Spreading Christmas cheer

Wooster, Maumelle students perform in Elf at The Rep

Marisol Sela of Maumelle, left, and Anna Beth Jeane of Wooster pose for an “elfie” with a poster of Buddy, the lead character in Elf, the musical, at The Rep in Little Rock. The girls both play elves and appear in other scenes as “normal” girls, Marisol said. Marisol is the daughter of Missy and Alvaro Sela, and Anna Beth is the daughter of Tracy and Chad Jeane.
Marisol Sela of Maumelle, left, and Anna Beth Jeane of Wooster pose for an “elfie” with a poster of Buddy, the lead character in Elf, the musical, at The Rep in Little Rock. The girls both play elves and appear in other scenes as “normal” girls, Marisol said. Marisol is the daughter of Missy and Alvaro Sela, and Anna Beth is the daughter of Tracy and Chad Jeane.

Anna Beth Jeane, 12, of Wooster and Marisol Sela, 10, of Maumelle are helping bring Christmas cheer to audiences in Elf, the musical, playing at Arkansas Repertory Theatre in Little Rock through Jan. 4.

They not only sing; they dance and wear shoes with toes that curl up. They are elves in Santa’s workshop, and they each are in another scene as regular children.

Both girls were bitten by the acting bug after being introduced to it by friends. Anna Beth, a seventh-grader at Greenbrier Middle School, was a gymnast. She said she took an acting class when one of her best friends did.

“I took it and loved it,” she said.

Tracy Jeane said she knew that her daughter, despite being “very quiet,” was destined to be a performer when Anna Beth was in kindergarten or first grade. Tracy said she was nose to nose with Anna Beth, talking seriously to her about learning her floor routine in gymnastics.

“She said, ‘Yes, because I’m gonna be out on the floor, and everybody’s gonna be watching me!’” Tracy recalled with a laugh, throwing her arms up in the air to imitate her young daughter.

Marisol has been a dancer half her life — since she was 5. She’s a competitive dancer with Rock City Dance Center in Little Rock and is comfortable performing onstage. When one of her friends was performing in plays, she said, “It looked really fun, so I wanted to do them, too.”

Missy Sela said Marisol asked her repeatedly when she was going to be old enough to audition for The Rep’s program for young artists, Summer Musical Theatre Intensive. Finally, she was.

Both girls auditioned and were accepted to the summer program, but because of construction on the facility, it was canceled. They didn’t get to perform, but they are considered alumni of the program, Tracy said.

The girls found out that Elf was being performed at The Rep and that there were roles for children. It is the musical adaptation of the 2003 film Elf, starring comedian Will Ferrell as Buddy. Both girls said they have seen the movie several times.

In the musical Elf, which opened earlier this month to rave reviews, the girls sing, and they dance.

Marisol has one line: “Come on, Buddy, it’s time to get to work,” she said, reciting it with feeling.

Anna Beth has two: “Even better than Santa,” and “You have lots of talents.” Learning lines doesn’t faze Anna Beth. She’s had plenty of experience.

Anna Beth has been in Seuss School through the Conway Dinner Theatre in Conway, where she played the role of Cindy Lou Who. Her credits also include Oklahoma! and Annie, in which she played the title role and got to sing “Tomorrow.”

Tracy said her daughter didn’t inherit that talent from her.

“I can’t sing a lick,” Tracy said. “When she sings, I tell her to stop,” Anna Beth said, grinning.

Marisol’s mother said the same thing — she didn’t pass down a talent for singing to her daughter.

“I would hear her sing, and I would think, ‘You know, she is actually pretty good,’ because I’m a terrible singer,” Missy said. “When she was, I think, in first grade, she sang Aretha Franklin’s ‘Respect’ in front of her whole school.”

Marisol performs and competes several times a year as a dancer, and now she’s added to her resumé.

“I would consider myself a singer after those auditions,” Marisol said. However, she’d never danced in front of such a big crowd as the sold-out audiences at Elf, she said. “I kind of got butterflies in my stomach.”

Both girls mentioned their creative costumes. They wear dresses with skirts they each described as “sticking straight out.”

“It’s like it has a hula hoop under it,” Anna Beth said.

It’s not the most outlandish costume she’s worn. Anna Beth played Scuttle, a bird, in Red Curtain Theatre’s production of The Little Mermaid last summer in Conway. “I had a vest and feathers, and this feathering material for wings, and I wore pants that were like knickers and orange tights,” she said. “He’s just kind of crazy.”

Anna Beth said almost 100 children auditioned for the 12 elf roles in Elf.

“I really didn’t think I was going to get in it, but I was happy I did,” she said.

In addition to playing an elf, Anna Beth has a scene in which she is cast as a kid at Macy’s.

“I stand in line for Santa, and in the finale, we all come out as elves again,” she said.

Marisol said she also has a scene in the Rockefeller Center ice-skating area in which she’s a “normal kid.” Her favorite part of the musical is when Buddy realizes (spoiler alert) that he isn’t really an elf. “I like the part when he figures out he’s a human and all,” Marisol said. “It’s kind of intense, and all the lighting comes down. It’s really cool.”

Anna Beth is impressed by the elaborate set, too.

“The set’s really cool, and there are a lot of really cool props,” she said. The elves’ workshop, especially, is “pretty amazing,” she said.

Both girls said they have had fun, despite the hectic rehearsal schedule for a total of 39 performances, which might test an actor of any age.

Anna Beth, a straight-A student at Greenbrier Middle School, studies in the car on the way to rehearsals and every chance she gets. Marisol said she studies on the set during downtime. Marisol is in a gifted-and-talented program at Lakewood Elementary School in North Little Rock. Their mothers said the girls’ teachers and fellow classmates have been supportive.

It’s been worth the time demands, both girls said.

“I’ve made like,” Marisol paused to think, “10 new friends. It’s been really fun learning all these tips and learning all these things I didn’t know I could do before. I don’t want it to end because it’s all so fun.”

Anna Beth said she dreads the end of each performance.

“I’m sad at all the ends of the shows because it’s the finale, and then we have to go home till the next night. Backstage, we hang out and talk, and it’s fun.”

Although Marisol isn’t sure what she wants to do when she grows up, she plans to audition for more plays.

Anna Beth, two years her cast member’s senior, has her eye on the Big Apple.

“I want to go to Broadway,” she said.

“I think she’d go tomorrow if I’d let her,” Tracy said. “I would,” Anna Beth said quickly.

First, though, she and Marisol have Christmas cheer to spread in 21 more performances of Elf. For more information, contact The Rep box office at (501) 378-3405.

Senior writer Tammy Keith can be reached at (501) 327-0370 or tkeith@arkansasonline.com.

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