Of 'Beauty' & 'Boys'
Two WCHS graduates on national tours
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By David [email protected]
Emily Behny, a 2005 WCHS graduate, is playing the lead role of Belle in the national tour of Disney’s “Beauty & The Beast”.
Skye Scott, a 2006 graduate, will be on tour with “Jersey Boys”. He is playing the Knuckles/Billy Dixon track and other roles in the show, as well as understudying for Bob Gaudio, one of the Four Seasons.
In a telephone interview Sept. 29, Behny said after high school she attended Grace College for two years, but not as a musical theater major. Not able to find a major she was happy with there, she auditioned for the theater program at Indiana and Ball State universities. She transferred to BSU, graduating in 2010 after three years.
“I worked four jobs after graduating that summer in Muncie so I could save as much money as I could,” Behny said.
On Sept. 21, 2010, she moved to New York.
The first open call audition she went to was “Beauty & The Beast”, but there were more than 300 other girls. Each actor was asked to sing. Behny was No. 191, even though she had arrived at 7 a.m.
By the time Behny got to sing, girls were being asked to sing just eight bars instead of 16 to get them all through. Behny cracked the first time, but the director gave her a second chance. She nailed it, and was asked to come back to dance. After that, she was called back the next day to read for Belle.
The show wasn’t looking for immediate replacements, so Behny was told she’d be contacted in six to 12 weeks. Time passed and Behny about forgot about the role. Then on Jan. 13, she got a call back.
“They asked me to come back the next day, but that was the day of my wedding. We eloped at city hall,” Behny said.
The call back was at 10 a.m. Jan. 14. Behny and Adam Hochstetler, Nappanee, married at 4 p.m. The following day, they left for Jamaica for a week.
Returning home from her honeymoon, Behny listened to her voice mail and heard from her agent that she was offered the role of Belle.
“Needless to say,” Behny said, “it was an amazing start to my marriage.”
Rehearsals started March 7 in New York for six days. The cast then flew out to Los Angeles for 1-1/2 weeks of rehearsals. Opening night was March 25 at the Pantages Theatre in West Hollywood, Calif.
Behny said they do eight shows a week, traveling in-between the shows. It’s physically and mentally challenging at times, but it’s the most rewarding job she could have.
“It’s just a joy every night,” she said.
“You get to travel the country and do this amazing show and get paid for it.”
Behny’s contract for “Beauty & The Beast” is for 52 working weeks, but the producer could always extend her contract. By the time she’s finished with the show, Behny said she could end up playing Belle for 14 to 16 months.
“I’m really happy and grateful for that long of a contract,” she said.
After high school, Scott went to Carnegie Mellon Conservatory’s School of Drama. He graduated there in 2010.
In “Jersey Boys” there are 20 different roles. There are four actual “Jersey Boys”, two record producers and a mob leader, with four other guys playing the rest of the roles.
This is the second launch of a national tour of “Jersey Boys”. This launch was created around the actors picked for the show.
Scott said he’s been auditioning for the musical for the entire year he’s been in Manhattan, N.Y. The past two months, he went in eight separate times for the show. He had to do “so many” work sessions and auditions with them before he got to go before the Four Seasons and the producers.
“Jersey Boys” starts rehearsals Oct. 24, and opens in Philadelphia, Pa., Dec. 9. Like “Beauty & The Beast”, “Jersey Boys” “is never going to close,” Scott said, but it’s a matter of how long he gets to stay with the show.
Some of the stops for “Jersey Boys” includes Toledo, Ohio, for a month; Kalamazoo, Mich., for a couple of months; and Philadelphia for a month.
Before “Jersey Boys”, Scott did a mini tour with the show “Miss Saigon”. That show hit Pennsylvania, Toronto, Canada, for 1-1/2 months and New York. Scott said that was a great experience.
Growing up in Warsaw, Behny and Scott both started in theater at Wagon Wheel Theatre and on the stage at WCHS.
In high school, Behny performed as Rapunzel in “Into the Woods”, an ensemble member in “Godspell”, Mrs. Malloy in “Hello, Dolly” and Mame in “Auntie Mame”.
Scott starred as Rapunzel’s prince in “Into the Woods”, Syd Sorokin in “The Pajama Game”, Cornelius Hackle in “Hello, Dolly”, Jesus in “Godspell”, Billy Bigelow in “Carousel” and Henry Gondorff in “The Sting”.
