions in Dallas such as Madagascar; 101 Dalmatians, KIDS; and Jingle Bell Jukebox at The Firehouse Theatre; and Beauty and the Beast, JR; and Elf JR. at North Texas Performing Arts. Tabitha is a 7th grader and loves all things musical theater. She would like to thank DCT for this opportunity and her family for their support.
Will Stotts
(Gaston)
Will is pumped to make his DCT debut! He holds a BFA in Musical Theatre from Ouachita Baptist University. Credits include: My Fair Lady (Freddy Eynsford-Hill) and Romeo and Juliet (Tybalt) at Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre, Sister Act (Joey) at Murry’s Dinner Playhouse, and Urinetown (Officer Lockstock) at Red Barn Theatre. Will recently signed with The Linicomn Agency. He thanks Nancy for the opportunity, God for his grace, and his wife and family for their love and support.
Yellow Cast
Back Row (Left to Right): Cate Goglia, Teak Esneault, Liam South
Front Row (Left to Right): Sienna Ellis, Arianna Coleman
Blue Cast
Back Row (Left to Right): Emma Sucato, Edie Hoesterey
Front Row (Left to Right): Caroline Ricketts, Jacob Pasteur, Madeleine Jenkins
Lyrics by Howard Ashman & Tim Rice
Book by Linda Woolverton
Directed by Nancy Schaeffer
Be our guest for this tale as old as time! Spirited Belle longs for adventure beyond her small, country town. But does she get more than she bargained for when the Beast captures her father and she is forced to trade places to save him? Favorite castle figures Lumiere, Cogsworth, Chip, and Mrs. Potts hold out hope that Belle can, at last, be the one to help the misunderstood Beast learn to love and be loved in return. If so, they can all be rescued from the curse they are under. Can she do it before the last rose petal falls? Beloved songs mixed with a touch of compassion and kindness highlight the power of true love in this large-scale, family musical based on the Disney classic.
Disney’s BEAUTY AND THE BEAST JR is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI. MTIShows[dot]com
“When my younger academy students come to shows I’m in at Dallas Children’s Theater, I will see them afterwards during autographs. I always ask them, “Did I talk loud? Did I face the audience?” When they say I did, I say, “Remember that the next time you are on stage.” My goal is to model for them an actor’s ability to “cheat out”. Cheating out is a performance technique that helps maintain the illusion that characters are totally committed to the onstage action, but simultaneously reorients their performance so that they are playing out towards the audience.”
