“Beauty and the Beast” A Roaring Success
Belle, played by senior Ciara Carnes, and Beast, played by senior Luke Coonrod, share an intimate moment after their mutual love turns Beast human again.
December 5, 2022
The theater department performed Beauty and the Beast the musical on the weekend of Nov. 11. On opening night, tickets had to be preordered and they sold out quickly. On Saturday and Sunday, tickets were sold at the door, but nonetheless the seats were all just as full as Friday night.
As the lights dim and the curtains begin to open, Princess Belle played by senior Ciara Carnes is going to the bookstore, visiting her father played by Cale Wheeler, and going about her day. Ciara pulled the audience in with this scene. Then Cale pulled the audience in as well when he acted out the scene where the wolves chase him in the woods. The importance of sound effects as well as lighting was easily noticed in this scene. As he’s thrown into the Beasts’ dungeon, he does a wonderful job of acting as frightened as one would feel. Taking into consideration that this is a musical as well, the students did an amazing job executing their individual roles as well as their group roles. Ciara had an amazing voice on stage for both acting and performing. She sounded different than the original but in a beautiful and unique way, like she was putting her own spin on the role.
When the Beast, played by senior Luke Coonrod, yells at Belle when she doesn’t come down for dinner, it was impressive how similar his voice was to the Beast in movies. It was spectacular how gravelly his voice became. There were many enjoyable and notable scenes in the first half, and the students truly did a great job and portrayed their roles so well. However, the second half was even better than the first. After intermission, it’s usually expected that the climax will happen and then it winds down. But the second half had everyone intrigued and focused on the play.
The songs in the second half were even better and well executed, the swiftness between scenes and costume changes, and the perfectly timed lighting and sound effects truly tied this whole play together. The Beast to human transformation is also something to point out. Everyone involved in this play, on the stage and behind the scenes deserves recognition for the effort, talent, work, and time that went into the production. Gaston, played by senior James Vasquez, gave the crowd a refreshing laugh after he ran away from the Beast into the audience screaming at the end. All the mechanics, parts and little knick knacks of this play blended together extremely well. The theater department never fails to disappoint. There’s an obvious reason why the tickets were sold out on opening night.
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