“I owe a lot of my love for the theater from (WCHS drama teacher) Ms. Dana McAfee,” said Behny.
She said McAfee’s belief in her and pushing her to do roles which she thought were beyond her helped her. McAfee has been supportive of her after high school, supporting Behny at her BSU shows and twice coming to “Beauty & The Beast” performances.
When he was a student at WCHS, Scott said they didn’t have the Performing Arts Center, but there were still many opportunities to perform. He said he and Behny were so involved in different things at WCHS and the Wagon Wheel that provided great learning experiences growing up.
“It was sort of like the stepping stones of a career,” Scott said. “It was great to be in a town with many theater arts opportunities.”
If the Wagon Wheel wasn’t there, and Scott never had the opportunity to see a show, he said he never would have known he had an acting ability.
“It just all kind of worked out perfectly for Emily and myself,” Scott said.
The first musical Behny ever did was “The King & I” at the Wagon Wheel when she was in the sixth grade.
“I think that’s when I got the theater bug,” she said.
Her sophomore year in college, Behny returned to the Wagon Wheel as Liesl in the 2007 Christmas show of “The Sound of Music”.[[In-content Ad]]“They were main characters in my shows when they were here,” said McAfee of Scott and Behny. “They were leaders... Their love for it was obvious. When they both decided to go into it as their major, they knew it was risky. It’s not an easy business.”
McAfee said Scott has worked hard at his craft. For Behny, she’s gotten to perform in the same Chicago theater where “Wicked” was performed, which is big for a first role.
“I felt like a parent,” McAfee said.
She cried so much during the first show, McAfee had to go to a second show to actually watch Behny’s performance, she said. When she goes to see Scott’s show, she knows she’ll have the same reaction.
“Truly, God gave them their ability and I was blessed to work with them,” said McAfee.
McAfee has assembled a group of about 40 people to see Behny’s performance in South Bend in December.
“Beauty & The Beast” starring Behny will be in Indiana at Indianapolis Oct. 11-16; Muncie, Nov. 1; West Lafayette, Nov. 2; and South Bend, Dec. 2-3. For more information and dates, visit the official website at www.beautyandthebeastontour.com The show also has a page on Facebook.
The official website for “Jersey Boys” is at jerseyboysinfo.com The official casting has not yet been released, but show dates and times for the first few months are available.
Emily Behny, a 2005 WCHS graduate, is playing the lead role of Belle in the national tour of Disney’s “Beauty & The Beast”.
Skye Scott, a 2006 graduate, will be on tour with “Jersey Boys”. He is playing the Knuckles/Billy Dixon track and other roles in the show, as well as understudying for Bob Gaudio, one of the Four Seasons.
In a telephone interview Sept. 29, Behny said after high school she attended Grace College for two years, but not as a musical theater major. Not able to find a major she was happy with there, she auditioned for the theater program at Indiana and Ball State universities. She transferred to BSU, graduating in 2010 after three years.
“I worked four jobs after graduating that summer in Muncie so I could save as much money as I could,” Behny said.
On Sept. 21, 2010, she moved to New York.
The first open call audition she went to was “Beauty & The Beast”, but there were more than 300 other girls. Each actor was asked to sing. Behny was No. 191, even though she had arrived at 7 a.m.
By the time Behny got to sing, girls were being asked to sing just eight bars instead of 16 to get them all through. Behny cracked the first time, but the director gave her a second chance. She nailed it, and was asked to come back to dance. After that, she was called back the next day to read for Belle.
The show wasn’t looking for immediate replacements, so Behny was told she’d be contacted in six to 12 weeks. Time passed and Behny about forgot about the role. Then on Jan. 13, she got a call back.
“They asked me to come back the next day, but that was the day of my wedding. We eloped at city hall,” Behny said.
The call back was at 10 a.m. Jan. 14. Behny and Adam Hochstetler, Nappanee, married at 4 p.m. The following day, they left for Jamaica for a week.
Returning home from her honeymoon, Behny listened to her voice mail and heard from her agent that she was offered the role of Belle.
“Needless to say,” Behny said, “it was an amazing start to my marriage.”
Rehearsals started March 7 in New York for six days. The cast then flew out to Los Angeles for 1-1/2 weeks of rehearsals. Opening night was March 25 at the Pantages Theatre in West Hollywood, Calif.
Behny said they do eight shows a week, traveling in-between the shows. It’s physically and mentally challenging at times, but it’s the most rewarding job she could have.
“It’s just a joy every night,” she said.
