It’s a tale as old as time, and it’s at the Wagon Wheel Center for the Arts until June 11. Disney’s “Beauty & The Beast” premiered at the theater Wednesday night. Friday morning, the two actors in the title roles discussed why the story, and the 1991 Disney animated movie the Broadway musical is based on, are still popular. Elaine Cotter plays Belle, the French girl who dreams of more than her provincial life. Cotter is originally from Crystal Lake, Ill., and was a part of the Wagon Wheel ensemble in 2015. She recently graduated from Indiana University. “She is a young girl that lives in a small French town. She feels a little trapped and she doesn’t fit in there. So she’s a girl looking for adventure and she definitely finds adventure, that’s for sure,” Cotter said in explaining Belle. Playing the Beast is Joey Birchler, who is new to the Wagon Wheel. From Ann Arbor, Mich., he also just graduated from I.U. “The Beast is this guy who formerly was a prince who got transformed into this creature because he was unkind to a sorceress, and so he’s very distraught and angry with his decisions and hasn’t had contact with humans in a very long time,” Birchler explained. “When Belle comes to the castle, it really changes things up.” Cotter said people love the story because it’s so magical. “The enchanted objects are so fun, too, and there’s a lot of just magic to it. But even beyond that, there’s magic and beauty in the actual story. And then the romance of it, and the overcoming of their fears. I think both characters kind of overcome this obstacle they’ve been trying to overcome throughout the whole show,” she said. “I think it’s very relatable also. It’s very relatable to kids because they enjoy it, but it’s also very relatable to adults and families in general. I just think it’s a lovely story.” Birchler added, “I just think it’s a cool transformation story and you get to see Belle and the Beast transform throughout the story. That’s very exciting.” While the Beast transforms physically, the actors said both characters change throughout the story. “They both transform. I don’t know if there’s one that’s more than the other really. Well, because Belle doesn’t physically transform, but she mentally, completely changes her outlook on life as does the Beast,” Cotter said. Birchler agreed that both the lead characters change from the beginning to the end of the story. Since both are now 22 years old, they weren’t even born when Disney’s version of the story was released Nov. 22, 1991, but Cotter remembers the first time she saw it. “This is going to sound so cliché, but this is my favorite Disney story ever, and it’s not just because I’m in it, I swear! I’ve loved it forever. Belle has always been my favorite princess,” she said. Cotter said Mrs. Potts was her favorite character. “I loved her. I thought she was really nice. As a little girl, I loved her,” she said. Birchler said he doesn’t really remember the first time he saw “Beauty & The Beast.” “It’s my sister’s favorite Disney show though, so it has some kind of special meaning to me, I guess,” he said. Cotter said the story appeals to women in part because Belle is a stronger female lead than in some other stories and movies. “Another cast member, Andy, just told me this recently, too, that I want to look into. But the French versions of these stories, which are the versions we all know, were originally adapted by women so that all the fairy tale characters, like all the princesses, the reason that they’re all a little stronger was because these women were actually the ones that wrote it. They adapted it from the German versions, so that’s interesting,” Cotter said. She said Belle has a strength, knowledge and worldliness about her that Cotter found different and interesting. “I think she really has a grasp on life a little bit,” she said. Birchler said, “It’s funny because everyone in the town says she’s so odd, but in my opinion she’s the one normal person. Everyone else seems so out there to me, so I think that’s interesting.” This isn’t the first time Birchler has played the Beast, so coming into this show he’s had some experience working with a mask. “The costume for this is a lot more extensive and it’s really cool. It makes me look really big. It’s definitely a challenge to get used to having all this stuff around your face while you sing and run around, but in the end it helps develop the character. It helps me get into it more. It’s really fun. It’s fun to play the role, for sure,” he said. If anyone hasn’t seen the musical before – the Wagon Wheel presented it last in 2004 with Rod Thomas as The Beast and Pegah Kadkhodaian as Belle – Cotter said there are some differences between the Disney animated version and the musical. “The characters are pretty much the same through and through, but there are definitely more songs in the musical version than there are in the movie,” she said. “And I think that the relationships are developed a little bit more thoroughly in the musical just because it’s a musical and it’s a little bit longer and they want to make it a little more cohesive.” She said the movie version develops the relationships, but not as much as the musical does. The musical also develops the relationships between more characters than just Beauty and the Beast. To watch the full 10-minute interview, visit the Times-Union website at www.timesuniononline.com Tickets are $36 for adults, $16 for children 12 and under, $20 for students 13 through college and $28 for seniors. Tickets can be purchased online at www.wagonwheelcenter.org, over the phone at 574-267-8041, and in person at the theatre. The box office is open 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, and Saturday 1 a.m. to 2 p.m. Summer hours are 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and noon to 3 p.m. Sunday.
