Some know him as Ricky Schweitzer, some as Ricky Ashley and others as Chip. All of these names apply to a fifth grade Jericho resident who attends Jackson Elementary School.

Ten-year-old Ricky Schweitzer, whose stage name is Ricky Ashley, plays Chip in Disney's Broadway musical Beauty and the Beast. The musical opened on Broadway on April 18, 1994, and has already been seen by over 15 million people worldwide.

"In June [of 1999] I went to the audition [for Chip in Beauty and the Beast]," said Ricky. "Before the audition, everyone thought I should sing Consider Yourself, but I thought I should do 'Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah'. I used 'Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah' at my audition and I got the part," Ricky continued.

Ricky has been playing the role of Chip since Nov. 12, 1999, when the musical opened at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre. He shares the role with another boy and they each perform in four shows per week. Ricky performs in three songs in Beauty and the Beast and he also has a number of solo lines.

Acting skills and musical talent run in the Schweitzer family. Ricky's father, Eric, and his older sister, Carole, introduced him to show business and are involved themselves.

"I have been interested in acting since I was about 5," said Ricky. "My dad is an actor and he started me on the piano when I was really young. I would play and he would sing along with me and then I started singing with him," said Ricky.

Ricky's father sings for a living and is a prominent New York bandleader.

"My older sister [11-year-old Carole] is really into acting and she wanted to get involved in the business, so my dad took her on an audition," said Ricky. "I asked if I could go and I auditioned also. The agency liked both of us so now we are both in the business," Ricky said.

Robyn Schweitzer, Ricky and Carole's mother, is the only member of the family that does not act. "I don't sing; I just support my husband and children," said Robyn.

Balancing school and a career can be very difficult, especially for a 10-year-old. "The people that I work with [on Broadway] are very nice," said Ricky. "The best part about it all is being on stage and performing, but sometimes it is a little hard to do the show and go to school," said Ricky.

"We rehearsed for a month before the show started and during that time I had a tutor because I had to miss class while I was at rehearsals. My teacher [Jennifer Renaldi] understood and did not mind," said Ricky.

Along with the difficulty of balancing school and his career, relationships with some classmates have been affected. "Some of the kids at school treat me different - some are meaner and some are nicer," Ricky said. "For the most part, my friends have stuck by me."

Although he's a Broadway actor, Ricky is still a normal 10-year-old who plays with his friends and dreads getting up for school. "I am so used to getting up late after I have a show," said Ricky. "I have a show on Sunday so I can go to school a little late on Monday. I don't have a show on Monday so I have no excuse to be late on Tuesday mornings," said Ricky. "That is the worst part - getting up early."

Some of Ricky's favorite activities, aside from acting and playing the piano, are playing video games, roller blading and watching television with his friends.

Ricky and Carole would like to continue acting in the future. Both children made recordings with Andrea McArdle, who stars along with Ricky in Beauty and the Beast as Belle, the lead character. They contributed vocals on McArdle's 1999 Christmas CD. Also, Ricky and Carole will be singing on Richard Simmons's Sweat to Broadway CD which will be premiering soon.