Two Columbus actresses have roles in Cardinal Stage’s production of Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast,” running Thursday through Dec. 30 at the Buskirk Chumley Theatre, 114 E. Kirkwood in Bloomington.
Janie Gordon, a former longtime choral teacher at Columbus North High School and current private voice teacher, stars as Mrs. Potts, one of the lead characters. She played the stage role once before in 2005 with what is now the Mill Race Theatre Company.
And Jocylon Evans, a local home-schooled teen who appeared last summer in Mill Race’s “The Little Mermaid,” has a role in the chorus. She also is one of Gordon’s voice students.
When retiring from her school post in the spring of 2017, Gordon had said that she wanted to return to the stage.
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“I’ve been in the trenches with other performers (and their preparations),” Gordon said of her work with voice students through the years. “Then I decided, ‘Hey — I want to play, too.’”
She added that, amid rehearsals, she has felt like “a kid in the candy store.” In a bit of a role reversal, she mentioned that she also has sought input from former local voice students and current Broadway performers Mary Claire King and Marja Harmon on her performance.
Tickets, priced at $16.95 to $39.95, are available at cardinalstage.org.
