Disney's Beauty and the Beast Cast

Peter Murphy is a senior from St. Mary's Highschool and he will be playing the Beast in this Production. He has been in many shows since he was a freshman in high school. Singing and acting have always been a big part of his life. They have both helped form his life and how he holds himself. When he is not in school he plays guitar and sings for whatever choir that will take him. He loves spending time with the cast and crew of shows. In the years to come, music will continue to be a big part of his life.

Kathryn Portman is a freshman at St. Joseph’s Academy. She loves to do any form of activity in the arts. She is so excited to be a part of her school's rendition of Beauty and the Beast. She also performed in the Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon last fall. Kathryn is on the Saint Joe dance team and does many dancing extracurriculars outside of school. She enjoys her time up on the stage and loves sharing her talents with the world. She is so beyond thrilled to be a part of another great production.

Julia von der Lancken is a freshman at St. Joseph’s Academy and is in the featured ensemble. This is her first musical at Saint Joe’s, but she partook in the fall play The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon. Julia has been singing and acting since 6th grade when she landed her first role in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory as Mrs. Gloop. In her free time, she enjoys playing the electric guitar, singing, and reading. Julia looks forward to all of the new opportunities that will come entering sophomore year.

Sophie Middendorf is a junior at St. Joseph Academy and is playing the role of Belle in Beauty and the Beast. This is Sophie’s first7 musical at St. Joe but she has been involved in SJA Goes Broadway, Music for the Missions, and participated and choreographed dance numbers for the Dance Showcase this year. She has also been involved in many other productions over the years. Sophie is also a member of honors Frontenac, SATB Honors District Choir, a member of National Honors Society, and she has also been a member of the St. Joe Dance team since her freshman year. Sophie is so excited to participate in this production and she would like to thank Mrs. Albes, Mr. Ebbinghaus, Ms. Tipton, and Mr. Kowalczyk for making all of this possible!

Kathleen Dolan is a senior at St. Joseph’s Academy and is playing the role of townspeople/servants in Beauty and the Beast. This is Kathleen’s first musical at St. Joe, however she is involved in many other programs and clubs at St. Joe. Kathleen has been singing at St. Joe since freshman year, taking chorus all four years, and then Frontenac Voices from sophomore to senior year. When she’s not at school, Kathleen works as a hostess at Rosalita’s. Kathleen will be attending SLU in the upcoming fall with a double major in music and psychology, hoping to pursue a career in music therapy.

Erin Voigt is a junior at St. Joseph’s Academy and is playing the role of Mrs. Potts as well as a villager. Erin has been a part of St. Joe’s theatre community since freshman year and has been in shows such as St. Joe’s Musical Review and Desmet’s 1940’s Radio Hour. She is also a member of the Frontenac Voices, a Student Council Representative, the Digital Layout Editor for the school newspaper, a member of the National Honors Society, and the founder of St. Joe Signs. Erin is so grateful to be a part of Beauty and the Beast and hopes that you enjoy the show!

Jenna Akins is a freshman at St. Joe and is playing the role of a townsperson/servant in this year's production of Beauty and the Beast. This is Jenna’s second production at Saint Joe. She was in the fall play, Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon. Jenna has also been in two other productions including The Little Mermaid jr. and Frozen jr. Jenna has grown to love theater over the last couple years and can’t wait to continue being a part of more productions in the future. Jenna is also part of multiple other extra curricular activities including spirit club, respect life club, and being the Vice President of the freshman class. She wants to thank Mrs. Albes, Mr. Ebbinghaus, Ms. Tipton, and Mr. Kowalczyk for making this show possible. She also wants to thank her parents for allowing her to go to a school that has allowed her to become part of a community in theater. She hopes you enjoy the show!!

Caitlin Avery is a junior at St. Joseph’s Academy and is playing Babette (feather duster), and a Silly Girl in Beauty and the Beast. This is Caitlin’s first musical at St. Joe and she is also in honors Frontenacs and SSAA District Choir. Caitlin also has played varsity softball at SJA for the past three years. Caitlin performed in The Miracle Worker, SJA Goes Broadway, Music for the Missions, and helped with crew for the Dance Showcase in February. She likes to read and her favorite class is chorus. Caitlin hopes to major in musical theatre during college.

Mackenzie Golomski is a sophomore at St. Joseph’s Academy and is playing the roles of Chip and a Silly Girl in Beauty and the Beast. This is her first St. Joe production, but she has been in multiple shows in the past few years, including The Wizard of Oz, Disney’s Frozen, and Bye Bye Birdie. Mackenzie is also involved with multiple clubs at St. Joe and has played varsity tennis for the past 2 years. She would like to thank Mr. Kowalczyk, Mrs. Albes, Ms. Tipton, and Mr. Ebbinghaus for making her first show experience one to remember.

