It's a small (Disney) world, after all
Two grads of the Magic Kingdom continue a tradition on stage
It was a friendship forged more than 25 years ago on the grueling stage of the Magic Kingdom. As fresh-faced "Kids of the Kingdom," Keith Mottola and Cheryl Swift performed at Walt Disney World five times a day, every day.
They danced, they sang, and they smiled like Cheshire cats in what they call the "9,000-degree heat" of central Florida. And, like veterans of a battlefield, they never lost touch after their tour of duty was up.
Now, two Broadway careers later, these longtime friends have reunited. Together, they're staging "
Swift, who served as the Broadway show's dance captain, is drilling the cast in the original choreography. Zipping in for rehearsals from Manhattan, she's running what she has dubbed "Beauty and the Beast Boot Camp." Mottola, a Bellingham native, is directing.
Meanwhile, they're also reminiscing. "There were only 12 Kids of the Kingdom. They auditioned nationwide. It was the gig to get back then, and even after they told us we had the roles and flew us in, it turned out we had to audition again. It was nerve-racking," said Mottola. "It felt like Disney 'Idol.' "
But the tryouts were the least of it. "People who come to see the shows have no idea how hard the performers at Disney work and how you have to make it look like it's effortless," he said. "You can't look like you're dying from the heat."
"We didn't just do the five shows a day," said Swift. "We did the New Year's Eve, Valentine's Day, and Easter parades. We did 'Sport Goofy,' Christmas shows, the Mary Poppins parade, the centennial parade. For every Epcot Center opening, for each different country, we did a different show.
"We did the first New Year's Eve broadcast. We did the Super Bowl; we flew in Walt's plane and we did "America the Beautiful," which was a big convention show. And we did this crazy Cinderella coronation show where we wore these huge battery packs that lit up our dresses."
All through it, Swift and Mottola were dance partners. "Keith's not really much taller than I am and, God bless him, he lifted me in every lift," said Swift, laughing at the memories. "It's hard not to bond after all that."
Mottola says Disney gave him the foundation he relied on during his own Broadway stint, and he now tries to pass it on to his students and cast members.
"Our director at Disney instilled so much of who I am right now in me, from the work ethic to the mind-set. She taught me that you may be performing something for the 900th time, but you need to give the audience that's seeing it for the first time the excitement you felt at your first show."
Both Swift and Mottola said they are quite excited about this production, which features area professionals as well as experienced amateur adult and child actors. Among them is Matthew Parello of Shrewsbury (as Lumiere), who played the Nutcracker last year at the Boston Ballet.
"Cheryl was supposed to just come up for one trip, but she was so impressed with the cast she returned for a second boot camp," said Mottola. "And it's just a great show with wonderful songs, and the spectacle of all the costumes is just fantastic."
Opening tomorrow night, "Disney's Beauty and the Beast" runs at 7:30 p.m. on the next two Fridays and Saturdays, and at 2 p.m. the next two Sundays at Steps Off Broadway's John J. Lorusso Memorial Theater, 799 South Main St. in Bellingham. Tickets: $20, $15 in advance. Call 508-876-9797 or visit steps-dancing.com.
LAUGH THEM TO DEATH: In "Death's Not So Bad Once You Get Used to It," the Improv Jones comedy troupe in Watertown has come up with a new form of unscripted theater that it describes as "reality television meets improv."
To get things going, the audience is given forms to fill in to create a character and a cause of death. After an audience vote settles on the favorite suggestions, the troupe acts out highlights from the character's life; as the finale, everyone votes on whether the "hero" gets sent to heaven or hell.
"The stories the audience comes up with get pretty creative. Recently we had a guy who was killed by a lobster parade," said troupe founder Christa Crewdson, who lives in Watertown.
It turns out, most of the characters are in for a hot time in the afterlife. "Even if we do a whole evening of the character being a really nice person, the audience always sends them to hell," said Crewdson. "I guess people think it will be more fun to see someone in hell than in heaven."
The troupe introduced the new format in November, expecting it would run briefly, but response has been so strong that they now plan to continue through April. One draw for families is that the performers keep things PG-13.
"We're very family-friendly and kids are some of our best audience members," said Crewdson. "They're never shy about shouting out things and they tend to know improv from watching 'Whose Line Is It Anyway' on TV."
Another draw is for those frustrated at work. Characters are usually fictional, but Crewdson points out, "If you want to make the character your boss, we'll never know."
Improv Jones performs "Death's Not So Bad" at 8 p.m. Fridays at the Arsenal Center for the Arts, 321 Arsenal St., Watertown. Tickets $10. Call 617-923-8487 or visit improvjonesboston.com.
GORKA RETURNS: In the vast sea of folk singer-songwriters, the golden baritone and easy-flowing songs of John Gorka stand out, which is why he sold out all 300 seats at Circle of Friends when he last played the Franklin coffeehouse in 2004.
Now the man Rolling Stone magazine called "the preeminent male singer-songwriter of the New Folk movement" is coming back to perform at the Circle on Saturday.
"We just love his voice and his music, and he puts on an amazing show that the audience really gets into. He's one of the best," said the coffeehouse's director, Jake Jacobson of Norfolk.
Gorka usually plays guitar, but at his last Circle show, he also treated the crowd to a few songs on the grand piano at the First Universalist Society in Franklin, the Unitarian Universalist church that sponsors the coffeehouse. Jacobson expects Gorka will do the same again.
Amy Speace, who was nominated by the North American Folk Alliance for its 2007 Emerging Artist of the Year, will open the show. And backing up both artists will be a dessert sale not to be missed. At each show, volunteers bake desserts for early arrivals and for intermission, and things have grown competitive.
"The volunteers seem to enjoy trying to outdo one another with their concoctions," said Jacobson. "Someone makes a Swedish almond cake, and there's lots of chocolate-raspberry cake, usually, and chocolate trifle, and cheese cake, and all sorts of desserts."
The Circle of Friends Coffeehouse show featuring John Gorka and Amy Speace begins at 8 p.m. Saturday at the First Universalist Society, 262 Chestnut St., Franklin. Tickets $20. Call 508-528-2541 or visit circlefolk.org to reserve tickets online.
BESTSELLING BANTER: When Barbara Delinsky happened upon a newspaper story in the late 1970s about three female writers, it inspired her to write her own book, and it sold. Now, 70 books later, she's a regular on best-seller lists. On Tuesday, the Newton native visits the Framingham Barnes & Noble store to discuss and sign copies of her latest novel, "Family Tree." In this novel that delves into the secrets born of prejudice and fear, a baby with African-American traits is born to a prominent, white New England family.
On Feb. 22, another local best-selling author, Michael Palmer, will be at the bookstore to read from his new medical thriller, "The Fifth Vial," which might make readers a wee bit nervous about getting their next blood test.
Barbara Delinsky will discuss "Family Tree" at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Barnes & Noble, One Worcester Road, Framingham. Michael Palmer will read from "The Fifth Vial" at 7 p.m. Feb. 22. Free. Call 508-628-5567.
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