Disney’s ‘Descendants’ on stage this weekend at the Ellis
Neshoba Central’s new theatre group is telling the tale of iconic Disney character descendants in the historic Ellis Theatre this weekend in “Disney’s Descendants: The Musical.”
The musical is based on the Disney film series “Descendants,” which follows the children of famous Disney characters, such as Ben, the son of Princess Belle from “Beauty and the Beast,” and Mal, the daughter of Maleficent from “Sleeping Beauty,” the two main stars.
These descendants live on a “good” island and “bad island,” and Ben attempts to bring the children from the bad island over to the good island so everyone can go to school together in a move of unity.
Dr. Angela Boatner, the director of the musical, said her students have been rehearsing the musical since late January.
“We did auditions in December and started rehearsals at the end of January,” Dr. Boatner said. “We started our program last spring, called ‘Rocket Troupe,’ and it’s been wonderfully supported by our community, school board, and administration.”
Ben will be played by senior Curtis Benson and junior Brody Ben, and Mal will be played by freshman students Posey Palmer and Renecia Burnside.
Dr. Boatner said there will be a “red” and “blue” cast for the show, consisting of Neshoba Central High School students, and other students from various grades.
“This play compared to the first one we did is apples to oranges,” Dr. Boatner said. “We have a lot more props and scenery, and we got to focus more on the music, dancing and acting.”
Tim Moore, board member for the Congress of Country Music, said this musical is great and will be a great place for students to perform.
“The Ellis is going to give students the opportunity to spread out and be on stage in a theatre instead of an auditorium or gym like they’ve done in the past,” Moore said. “The Neshoba Central drama department partnering with the Ellis shows that kids in the community can get involved in the arts, and it also helps the arts council. It’s important for community involvement.”
“Disney’s ‘Descendants’ is a great musical and it’s something a lot of people relate to,” he said. “We’re expecting big numbers.”
The musical opens Friday, April 28 at 6:30 p.m. Other performances are on Saturday, April 29 at 2 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., Sunday, April 30 at 3 p.m., and Monday, May 1 at 3 p.m. for a special “all-star” cast performance.
Tickets for the show are $10, and can be purchased at the Ellis Theatre box office in person or by phone at (601) 653-5358, or online at www.congressofcountrymusic.com.