Ava Niedbalski is a senior here at St. Joe and she is playing Cogsworth in this production. Ava has always loved theater and has been heavily involved in St Joe’s theater community ever since she stepped in the doors. She has been in every production since her freshman year and kept it up during modified shows during Covid. Outside of school Ava works at The Shack and spends time with her two nephews and niece. While sad that this is her last show at the academy, Ava is excited to finish this chapter of her life and hopes to continue to embrace music throughout her life. She wanted to make sure to thank the fine arts department for making her 4 years extra special and especially Mrs. Albes for always encouraging her to do what makes her happy.

Molly Thompson is a junior at St. Joseph’s Academy and is playing the part of Madame de le Grande Bouche (the wardrobe) in Beauty and the Beast. Molly recently finished being a soloist in Chaminade’s production of Oklahoma . Molly has also performed in Chicago and SJA Goes Broadway at St. Joe. Molly is also involved in Frontenacs. She is also in the district choir. Molly’s favorite class is chorus and, fun fact, Molly has a twin sister who also goes to St. Joe. She is excited to be in another musical at St. Joe and hopes you enjoy the show!

Eliza Drayton is finishing up her freshman year at St. Joseph’s Academy and is playing the role of townspeople/servants in Beauty and the Beast. This is Eliza’s first musical at St. Joe, but has been performing at her dance studio since she was in kindergarten. Eliza is also involved with multiple extra curricular activities including Earth Angels, Book Club, Sandwich Club, and more. Inside of school Eliza enjoys her art and literature class along with her french class. When not at school, Eliza enjoys spending her time at dance class or baking a new recipe. And last but not least she would like to thank Mrs. Albes, Mr. Ebbinghaus, Ms. Tipton, and Mr. Kowalczyk for making this show possible.

Nora Weishaar is a Freshman at St. Joseph’s academy, and this is her first production with them. She is very excited to be given this opportunity and enjoys everyone on the cast. Nora plays a townsperson/servant in this Beauty and the Beast production. Some other things Nora is involved in at St. Joe is the Respect Life Club and Earth Angles, as well as a part of the Racquetball team in the winter. She enjoys spending time with her family and hanging out with her friends on weekends. She is very excited to see how this production turns out and hopes you all enjoy it!

Abby Latsch is a freshman at St. Joseph's Academy. This is her second show at SJA, following up the fall production of The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon. Abby plays a townsperson/servant in Beauty and the Beast. This is Abby's second time participating in a production of Beauty and the Beast, and is excited to work with a new cast. Aside from theater, Abby enjoys dance, guitar, and writing. Abby is also a part of multiple clubs at St. Joe, such as Earth Angels, yearbook, Angels in Prayer, and Spirit club. Abby would like to thank Ms. Albes, Ms. Tipton, and Mr. Kowalyzk for being amazing directors and making this production possible.

Sahiti Mumgandi is a senior at St.Joseph’s Academy and will be playing townsperson/villager in Beauty and the Beast. She has been in four St.Joseph’s Academy productions such as Little Women, A Midsummer's Night Dream, The Music of the Night, and finally Beauty and the Beast. Outside of theater, Sahiti is involved in Cup of Joe (our coffee shop) as a barista, member of the Latin and Spanish honors societies, speech team, Tapestry, and many more. She is so thankful to spend her last couple months at St.Joe with the amazing people she has the honor to work with. She would like to thank Mr.Kowalzyk, Mrs. Albes, and Mrs.Tipton for the opportunity to sing and act these last few years. She would also like to thank everyone for coming to support the show and the cast. She hopes you all enjoy this show and laugh your butts off!

Makayla Plunkett is a junior at St. Joseph’s Academy and is playing the role of Lumiere in this production of Beauty and the Beast. She most recently played the role of one of the narrators in the Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon alongside senior Ava Neidbalski. She is excited to be partners in crime once again with her as Ava plays the role of Cogsworth. Outside of school, Makayla is a pharmacy technician at Walgreens and participates in track with St Joe. She is excited to be a part of another St. Joe production. She would like to thank Mrs. Albes and Mr. Ebbinghaus for putting in all the hard work to create such a great production. She would also like to say Merci et bon spectacle!

