January 30 to February 1, NC Standing Ovation performed “Descendants: The Musical” for a crowd of approximately 350 community members. A three-month process, beginning with auditions October 2024, the cast and crew of “Descendants” breathed life into a production about teenagers finding their way in a polarized society.
“Descendants” follows four teenagers from the Isle of the Lost, where villains reside as outcasts from the rest of Auradon. The main characters — Mal, the daughter of Maleficent; Evie, daughter of the Evil Queen; Jay, son of Jafar and Carlos, son of Cruella de Vil — come to life through sophomore Katelyn McKoon, magnet senior Olivia Doucette, junior Will Gachaara and magnet junior Seneca Cruz Cruz, respectively. The four teens travel to Auradon High upon the request of future King Ben, played by magnet senior Zorian Lang. In Auradon, they battle parental expectations, bullying from peers and internal battles between their malicious upbringing versus their kindhearted desires.
“‘Descendants’ seemed like the obvious choice [for a musical] because it’s easy to cast and it’s a good children’s musical. Then of course we get to rehearsals, usually we try to slam down songs first and then dance and then put everything together. Sometimes it’s frustrating watching as a director because you’re hoping everyone will get it just like that, but you know everyone can’t,” theater director Candice Corcoran said.
After monologue and dance auditions, Corcoran and chorus teacher Charley Snell, assigned actors to roles ranging from ensemble to lead characters. Additionally, auditions took place to recruit technical theatre workers for roles including set, light, sound and costume designers, and prop workers. Combining the talents of actors and tech workers enabled the performance to run efficiently and in an organized manner.
“Descendants,” a one-act musical, reflects on the acceptance of people from diverse backgrounds and the importance of forgiveness. Similarly, students of various races, identities and beliefs within the NC theatre family created a delightful performance, transporting their audience to a magical world.
“The cast and crew are putting in their all. It’s definitely a new experience for me having a [leading] role while student-directing at the same time, but I couldn’t love it anymore. I’m really thankful for the cast and crew we have. They’re the reason I get to come here every day and have fun, and why I’m looking forward to the show as a whole,” Lang said.
With every member putting in significant effort, it remains unsurprising that the cast and crew presented a show worthy of a “Standing Ovation.” The audience seemed to agree, laughing at the punchlines and greeting actors after the show to give generous compliments and flowers. Children from the audience especially enjoyed meeting their favorite on-stage characters during the social time after the performance.
“I really loved getting to sign autographs after the show. I felt like a princess at Disney World because little kids would walk up to me and ask me questions relating to my character — I would improvise responses that Mal would say. I signed all the playbills as Mal because that’s what the kids wanted. [The kids] were all so nice and adorable, I loved every second of it,” McKoon said.
Wishing a bittersweet goodbye to “Descendants: The Musical,” NC Standing Ovation looks excitedly towards their upcoming show “Mamma Mia!” at the end of March. Teamwork from theatre students, leaders and Corcoran’s diligent work continues to fill NC hallways with joyous song, speech and dance, with special contributions from the cast and crew of “Descendants.”
