Dorsett says she proposed the iconic Disney musical to the St. James Players in 2019. After two years of COVID-19 pandemic delays, the St. James Players’ group is finally taking the production to the stage.
“(Beauty and The Beast) is about loving somebody for who they are, not what they are. I feel like sometimes we lose that in life. It has connection and friendship. That’s what this show is all about,” she says. “We’ve stayed really true to the essence of what that story is however, we’ve put our own unique spin on it.”
From costumes and makeup to set design and choreography, Dorsett says the cast and crew worked together to bring the classic ‘Disney magic’ to their production.
“Shelley Moody did our makeup and she has taken a vision and surpassed every single expectation I had,” says Dorsett. “Belle’s yellow dress is so iconic, what (costume designers) were able to do with the dress blows my mind. Every night she comes out on stage I am practically in tears.”
Dorsett designed and built the set with the help of her husband.
“You’ll never see him on stage. He’s not a singer, he doesn’t dance, he’s so shy,” she remarks with a laugh. “But I am not.”
The family affair also includes her daughter, Lucy Dorsett, as part of the play’s junior ensemble.
“I feel like we were really able to take it to the next level, a level I didn’t even know we were going to be capable of doing when I had all these grandeur ideas,” says Dorsett about the production. “The picture we’ve been able to create is awesome and I am incredibly proud.”