For director Arden-Reese, the theme resonates beyond the stage. According to her, bullying might take different forms, but supporting the kids facing it is as important as ever. “In helping the dwarves and their own quest, Bilbo finds out what shines inside him — something that hadn’t shined before,” she said. But the story’s heart isn’t just in the script; it’s in the actors’ performances, their students and the energy that fills the stage. As a Cape Cod local and current associate chair at New York University’s Tisch Drama, Arden-Reese said she was thrilled to guide the cast in this process. “When a community comes together for this common purpose and people give their heart, soul and whole being to a piece, something happens. It transcends the sum of its individual parts. That’s the magic that makes theater pop,” she said. By the final curtain, Beau has faced trolls, outwitted Gollum and confronted his own “dragon.” As he steps off stage, one lesson lingers: there really is more in him than meets the eye.

The dwarfs (Celia Gaska, Quinn Martin, Shiloh Pabst, and Rebecca Reyes), led by Thorin (Stevie Carter), are happy to have Bilbo (Adam Leavitt) join the group with Gandalf (Nancy R. Flynn) advising them. First up they run into some nasty trolls, then some elves, have an encounter with the creature Gollum and his magic ring, and eventually confront Smaug the dragon. The talented duo of Anna Botsford and Jon Cornet play multiple roles beginning with Beau’s mother and father. Botsford is a troll, a goblin and an excellent Elf Queen, and Cornet is a troll, the Grand Goblin and an Elf guard. Nancy Flynn’s Granna naturally flows into the wise wizard Gandalf, and Sam Sewell’s Gollum is fantastically slithery. Seamus Sartin emotes Smaug with some cool special effects. He’s scary, but not too scary.