FAMILY FRIENDLY A Beauty Of A Tour

FAYETTEVILLE — When I was 8, the movie was my life,” says Liz Shivener.

Now 23, Shivener has been on the road for six months playing Belle in the national tour of Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast.” It is her first role after graduating from college, and the experience, she admits, “is still pretty surreal to me!”

“I’ll never forget the first time I saw myself in the costume; that was just huge,” she says. “For me, when I think of Belle, I associate the signature blue outfit with the white apron. When I first had that on and put the wig on?

Well, I kept it together for the costume fitting, but then I called my mom and cried.

“I don’t think it will ever get old to put that costume on. It’s a privilege to wearthe dress.”

Of course, getting into costume is somewhat easier for Belle than for the Beast.

Justin Glaser, a veteran of national tours of “Annie” and “Jesus Christ Superstar,” says it takes about 35 minutes for makeup and 25 minutes for the costume - plus a vocalwarm-up, a physical warm-up and a 2 1 /2-hour performance.

It’s a long, hot night.

“The costume can be difficult from time to time,” he admits. The toughest moments, he adds with a laugh, are when there’s a costume malfunction.

“You’re doing the scene, but you’re also aware that something is not quite right on your body - and you don’t know what it is or whether the audience can see it! My tail is always getting stuck somewhere!”

Challenges aside, both actors - coming to the Walton Arts Center for a 16-show tour stop starting Tuesday - know they’reliving a dream.

“The best part about a tour is that you get to perform as your career,” says Glaser. “And it’s a very rewarding experience just to hear the children respond.

Generations of people knowthis show and know this story, and they love it.”

“To see the faces light up and meet the little girls dressed in gold ballgowns, there’s this incredible feeling of love,” says Shivener.

“That’s why a lot of actors perform.”

And both agree that they work hard to make their characters their own.

“It’s a challenge and a reward to be this character that people already love so much,” says Shivener. “The challenge is in finding a balance between honoring the memories people have of her but also making the role my own - making her my own Belle but also respecting the icon.

“I try to make her real,” she continues. “ I think she’s the most realistic of the Disney princesses, the most grounded, and I really wanted to bring that to the role. She’s young, so there’s still thatdoe-eyed quality, but Belle is dealing with some really tough situations - losing her father and being this outcast.

“So it’s really about grounding her in the midst of the glitter and confetti and wonderful costumes. She’s fiery and spunky, and it takes more than just putting on a dress and smiling.”

“I haven’t really seen the show on stage a lot, so when I came into the role I followed my own instincts,” says Glaser. “Now I’ve put myself into the role so much that it just feels right. It’s me playing the Beast, but it feels right.”

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Justin Glaser

FIRST PLAY - He was the narrator in “Johnny Appleseed” in elementary school.

FAMILY - He’s No. 4 out of fi ve children. “My parents are very, very proud. My mom carries around pictures of me dressed as the Beast.”

HOMETOWN - Fort Thomas, Ky.

COLLEGE - B.F.A. in theater from Northern Kentucky University, just south of Cincinnati, Ohio.

FAVORITE MOMENT - “When one random child thinks something is hilarious and nobody has laughed at it ever.” - STAFF REPORT

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Liz Shivener

FIRST PLAY - “Bye Bye Birdie” in high school. “I only did it because I wanted to be Celine Dion or something. I auditioned for the musical just so I could sing.”

HOMETOWN - Reynoldsburg, Ohio

COLLEGE - B.F.A. in musical theater from Otterbein College in Westerville, Ohio.

FAVORITE ROLES - Irene Malloy in “Hello, Dolly”; Eliza in “My Fair Lady”; Maria in “The Sound of Music”; Becky in “Urinetown”

FAVORITE MOMENT - “That fi rst number is ingrained in my memory from the movie, where she’s walking through the town, and now I’m seeing the other characters looking at me.

It’s really strange to be in the world of my childhood night after night.” - STAFF REPORT