“You get to travel the country and do this amazing show and get paid for it.”
Behny’s contract for “Beauty & The Beast” is for 52 working weeks, but the producer could always extend her contract. By the time she’s finished with the show, Behny said she could end up playing Belle for 14 to 16 months.
“I’m really happy and grateful for that long of a contract,” she said.
After high school, Scott went to Carnegie Mellon Conservatory’s School of Drama. He graduated there in 2010.
In “Jersey Boys” there are 20 different roles. There are four actual “Jersey Boys”, two record producers and a mob leader, with four other guys playing the rest of the roles.
This is the second launch of a national tour of “Jersey Boys”. This launch was created around the actors picked for the show.
Scott said he’s been auditioning for the musical for the entire year he’s been in Manhattan, N.Y. The past two months, he went in eight separate times for the show. He had to do “so many” work sessions and auditions with them before he got to go before the Four Seasons and the producers.
“Jersey Boys” starts rehearsals Oct. 24, and opens in Philadelphia, Pa., Dec. 9. Like “Beauty & The Beast”, “Jersey Boys” “is never going to close,” Scott said, but it’s a matter of how long he gets to stay with the show.
Some of the stops for “Jersey Boys” includes Toledo, Ohio, for a month; Kalamazoo, Mich., for a couple of months; and Philadelphia for a month.
Before “Jersey Boys”, Scott did a mini tour with the show “Miss Saigon”. That show hit Pennsylvania, Toronto, Canada, for 1-1/2 months and New York. Scott said that was a great experience.
Growing up in Warsaw, Behny and Scott both started in theater at Wagon Wheel Theatre and on the stage at WCHS.
In high school, Behny performed as Rapunzel in “Into the Woods”, an ensemble member in “Godspell”, Mrs. Malloy in “Hello, Dolly” and Mame in “Auntie Mame”.
Scott starred as Rapunzel’s prince in “Into the Woods”, Syd Sorokin in “The Pajama Game”, Cornelius Hackle in “Hello, Dolly”, Jesus in “Godspell”, Billy Bigelow in “Carousel” and Henry Gondorff in “The Sting”.
“I owe a lot of my love for the theater from (WCHS drama teacher) Ms. Dana McAfee,” said Behny.
She said McAfee’s belief in her and pushing her to do roles which she thought were beyond her helped her. McAfee has been supportive of her after high school, supporting Behny at her BSU shows and twice coming to “Beauty & The Beast” performances.
When he was a student at WCHS, Scott said they didn’t have the Performing Arts Center, but there were still many opportunities to perform. He said he and Behny were so involved in different things at WCHS and the Wagon Wheel that provided great learning experiences growing up.
“It was sort of like the stepping stones of a career,” Scott said. “It was great to be in a town with many theater arts opportunities.”
If the Wagon Wheel wasn’t there, and Scott never had the opportunity to see a show, he said he never would have known he had an acting ability.
“It just all kind of worked out perfectly for Emily and myself,” Scott said.
The first musical Behny ever did was “The King & I” at the Wagon Wheel when she was in the sixth grade.
“I think that’s when I got the theater bug,” she said.
Her sophomore year in college, Behny returned to the Wagon Wheel as Liesl in the 2007 Christmas show of “The Sound of Music”.[[In-content Ad]]“They were main characters in my shows when they were here,” said McAfee of Scott and Behny. “They were leaders... Their love for it was obvious. When they both decided to go into it as their major, they knew it was risky. It’s not an easy business.”
McAfee said Scott has worked hard at his craft. For Behny, she’s gotten to perform in the same Chicago theater where “Wicked” was performed, which is big for a first role.
“I felt like a parent,” McAfee said.
She cried so much during the first show, McAfee had to go to a second show to actually watch Behny’s performance, she said. When she goes to see Scott’s show, she knows she’ll have the same reaction.
“Truly, God gave them their ability and I was blessed to work with them,” said McAfee.
McAfee has assembled a group of about 40 people to see Behny’s performance in South Bend in December.
“Beauty & The Beast” starring Behny will be in Indiana at Indianapolis Oct. 11-16; Muncie, Nov. 1; West Lafayette, Nov. 2; and South Bend, Dec. 2-3. For more information and dates, visit the official website at www.beautyandthebeastontour.com The show also has a page on Facebook.
The official website for “Jersey Boys” is at jerseyboysinfo.com The official casting has not yet been released, but show dates and times for the first few months are available.
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