Guest column

By Julie Walski and Erin Schoen, Ellis Play Directors

The struggle between good and evil will wage on in a shortened version of Disney’s stage musical “Sleeping Beauty.”

This classic story, told in under one hour, is sure to delight children with timeless characters: a beautiful and innocent princess, a persistent prince, and four fairies … three who are extremely kind, and one who is deliciously evil. Princess Aurora (Emma O’Connor) finds herself an unwitting victim of the evil fairy Maleficent (Kaitlyn Schmick), and needs the protection of three guardian fairies (Nicole Schoen, Tori Hepler, and Ashley Harrington).

Along the way, Aurora falls in love with a prince (Ezekial Peters) and is tricked by Maleficent before finding her happily ever after.

The catchy songs and talented singers, together with an energetic tribe of comic goons, will keep any audience entertained and laughing until the end. Several solos and dance numbers are performed throughout the show.

Not only is talent evident on stage, but it is also present behind the scenes. The performances are run entirely by students. Students manage the props tables and move set pieces as well as program and control the lights (Zach Newman) and sound/microphones (Sydney Marsh). Also, we are fortunate to have an extremely talented choreographer and costumer; high school volunteer Dylan Kaercher comes to us with years of dramatic experience and acts as a mentor to the younger students. The set is designed and built by Mark Walski, who has been creating sets for Ellis for eight years.

Please come support this amazing cast and crew. Performances will be at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 17, and Friday, Nov. 18, in the Ellis Auditorium. Tickets can be purchased at the door starting at 6:15 p.m. Cost is $5 for adults, $2 for students, and children 5 and younger are free.