BWW Previews: BEAUTY AND THE BEAST at Elite Dance And Theatre Company

Elite Dance and Theatre company presents a unique and original take on the classic fairytale, Beauty and the Beast. In this production, the ambitious Zypherine (Cara Sowers) desires to rise above her station of a courtier to that of the queen. While she has gained the king's trust after the death of his wife, it becomes apparent that the king does not want Zypherine to be anything other than his mistress. Zypherine then turns her attention to the king's son, Bey/the Beast (Isaac Christie). Over time, Zypherine finds herself in control of the throne. However, it comes at a cost - Prince Bey is injured and the king is killed. When the Northern Kingdom's Chief Advisor, Mathis (Tim Nguyen), attempts to negotiate peace for the kingdom after the king's untimely death, he find himself imprisoned and his daughter in a perilous position. Through Mathis' quick thinking, he keeps his daughter, Belle (Aly Costales), out of prison, but leaves her in a position of servitude to the prince. Elite's production of Beauty and the Beast is "full of intrigue, deception, betrayal, manipulation, desperation, sacrifice", and ultimately friendship and love. Elite's production of Beauty and the Beast also stars Lindsay Hafenrichter as Camille, Savannah Harden as Sasha, and McKenna Beck, Tianna Cooney, Nikki Morrison, Theo Morrison as Servants.

Writer and director Cheri Costales has been working with the elite Company for over fifteen years. Her writing mostly consists of adapting stories to be performed for dance theatre. Her prior productions with elite Company include: Mr. Mallard's Magical Menagerie, The Picture of Dorian Gray, A Christmas Carol, Dracula,and Peter Pan. Her original works include Days of the Dead, The Shoe Room, and the elite Kids Theatre Projects: The Problem With Fairies, Benny & the Supersquad.

Performances run from April 5th to April 13th at the North 4th Theatre. Tickets are $22 for Fridays and Saturdays, and $20 for Thursday. Performances are at 7pm Friday, April 5th, 7 pm Saturday, April 6th, 7 pm Thursday, April 11th, 7 pm Friday, April 12th, and 2pm and 7 pm Saturday, April 13th. Tickets can be purchased at www.elitedancetheatre.net/tickets. For more information, contact elite Dance and Theatre Company at: 505-344-0434.

Image source: elite Theatre and Dance Company