Beauty and the Beast’s Liz Shivener lives her dream
It’s every little girl’s dream. But for Liz Shivener it’s a reality. Shivener is playing the beloved Belle in the Disney touring production of Beauty and the Beast. The show plays at Winspear Opera House through July 24, 2010. EDGE had the chance to catch up with Shivener to find out more about what it’s like to be part of a show that has played in over thirteen countries to over 35 million people.
EDGE: Can you tell readers a little bit about your music and theater background?
Liz Shivener: I actually didn’t start in theater in high school. I auditioned for Bye Bye Birdie because of all the American idol stuff. I just wanted to be a pop star. I had a real mentor in my high school theater teacher. Then I studied theater in college. It’s always a gamble to send your child to school for something arts related. But it all worked out and here I am.
EDGE: Can you tell readers a little about Beauty and the Beast?
Liz Shivener: It’s based on the movie. But it’s the French fairy tale that inspired both. The movie’s only 87 minutes long, I think. This is longer, which gives audiences a chance to spend more time with the characters they really, really love. To learn more about them. It’s the same story but expanded, more flushed out. All the people. The biggest difference is that the spell is really different.
EDGE: How do you approach a piece like this that has such a strong history?
Liz Shivener: It’s a curse and a blessing. Belle’s an icon. People know her. People already love her. S So playing here is a mixture of honoring that and staying within the framework that’s presented to you and then making it your own. I was never asked to recreate anything, which is good. She is entirely my own, but still respecting the character. We were lucky to have the writer of the movie and the book for the show in rehearsals. My eight-year-old self was peeing my pants. She wrote my childhood.
Why so special?
EDGE: What is it that makes Beauty and the Beast such a special piece in the realm of musical theater?
Liz Shivener: I think it has a lot to do with seeing them in the flesh. People have seen the movie. But now the characters are real. You get to hear the beast sing. It’s everything you remember and everything you love. But it’s new. It’s revisited. It’s fresh. People relate to it more when the characters are real and not cartoons. Something about the live magic of the theater communicates the story better than a cartoon can.
The romance is really played out in the show. It’s something everyone goes through. To have feelings for the first time. To fumble with them. To question. It’s fun to watch the beast doing that. To be nervous. It’s great to see him do that in the flesh.
It’s amazing. All the girls who come in their little Belle costumes. When we see the beast for the first time, there are some screams. During "Be Our Guest," you can hear people scream out the lyrics before the actor gets to sing them. We’re so lucky to have a Tony winner doing the costumes as well. It’s incredible what she’s created. So many costumes. Sometimes it’s little more than organized chaos backstage.
EDGE: Can you even believe this is what you get to do for a living?
Liz Shivener: It’s still kind of funny to me and I hope I never lose that because it makes it fun. When I was four, I thought I was Belle. She definitely was my favorite princess growing up. The little girls put it in perspective. The little trinkets they leave for you at the stage door. It’s really a privilege.
EDGE: How did you come to get the part?
Liz Shivener: Auderbine College, where I went, has a senior showcase where the graduating senior class puts together their signature pieces in a cabaret style and try to get as many people from the industry there as possible. The showcase is in April and I got a random email in the middle of the summer about coming to audition. They were searching for months and months to get the cast. One day they said they said, we want you to come back for Disney. It wasn’t until then that I knew this was a serious thing. There is something so improbable about auditioning. You have to keep your sense of humor and just do your best.
EDGE: What’s the biggest challenge you face in terms of performing this particular show?
Liz Shivener: Great women have played Belle for years and years and years. It’s a challenge knowing people come in with certain expectations. But it’s also a challenging show. It’s certainly more than dressing up in the dresses. You have to get the story out. If you give yourself to it, it will knock it out of you. I sleep pretty soundly every night.
EDGE: What’s the best part about performing this role in this show?
Liz Shivener: It’s the kids. It’s the character. But it’s also the cast, who is really a dream to work with. When I’m not on stage, I can watch these dancers do things that I may never be able to do. It’s a great ensemble based show to work with. It’s the ensemble that makes it happen.
Beauty and the Beast plays through July 24, 2010 at the Winspear Opera House, 2403 Flora Street, Dallas, TX. For more informatin visit this website.
