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lockportlegend.com life & arts
the lockport legend | May 9, 2019 | 17
Brooke’s Backyard Productions to stage ‘Beauty and the Beast Jr.’
Latest performance
to benefit Homer
girl’s medical
treatments
Laurie Fanelli
Freelance Reporter
The classic story of
“Beauty and the Beast”
is overflowing with positive
life lessons about how
love, inner beauty and
knowledge can empower
people to be their best.
On top of all these story-based
affirmations, the
power of giving back is
at the heart of Brooke’s
Backyard Productions’
upcoming presentations of
“Beauty and the Beast Jr.”
All at-will donations received
at the group’s Friday,
May 10, and Saturday,
May 11, performances –
both slated to be held at
7 p.m. at Christ Community
Church at 13400 Bell
Road in Lemont – are to
go toward helping 7-yearold
Homer Glen resident
Hailee Saenger pay for
past and future medical
treatments resulting from
treatments for Stage 2
diffuse large B Cell non-
Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
LTHS junior Brooke
Ferricks – founder and director
of Brooke’s Backyard
Productions – has a
passion for giving back to
the community. “Beauty
and the Beast Jr.” marks
her sixth production, all of
which have raised money
for local nonprofits or
members of the community
in need of a helping
hand.
“I think people should
come to this show, even
if they don’t like musicals,”
said Ferricks during
a rehearsal Saturday, May
4. “I’m telling everyone
to come. It’s more than a
Dylan Curry (left), portraying Gaston, and Brianna
Michaels, playing LeFou, rehearse for the “Beauty and
the Beast Jr.”
musical. It’s people coming
together for the greater
good. There’s absolutely
nothing like it.”
Ferricks’ enthusiasm is
contagious. This year finds
her directing an eager cast
of more than 60 children –
ages 3 to 15 – the largest
number to date. Lockport
residents Katie Winters,
13, and Ashley Rus, 12,
have both participated in
every show since the first
one in 2014.
“I like acting, and I like
what Brooke is doing it
for,” Winters said. “We’ve
just grown with doing
these plays. I brag to my
friends about us doing the
play. I explain every single
detail, especially that
we’re doing it for a good
cause.”
Rus agreed that being
a part of a theater troupe
with a mission to do good
makes the experience that
much greater.
“I especially like ‘Beauty
and the Beast’ because
we’re raising money for
Hailee. When she came to
a practice, Katie [Winters]
and I talked to her and got
to know her a little better,”
said Rus noting that during
her visit Hailee – a big
Disney fan – had a smile
on her face because she
knew a lot of the songs
from watching the movie.
Isabel Moreno is playing
Belle, and Zoie West
is taking on the role of
Beast. Dylan Curry and
Brianna Michaels provide
comic relief to the show
as Gaston and LeFou, respectively,
while Adrianna
Teodoro as Mrs. Potts and
Jes Talaski as Lumiere add
enchanting elements to
this “tale as old as time.”
They are joined by a
large cast of veteran actors
and actresses, as well
as newcomers, such as
7-year-old Plainfield resident
Abby Coleman.
“I love being in plays
with people, and it’s fun to
make new friends,” Coleman
said.
One of the reasons Ferricks
chose “Beauty and
the Beast Jr.” as the play
this year was because it
was able to accommodate
a large cast.
“I always try to find a
role for everybody, and I
figured this show would
give many people an opportunity
to shine,” Ferricks
said. “There are over
60 kids in this show, and
it has definitely been a big
challenge for me, but my
helpers have been so great.
The cast is a very lively
group, so I lose my voice
every rehearsal, but it’s super
fun. With all of us, it’s
more people to celebrate
Hailee.”
Five-year-old Homer
Glen resident Kenzie Talaski
had a blast participating
in 2018’s “Seussical
Jr.” – which raised $4,000
for a new playground at
SOS Children’s Village in
Lockport – and she knows
that “Beauty and the Beast
Jr.” will leave audiences
smiling.
“My favorite part is the
happy ending,” Talaski
said.
There are no tickets for
LTHS junior Brooke Ferricks begins a Saturday, May 4,
rehearsal for her latest Brooke’s Backyard Productions
production, “Beauty and the Beast Jr.,” which is to be
staged Friday, May 10, and Saturday, May 11, at Christ
Community Church in Lemont. The show will benefit
Homer Glen resident Hailee Saenger. Photos by Laurie
Fanelli/22nd Century Media
the May 10 and 11 performances,
and at-will donations
– which go directly
toward Saenger and her
family – are accepted and
encouraged on-site.
“All anyone has to do is
show up and drop money
in a box to make a donation,”
Ferricks said.
More information about
Brooke’s Backyard Productions
can be found at
www.brookesbackyard
productions.com, and additional
donations for
Saenger can be made at
www.gofundme.com/help
ing-hailee-heal.