Classic Disney story features high-quality sets and elaborate costumes

By Marty Cheek

Telling a tale of inner and outer transformation, South Valley Civic Theatre brings to the stage the classic story “Beauty and the Beast.”

The musical show opens June 17 at the Morgan Hill Community Playhouse and runs for 13 shows until July 16.

Photo by Chris Foster Zack Goller as “Gaston”

Based on the Academy Award-winning animated feature produced by Walt Disney Pictures in 1991, this family show reveals the romantic adventures of “Belle” (played by Nicole King-Yarbrough), a bibliophilic young woman in a provincial French town, and “the Beast” (played by Ken Christopher), a young prince trapped under an enchantress’s  spell as punishment for his arrogance. If the Beast can learn to love and be loved, the curse will end and he will be transformed from a monstrous figure into his former self.

This is the first show King-Yarbrough has performed with SVCT. The Livermore resident performed as “Belle” previously for another theater company, so she knew the lines and songs coming to rehearsals. She is impressed by the quality of her fellow SVCT performers.

“The cast is incredible. There’s so much talent in telling this beautiful story,” she said. “It’s so fun and welcoming. Everyone has been so nice and we all have a lot of fun. Everyone is joking and at the same time we work hard.”

Photo by Chris Foster. Gannon Janisch as “Lumiere the Candle.”

As “the Beast,” Ken Christopher is impressed by the high quality of this production. His uncle, Rob Christopher, has performed in many SVCT shows, but this is the first time Ken has acted in a local show.

“There’s an evolution that happens to ‘the Beast’ throughout the show,” he said. “My first song is all about self-pity. ‘Why are all these things happening to me? I did nothing wrong. I am not to blame.’ And then before intermission, it begins to dawn on him that he has a heart.”

The Christopher Foundation underwrote “Beauty and the Beast” to make sure the show has high-quality sets and costumes. “We want to give something special and spectacular to the community, something that people haven’t seen for years — and after two years of COVID the community deserves it,” Christopher said.

As the villain “Gaston,” Zack Goller provides comic relief as well as menace to the story’s plot. It is a “bucket list” role for him. After waiting for stage performances to return following the pandemic, he is eager to entertain audiences again.

“There’s nothing like the spectacle of live theater,” he said. “That’s what people have been missing for the past two years. I certainly missed it.”

The added expense in building an elaborate set and suiting the performers in colorful costumes will add to the audience’s experience, said director Alan Chipman.

“This is going to be one of our better shows, that’s for sure,” he said. “Between the time put into it, the talent that we’ve got, the investment that’s been put into it, it will be a sensational experience.”

The “Beauty and the Beast” producers are Ingrid Rottman, Michael Horta, Marianne Snook. The director is Alan Chipman. The vocal director is Lynette Oliphant. The choreographer is Jyovonne Tirodkar. The costume designers are Kimberly Lynch, Veronica Salvatti and Mary Beth Anderson. The stage manager is Joseph Ramirez.

The cast is Nicole King-Yarbrough (Belle), Ken Christopher (Beast), Zack Goller (Gaston), Michael Horta  (LeFou), Gannon Janisch (Lumiere), Lauren Berling (Babette), Terra Cloutier (Wardrobe), Michael Grimm (Maurice), John Brewer (Monsieur D’Arque), Rob Christopher (Cogsworth), Jen Puente (Mrs. Potts), Matthew Horta (Chip), Lindsay Petroff (Silly Girl 1), Paige DeRosa (Silly Girl 2), Angelina Villafranca (Silly Girl 3), and Jillian Puente (Enchantress). The townspeople and enchanted objects are Brielle Johnson, Lila Vickerman, Chloe Grotz, Eli Barnson, Gabriella Estrada, Joyce Bedard, Gabriella Horta, Grace Butler,, Gianna Garcia, Robin Harris, Jase Puente, Ruby Salvatti, Jillian Grotz, Miriam Shem-Tov, Kaitlyn Gomez, Stacia Stewart and London McWilliams.