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OUR VIEW: Community spirit lives on in Plymouth

<p>For some of the kids who will appear in &#8220;Beauty and the Beast Jr.&#8221; at Little Theatre of Wilkes-Barre, this weekend, the best part of the theater&#8217;s free summer acting workshop was the coaching.</p><p>&#8220;He helped me work on my voice,&#8221; said 15-year-old Jesse Kosierowski, of Dallas, recalling how the operatically-trained David Fortin, of Kingston, who portrayed the Beast a few weeks ago in Little Theatre&#8217;s full-length version of the musical, gave him tips.</p><p>&#8220;He told me that even though the Beast is scary, I should portray the sensitive side of the Beast,&#8221; said Kosierowski, who is alternating that title role with Zander Feist, just as Hannah Draus and Kristina Taddei are taking turns with the role of Belle.</p><p>&#8220;We got a chance to talk to Lauren (Timek, of West Pittston, who played Belle in the grown-up show),&#8221; said Taddei, 16, of Pittston, explaining Timek&#8217;s advice made her even more determined to portray Belle as &#8220;not just pretty, the way you think of some Disney princesses. She has courage, she&#8217;s brave and kind and she really looks at the inside of a person.&#8221;</p><p>Watching Toni Jo Parmelee as Mrs. Potts, the housekeeper who&#8217;s &#8220;kind of a sweet, caring, motherly type to everyone in the castle,&#8221; was inspiring, said 13-year-old Katie Stuart, who is a student at Wyoming Valley West.</p><p>&#8220;I saw her in dress rehearsal,&#8221; Stuart said. &#8220;She was just fabulous.&#8217;</p><p>While she enjoys portraying the character, who is magically changing into a teapot throughout the show, Stuart admitted she&#8217;s not a fan of that important British beverage. &#8220;I like ice tea but hot tea is, kind of, meh,&#8221; she admitted before a recent rehearsal, as Katie Zeyher, who portrays the maid, Babette, and Mia Adelstein, who plays Mrs. Potts&#8217; child, Chip, feigned shock.</p><p>Moments earlier Adelstein, who is 8 and lives in Dupont, had stood still while director/costumer Kalen Churcher, of Plymouth, fit a large tea cup over her head. The little girl assured Churcher it was comfortable.</p><p>With 65 young people in the cast and each having at least two costumes, Churcher said she&#8217;s grateful to a team of helpers who put together outfits that will make the kids look like they have transformed into utensils, a clock, a feather duster, a candelabra and other household furnishings.</p><p>Also contributing their talents to the show are Kimberly Johnson of Kingston as music director and Dan Pittman of Plymouth as choreographer.</p><p>Show times are 7 p.m. July 26, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. July 27 and 2 p.m. July 28 at Little Theatre, 537 N. Main St., Wilkes-Barre.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">John Toussaint Jr., center, portrays a muscular, but unwelcome, suitor for Belle, named Gaston, in &#8216;Beauty and the Beast Jr.&#8217; at Little Theatre of Wilkes-Barre. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/web1_beauty.beast_.jr_.1-1.jpeg</photo0><caption0>John Toussaint Jr., center, portrays a muscular, but unwelcome, suitor for Belle, named Gaston, in &#8216;Beauty and the Beast Jr.&#8217; at Little Theatre of Wilkes-Barre. </caption0><photoCredit0>Angel Berlane Mulcahy | On My Cue Productions. </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/web1_beauty.beast_.jr2_-1.jpeg">
<div class="neCaption">In Little Theatre of Wilkes-Barre&#8217;s production of &#8216;Beauty and the Beast Jr.,&#8217; the Beast&#8217;s household staff is turning into household items, from tea cup and tea pot to featherduster to candelabra to clock. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/web1_beauty.beast_.jr2_-1.jpeg</photo1><caption1>In Little Theatre of Wilkes-Barre&#8217;s production of &#8216;Beauty and the Beast Jr.,&#8217; the Beast&#8217;s household staff is turning into household items, from tea cup and tea pot to featherduster to candelabra to clock. </caption1><photoCredit1>Angel Berlane Mulcahy | On My Cue Productions. </photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Mary Therese Biebel</p><p>mbiebel@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div>

Little Theatre presents ’Beauty and the Beast Jr.’