Cottey College to bring Disney's 'Descendants' to life

Nov. 2—NEVADA, Mo. — The second generation of popular Disney heroes and villains will take the stage this week during the Cottey College theater department's production of "Disney's Descendants: The Musical."

The show follows the story of Ben, the teenage son of Belle and the Beast who lives with his parents and other beloved heroes in the kingdom of Auradon. Ben decides to bring Mal, Evie, Jay and Carlos — the children of Maleficent, the Evil Queen, Cruella De Vil and Jafar — to Auradon from the Isle of the Lost, where their parents have been banished, so they have a chance to go to prep school with their peers and redeem themselves.

"It's a story about redemption and about really not making people change who they are to see the good in them, and I really like that storyline," director Laura Chaney said. "With the polarity of the world today, it seems like people are on different sides ... but people don't have to change for us to get along."

The musical is based on a 2015 Disney Channel film of the same name, which was followed by two sequels in 2017 and 2019. The Disney Channel also has produced a prequel spinoff, an animated spinoff and a television special based on the "Descendants" premise.

"Disney has been advancing storylines trying to reach the teens and kids of today, realizing they don't necessarily look like Cinderella," Chaney said. "Not everybody fits that mold. I think Disney's really branched out with some of their characterizations."

The Cottey production is one of the largest that Chaney has directed, with 55 students involved in the cast and crew.

"I think (the students) enjoy the fact that they get to play these iconic characters, and they are very stylized, so they are ones you recognize immediately, but they get to add their own flavor to them and find something in the character they can relate to," Chaney said.

Part of the goal with such an elaborate show, Chaney said, is to celebrate the launch of Cottey's new bachelor's degree for the theater program. Previously, the school had only an associate degree for theater, she said. The new bachelor's degree program already has 15 students in it, she said.

A special feature of the show is a 2 p.m. Saturday matinee specifically for children.

"With that performance, we have a special meet and greet after the show where (kids) can purchase an autograph book for each person in the cast to sign it as their character," Chaney said. "The wonderful thing about the show is the young children really believe this is happening in front of them, so these characters are important for them to get to know and get to meet."