Kentlake's production of "Beauty and the Beast" brings together two different worlds on stage

The story told in “Beauty and the Beast” is one of two worlds colliding, yet somehow finding harmony in the end.

In the same way, Kentlake’s production of the 1991 Disney film and Broadway musical is a joint effort between two separate realms within the performing arts world, drama and ballet, with the Maple Valley School of Ballet stepping in to lend its talent to Kentlake’s drama department.

In a similar manner, many of the cast members come with vastly different backgrounds, ranging from those relatively new to the world of theater to ballet dancers who have been in slippers since they were old enough to walk.

FROM the BATTER’S BOX TO THE STAGE

For junior Daniel DiLeonardo baseball was practically a religion in his family. Having played since he was young, he spent his youth participating in club leagues and on select teams. This continued when he arrived at Kentlake, where he played catcher for the Falcons, in addition to basketball during the winter.

Yet, privately, DiLeonardo was slowly losing interest in the sport.

“I felt like I was playing for my friends, for my parents, so it wasn’t as fun,” he said.

At the same time, he discovered he had an interest in performing after acting as the master of ceremonies for the Mr. Kentlake contest. It was then that he started to think of participating in a drama production, but felt too self-conscious.

“I’ve always played sports,” he said. “I was always afraid I’d get made fun of.”

During the winter, he stepped away from basketball in order to focus more on his studies, which included required arts class. Seeing it as a the perfect opportunity to explore his interest in theater he enrolled in drama class.

“It was the first time I had ever been on this side of the school before,” he joked.

At that time Drama Director Pam Cressey was working on the school’s production of “The Pajama Games” and encouraged him to audition. His audition eventually landed him the role of Prez and his first theatrical production.

Although he had wanted to perform for years, DiLeonardo said, there were still a few adjustments that had to be made. Speaking in front of others, he said, came fairly easy. Singing — which he had never done before — did not.

“I’ve always loved being on stage,” he said. “But the first time I had to sing I was like, ‘Everyone has to leave the room. No one can be in here when I do this.’ I had zero self-confidence.”

Over time and with a great deal of practice he was able to overcome the nervousness during the show’s run and in the process realized how much he enjoyed it.

“I love how you can just be yourself and there’s no judgment,” he said. “You can make a complete idiot of yourself and no one cares.”

When “Beauty and the Beast” came around, however, DiLeonardo had to choose between the sport he had played his whole life and a newly found passion.

“It’s like something I always wanted to do,” he said.

Finally DiLeonardo told his parents that he decided to give up baseball. Their reaction, he said, was much more positive than he had feared.

“My parents were kind of skeptical,” he said. “But they grew to love it as much as I have.”

DiLeonardo audition for the part of Gaston in the production, but was ultimately cast as Lumière, the French maître d’hôtel/candelabra, whom he said he actually wanted to play most.

“He’s really energetic and a ladies man,” he said. “’Be Our Guest’ is my favorite song in the show.”

To prepare for the role of Lumière, DiLeonardo said, he has watched both the previous school’s production as well as the animated film to properly capture the character’s strong accent.

“I think it’s pretty good right now but obviously it could use some improvement,” he said.

With one more year left at Kentlake, DiLeonardo said, he plans to participate in next year’s drama productions.

EN POINTE

In the Maple Valley School of Ballet there are students like senior Madeleine Sutton, who has been dancing since she was 4 years old.

Unlike DiLeonardo, though, her entrance into performing arts was initiated by her parents.

“I was a really awkward child,” she joked. “My mom decided to do something to make me less awkward.”

Like DiLeonardo, however, Sutton has a natural passion for dancing that has kept her involved over the years. She also plans to continue taking dance classes at Seattle University in the fall.

“It just feels good to dance,” she said. “You don’t need anything else. You can dance without any props or singing.”

Sutton, who plays the part of the enchantress and a napkin, is a member of the Maple Valley School of Ballet. She also does running start through Green River Community College.

To prepare for it, the dancers began working on the choreography in January before they joined with the rest of the cast in February, when auditions had just completed for the actors.

Incorporating ballet into a musical was a new experience, Sutton said. While in January they had the ballet school’s dance studio to practice in, with mirrors to help study and improve their movements, the Kentlake performing arts stage has no mirrors and isn’t specifically designed for ballet.

They also had to adjust to the world of Broadway musicals which approaches dancing from a very different perspective.

Ballet choreography, Sutton said, tends to be more artistic and technical, while musicals emphasize showmanship and a particular emotion or attitude.

“It’s (Beauty and the Beast) a little more sassy than regular ballet,” Sutton said of the production.

Additionally dancing, which encompasses the whole aspect of a ballet performance, is only one aspect of a musical.

“It’s a shorter time (in a musical) and there’s a lot more going on at the same time (on stage),” Sutton said. “So you have to work hard to keep the attention on you.”

Though much of the drama cast had to learn the dance numbers, dancers like Sutton did not have any singing parts or significant amount of dialogue.

“I dance for a reason,” she said with a laugh. “I don’t have a good singing voice and I’ve come to terms with it.”

Due to the extensive practices beforehand, Sutton said, they came prepared to handle their aspect of the production, while the drama cast has had to learn both their lines as well as the dance routine.

“I try to help people, because we know who is doing what,” Sutton said. “So we try to help people know where we’re going to be (on the stage). It’s harder (to learn) for them because it’s harder to understand how your body moves.”

Reach TJ Martinell at 425-432-1209 ext. 5052.

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