Tom Smith is a senior attending Chaminade College Prep, and is playing the main antagonist of the show, Gaston. Tom’s been highly involved in theater at Chaminade for the past four years, and he’s decided to step out to another group for the first time with St. Joe’s Beauty and the Beast. He has been in such productions as Little Shop of Horrors, Les Miserables, Oklahoma, Newsies, Charley’s Aunt, and The Adding Machine. He’s also involved with his school’s cross country team, band (tenor saxophone), men’s and liturgical choirs, is the Editor of his school’s newspaper, mock trial, Youth in Government, scholar bowl, tennis team, is an Eagle Scout, among other activities. He is looking forward to attending either Notre Dame or Hillsdale College next year.

Joe Guzon is a sophomore at Crossroads College Prep and is playing the role of Lefou in Beauty and the Beast. His most recent theater credits include: Little Shop of Horrors, Twelfth Night, You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, Cabaret, and Beauty and the Beast. He has also done tech work for all the shows he has acted in during the last few years as well as a production of Disney’s The Little Mermaid. Joe is also a three season athlete, playing basketball, soccer, and running track.

*Guest Appearance

Elise Wagner is a freshman at St. Joseph’s Academy. She has been dancing at Krupinski Academy of Dance since she was three years old. She enjoys ballet, lyrical, jazz, and pointe. She was also a member of the Dance Team at St. Joe for the 2021-2022 season and has attended numerous dance competitions. She has performed in plays at CBC and Stages.

Izzy Winfield is a sophomore at St. Joseph Academy. She has been dancing for thirteen years at Renee Johnson’s Dance Studio. She has attended many competitions, conventions, and nationals. She has been competing on the competition team for eight years. Izzy enjoys jazz, hip hop, and musical theater. Her favorite thing about dance is performing on stage for the audience. She is so excited to be involved and to be able to dance in the musical!

Anna Emmenegger is a freshman at St. Joseph’s Academy. She was on the St. Joseph’s Academy dance team for the 2021-2022 season. She dances at Dance Incorporated and has been on their competition team for the past five years. She also has been dancing since she was two, and has attended many different competitions and conventions since then. She is excited to be in her first musical here at St. Joseph’s Academy.

Ava Molli is a sophomore at St. Joseph’s Academy. She has received her dance training at Charmette Academy of Dance, and has been dancing for fourteen years. Ava has danced competitively in numerous regional and national competitions. She enjoys jazz, contemporary, and lyrical styles of dance. She has been on St Joseph's dance team for two years, and attended UDA nationals in 2022. At St. Joseph’s, she was involved in the dance showcase as a soloist. Ava is ecstatic to be involved in Beauty and the Beast at St. Joseph’s Academy.

Kiran Rudd is a freshman at St. Joseph’s Academy. She was on the St. Joseph Academy dance team for the 2021-2022 season. She dances at the St. Louis Academy of Dance and was on their pre-professional team for five years. She has been dancing for nine years and has attended many competitions. She is really excited about her first musical at St. Joseph Academy.

Caroline Joyce is a freshman at St. Joseph’s academy. She has been dancing since she was two years old and for the past six years she has been dancing at Professional Dance Center. Caroline has been performing at The Muny every summer since the age of nine. She is thrilled to be returning as part of the cast for Mary Poppins this upcoming season and a part of The Muny Teens Touring Troupe! She is so excited to have the opportunity to perform with the cast of Beauty and The Beast and hopes you all enjoy the show!

Carter Eiseman is a freshman at St. Joesph’s Academy. She has been dancing since she was 3 and has been training at the Professional Dance Center for the past 10 years. She has been a part of the competition team for 9/10 years. Carter has been in 3 shows at the Muny, The Continental Gala, and was a part of the Muny Kids Touring Troupe for 4 years. She is so excited to be a part of the cast of Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat in this upcoming season. She is super excited to be a part of her first musical at St. Joseph’s Academy!

Emily Morrow is a freshman at St. Joseph’s Academy. She has been dancing at DK Dance Productions for 9 years and continues to do so. She is on the competition team at the highest level available and has competed in many competitions. She competes in the styles of jazz, lyrical, tap, and contemporary. She is excited to be in her first musical here at St. Joseph’s Academy.

Ella is a Freshman at Saint Joseph’s Academy. Ever since she was 3 she has been dancing at Professional Dance Center and she has been on the competition team for 10 years. She has attended many conventions and has received scholarships for her dancing. Professional Dance Center has supported and helped her grow as a dancer in their many undefeated seasons including this spring. Ella strongly enjoys jazz and hip hop as she finds herself executing those the best. She is so excited to branch out into musicals, especially Beauty and the Beast.

