By Renee Larr

Carmel graduate, Kari Baker, will be following her dreams by performing in an off-Broadway production of “Beauty and the Beast.”

“I will be going on the tour of ‘Beauty and the Beast.’ I’ll be rehearsing in New York City for about two-and-a-half weeks. Then they send us off to 40-some cities, and we perform at all these beautiful venues. It’s going to be amazing and I can’t wait. I’ll start Aug. 24, and I won’t get home until July of next year,” she said.

Baker got into acting because of her love for dancing and singing.

“I’ve been doing it my whole life. I’ve been doing more of the dancing and singing. The acting kind of came along as I really started enjoying musical theatre. As I started doing dance recitals, I realized I could sing, too. Then the acting picked up, and I realized musical theatre is what I really wanted to do,” said Baker.

The 11-month long tour will not bring her back to Indiana, but Baker is excited for the opportunity to pursue her dreams. The audition process lasted almost a year and a half. She was finishing up another musical, “The Producers,” when she found out she received the part in the ensemble.

“I’ll be a townsperson and I’ll be a dancer in the number, “Be Our Guest.” I’ll be a napkin. What’s really is cool is I’ll be covering Belle. I get to be her understudy. I’ll learn all her lines,” said Baker.

Until the production begins, Baker plans to spend her time in Carmel with her family and learning her lines. Her long-term ambition is to audition for more roles.

“When the show is about over is when I can start auditioning again. In the future, I’d definitely like to audition to be one of the Rockettes,” said Baker.

For more information on the “Beauty and the Beast” tour visit beautyandthebeastontour.com.