Talent from head to Foote

With hands just as animated as his facial expressions, 18-year-old Alec Foote said his audition for Music Theatre West’s production of Beauty and the Beast didn’t go as planned.

“My initial audition was actually not great,” said Foote.

“I was learning it for probably three weeks before auditioning. I got to the audition, and I blanked twice.”

He explained the song he chose to audition with was very wordy and fast-paced.

Despite his mistakes, Foote was chosen over the 150 other actors auditioning for the role.

“Alec was a strong contender from the beginning,” said director Lindsey Kelstrom. She noticed his dance abilities, work ethic, positivity and willingness to work with others. The director admitted that no flaw was even noticed.

“Maybe it’s because LeFou is a flawed, nervous character in general, and Alec played it off really well,” Kelstrom said.

Foote said he resonated with the character’s moments of clumsiness and absent-mindedness. The iconic character is a big role to fill, but Foote said he feels confident in his portrayal of Gaston’s sidekick in a way that’s true to himself and to the character.

“Everybody has their ideas in their minds of what they want the characters to be,” Foote said, “It’s a little scary, but I’m keeping what I think needs to be LeFou, and then I’m bringing my own aspect to it.”

Long hours of rehearsals were necessary to bring this character to life. Lefou was a very physically demanding role, and Foote rose to the occasion. He even wore knee pads during rehearsals to continue perfecting his character.

“My knees really take a hit from it. He’s on his knees like half the time, I swear,” Foote said.

Foote’s director noticed he takes great notes and always comes back to rehearsals better than before. Rehearsals take up a lot of time, especially this close to opening night.

According to the actor, the story is about how, “It’s what’s on the inside that counts.” This seems to ring true for Foote’s own personal story. He worked hard, was friendly, and let his talent take over despite his shaky song during auditions.

“I don’t have a ton of spare time, especially once rehearsals really kick into gear,” he said.

Foote is a freshman at Utah State University and fills any remaining free time doing homework or seeing his friends.

Luckily for Foote, he has many friends within the cast and has even done past shows with a few of them. This most recently includes the production of “Legally Blonde,” in which he played Warner.

“It’s a really good environment,” Foote said. “Everybody is super inclusive and it’s really a lot of fun.”

He did his first show in fifth grade after his older sister pushed him to audition for “101 Dalmatians” — that’s when Foote fell in love with the inclusivity of theater.

“I just love that it’s telling a story and being part of telling a story is something that’s really special,” Foote said.

He specifically found a passion for this production because of the diversity of lifestyles found within the cast.

“People in the community that don’t have the opportunities that come with being a student here can still participate,” Foote said.

Foote said he is most excited for opening night because he will get to sing with a live orchestra for the very first time.

Photo by Bailey Rigby