Lauren Dignam is a senior at St. Joseph’s Academy and is the stage manager for Beauty and the Beast. She is also involved in National Honors Society, National English Honors Society, Angel Ambassadors, Campus Ministry, National Chinese Honors Society, and Rocket Club and works at Pretzel Boys. Lauren has also done crew for Little Women, Chicago, and SJA Goes Broadway. She has been in the cast for A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Miracle Worker, Everybody’s Talking, and Brothers’ Grimm Spectaculathon. Lauren hopes to continue to be involved in theater in college and she would like to thank Mrs. Albes, Mr. Ebbinghaus, the cast, and the crew for making her last show at St. Joe so amazing.

Kate is a junior at St. Joseph’s Academy and is working as the assistant stage manager and sound board operator for the tech crew. At SJA she is involved in NHS, NEHS, Spanish Honor Society, Rho Kappa, Frontenacs, Earth Angels, Yearbook, and is an officer for the Diversity Club. Kate has worked tech at St. Joe for Chicago, SJA Goes Broadway, Music for the Missions, and the Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon. Outside of school, she works at Panera and as a counselor at Camp Ondessonk. In the future, she hopes to be involved in the human rights, sound design, and sociology fields.

Ella Bannister is a junior at St. Joseph’s Academy and is on crew for Beauty and the Beast. She is doing props, costumes, set painting, and grips for the show. She has been doing theater since freshman year and has been on the crew for Chicago, The Miracle Worker, Everybody's Talking, and also stage managed the Brothers’ Grimm Spectaculathon this past fall. Ella also works at Dierbergs and has five dogs named Lucy, Ruby, Sadie, Koda, and Maisy. Ella likes to sew and design clothes and has also helped with costumes and has made props for previous shows.

Ainsley Hamilton is wrapping up her freshman year here at St. Joseph’s Academy. This is her second ever time working on the backstage crew. She mainly enjoys working with the props and set for the show. She started working on the crew for the fall show, The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon. Her main interest is working with the arts, but she also participates in Signs Club, Esports, Joebotics, Yoga Club, and more. Outside of school, she is very interested in music and digital art. She plays the flute and wants to start singing again in the future.

Renee Olateru is a sophomore at St. Joseph’s Academy and she is on crew for lights in Beauty and the Beast. She has been doing tech for shows since freshman year and has done lights for the following shows: Everybody’s Talking, SJA goes to Broadway, and SJA Dance Showcase. She also did backstage work for SJA’s A Christmas Carol. Outside of theater, some things Renee is involved are STUCO and St. Joe Tv where she sometimes edits segments for an episode. She also participates in Diversity club, Tapestry and Feminist literature club. Renee is so excited to help with this amazing production!

Caitlin O’Rourke is a junior at St. Joseph’s Academy. She is on the costume, props, hair and makeup, and grips crews for Beauty and the Beast. When she isn’t doing things for theater, Cailtlin works at Baskin Robbins as a cashier. Caitlin enjoys reading and also knows a bit of Spanish, Latin, and Japanese. Her favorite subject is psychology and she wants to go into psychology in college. This is Caitlin’s first production at St. Joe and she would like to thank the cast and crew for making her first show so much fun and she hopes you enjoy it!

Sydney is a fifteen year old freshman at St. Joseph’s Academy. This is her first time taking part in an SJA production. While she is wanting to help with makeup and costumes, Sydney is also helping with painting and creating the set for Beauty and The Beast. Aside from working on crew, Sydney also finds interest in her art and literature classes. Outside of classes and theater, she takes part in St. Joe Signs, Yearbook, START, and more. She also enjoys baking and arts and crafts.

Lucy is a sophomore at St. Joseph’s Academy. This is her first time working as a crew member on a production at St. Joe, but this fall, she enjoyed being a cast member in The Brothers’ Grimm Spectaculathon. Outside of theater, she is also a part of the Feminist Lit Club, the Billiken Beams team, Diversity Club, Earth Angels, and more. Additionally, she plays club volleyball and was recently accepted into the National Honors Society. She is so excited and grateful to be a part of this production!

Katie Orr is a designer, painter, theatre-marketing aficionado, and graduate from Stephens College. As a theatre advocate and native St. Louisan, it’s her passion to highlight local theatre. There are so many incredible unsung companies, and that is why she came back to STL to further her mission as a committed designer, artist, and advocate in the St. Louis community. Design credits include: Laughter on the 23rd Floor (New Jewish Theatre Company), Dress the Part (The Q Brothers - STL Shakespeare Festival), Digging Up Dessa (Metro Theatre Company), Proof (Moonstone Theatre Company), and Forgottonia (Fly North Theatricals). www.katiemicorr.com

My name is Imani Miller and I’m a freshman at St. Joseph Academy. This is my first time working as a crew member. Outside of that I am apart of various clubs; Tapestry, Diversity club and START. When I’m not at school I enjoy cooking and training for Mixed Martial Arts. --