Crystal Cook tells Viv Hardwick about her fightback from career-threatening injuries to become the leading lady in Beauty And The Beast.

ALEADING role in a touring Disney production seemed a long way off at the start of Crystal Cook’s performing career because she needed three years rest to recover from stress fractures in her legs and was told the damage might never heal properly.

“I think like any dancer you come across challenges and mine was stress fractures in my legs and it was a blessing and a curse because I got to learn a lot about the technical side of being a dancer.

“However, when it’s your passion you just want to be on the stage performing. It happened when I was a senior in High School and sometimes your body doesn’t heal itself and one of my legs had cracked threequarters of the way through the bone. So my doctor said there was a chance I wouldn’t be able to continue as a dancer and I’d been dancing and teaching about 40 hours a week at the time,” she explains.

Cook went on to join Disney in Florida and is currently playing Belle in Beauty And The Beast – part of The Disney Live! Three Classic Fairy Tales which arrives at the MetroRadio Arena, Newcastle, on March 16- 17.

“The injury opened my eyes about how productions could be at their finest. I would watch performances and cry because of what I could have been doing.

I’m a person who believes that things happen for a reason and I had to trust in that and I’m sure I wouldn’t have come across this show if the injury hadn’t have happened.

“I think when you come through something that’s hard, I think it gives you the passion to do anything to get back. When I got the all-clear I went off and got an audition for Disneyworld because Disney has a special place in most people’s lives,”

says Cook who is now based in Orlando, Florida.

“It’s incredible to play such an amazing character and the challenges have come when we travel to each country and we are learning the show in a different language. We want to convey the emotions in the correct words,” says Cook who has managed to learn her lines in Mandarin Chinese, Korean, Thai, Japanese, Spanish and Mexican Spanish, Italian, Turkish and Greek.

“There are times when you know it’s ‘oops, I’ve missed a line’ but I’ve enjoyed taking part in other country’s cultures,” she jokes. The show, which is produced by Feld Entertainment, has condensed versions of Snow White, Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast linked up by Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy introducing the stories from an enchanted book. Plenty of singing, dancing and audience participation is promised.

Cook enjoys being able to show that Belle is quite a feisty character “and I like the fact that the story is about finding the beauty within”.

She won the role after Disney auditioned and was one of thousands of girls who wanted to be part of the Three Princess stories production which has a touring cast of 18.

“It’s mind-blowing when you consider that 200-300 audition in every city right across the US.

We premiered the show in Asia and I think every little girl dreams of being a princess in a show and I think when you’re a performer you dream about the romanticizing of performances the same way that girls dream about being princesses,” says Cook who started out as part of a Mid-West singing act and also danced in ballets like The Nutcracker.

“I don’t know what’s coming next after playing Belle but I’d just like to keep on going,” says the performer who laughs when I remind her that she’s guaranteed to find a Prince Charming in Newcastle next week.

■ Disney Live! Three Classic Fairy Tales: MetroRadio Arena, Newcastle, Tuesday, 6pm and Wednesday, 11.30am, 3pm and 6pm. Tickets: 0844-493-6666 metroradioarena.co.uk