The kids of Pandemonium Productions prepped for their Beauty and the Beast rehearsal last Monday by having a good time as only kids can have, with energy that suggested they were still hopped up on leftover Halloween candy. Some ran, jumped and karate chopped; while others dutifully moved props.

The serious look on director Chris Leslie's face suggested he was about to round them up and get them started on the rehearsal. Sure enough.

"Hey you guys, your stereo is in here," he shouted, shooing them up from one room of El Museo Cultural to another. "Warm up in here then we'll go in there."

They slowly began to line up and get ready as volunteer Matt Sanford and choreographer Colette Kerwick held a wooden stick for a limbo session to get them limber.

The troupe was originally planning to do Annie, but they were unable to get the rights, Leslie said.

"We thought we would have a good cast, and it's been a long time since we've done this show and the rights to the Disney musical just got released," Leslie said.

The story

It's the classic story: girl falls in love with a beast, who turns out to just be a gorgeous, temperamental prince who is just being punished by an old witch for not helping her out. The Beast has a loyal staff, who were all turned into objects by the witch. The beauty, Belle, has a nosy little father who stumbles upon the castle in search of a bed for the night after he gets lost. After being welcomed by the staff of objects, the Beast flips out and throws him in a dungeon. When Belle comes to find her father, he has a proposition for her — he'll release her father if she lives with him. So, unselfishly, she does.

But before Belle is kept captive in the castle, she turns down a marriage proposal from the town's most over-confident and adored man, Gaston, who is about as self-centered and delusional as they come.

Belle eventually falls in love with the Beast, but Gaston and the villagers from her hometown try to kill him. Right before he dies, the old witch's curse is lifted because Belle professes her love.

There is an important lesson in this story, said Anna Bennett, 11, who plays Belle.

"Don't judge a book by its cover," Anna said.

"I like that the Beast goes from being really ugly and monstrous and mean to a wonderful, kind, sweet person," said 12-year-old Molly Montgomery, who plays Gaston.

Crazy characters

Molly, the thin, girly girl, perfectly transforms herself into the burly, manly man Gaston.

"It's kind of fun to prance around being manly because obviously I'm not very manly," Molly said with a laugh. "It's fun to portray something you're really not."

Molly plays one of the villains in the story, but she's hoping to contribute more to the character. "I'm trying to add more of a comic sense to him instead of just being the villain," she said.

Gaston has his own band of loyal ditzes to stroke his ego, but the one girl he wants is Belle.

"She's kind of a little stubborn, which I like," Anna said of her character. "She's bored with her life until she meets the Beast."

Farleigh Carson, 12, is having a great time with her character LeFou.

"He's kind of like a wimpy person that nobody really likes," Farleigh said. "Nobody really likes Gaston, either, but Gaston is everything (LeFou) is not."

Alex Gallegos, 12, is mastering his French accent to play Lumiere, the candlestick butler. "It's hard to talk with a French accent," he said.

Desiree Herberger, 12, transforms herself to the old, wise Mrs. Potts. Her accent is perfect and although she's only 12, she portrays the wisdom, poise and grace of the old lady teapot and has a strong voice to deliver her solo.

Tony Baca, 15, a first-time actor, brings a lovable quality to the Beast.

"It's kind of challenging because I have to be really mean and I'm not a mean person," Tony said.

Making it possible

When many people go to a Pandemonium Productions show, it's the finished product.

"Most often the audience sees the glitz and the glamour," Leslie said. "They don't understand the work that really goes into the product without the help of (volunteers and parents)."

Leslie said that the volunteers and parents put in "countless hours and energy backstage," Leslie said. "It's really like creating a giant jigsaw puzzle, and all the little pieces don't get put together until a few days before we open. It's really fun to watch it all come together."

Parent and volunteer Vanessa Medina walked in while rehearsal was already in full swing, with hangers full of colorful, full feather skirts to be worn by the feather-duster girls. Costume designer Mary Becker let Medina, who usually does hair for the productions, put together the skirts.

"It was really fun," Medina said happily. "We got tulle and made it into skirts, then we got feather boas and sewed them on."

Medina said Becker, who was out of town last week, has some special costumes for this production.

"The clock is going to be awesome," Medina said with excitement. "The clock will have the pendulum and you can actually open it up and touch it."

But to Medina, it's Leslie who creates all the magic.

"The plays are so awesome," Medina said as she watched the rehearsal. "My mouth always drops open when I watch them. Chris puts on the most amazing scenes ... I can't even put it to words."

Contact Ana Maria Trujillo at 986-3084 or atrujillo@sfnewmexican.com.