The auditorium was brewing with excitement. The lights slightly dimmed with the gentle sound of the orchestra humming in the background. The room was full of energy, excitement, and a lulling buzz of voices that consumed the auditorium.
Glen Rock High School’s production of Beauty and the Beast was highly anticipated by students, parents, and staff since it was announced on October 25th, 2023. The show ran from Thursday, February 8th to Saturday, February 10th.
The auditorium fell silent as the spotlights were directed to the back of the theater, shining onto Belle (Giulia Beaudoin). Walking down the middle aisle, book in hand while dressed in her iconic blue dress flowing with each step she took, the show began. The audience was in awe as she made her way to the stage, pure joy shining off Giulia’s face.
From the moment rehearsals started back in November, the entire cast and crew began immersing themselves in the story of Beauty and the Beast. Giulia in particular started listening to all of Belle’s signature songs every day, practicing and perfecting her version of the iconic Disney princess each step of the way.
“The second I found out I was Belle, I was like, oh my god, I started learning all my lines and listening to all the music and like imagining myself in the role,” Beaudoin stated with a beaming smile.
With each introduction of a character came a new reaction from the audience. By the end of “Belle”, the first song performed in the musical, the audience was on the verge of losing control with excitement. In that first song, we got to see not only the dedication that was put into making this show amazing but also the connection and bonds formed between everyone on stage.
“It [the rehearsal process] has been a whirlwind. Everyone’s been working together to try to really make this happen for everyone. But it has definitely been a journey,” Ms. Lilikas expressed blissfully.
While the show itself was incredible, whirlwind is definitely a word to describe the months leading up to the show. On January 16th a worst-case scenario event occurred, after a regular inspection of the stage it was ruled inadequate for use, making it unable for any type of rehearsal to take place until it was repaired.
“We really got into rehearsals heavily just back from winter break. But under normal circumstances, we would have been on the stage a lot earlier than we have been. We had a little issue with them [maintenance workers] having to make some adjustments to the stage for safety and code reasons. So we lost about two weeks of rehearsal on the stage which was a huge setback,” Mr. Helder admitted.
Although the stage disaster was scary, nothing scared us more than Oliver Hegyi’s wonderful portrayal of the Beast. From his repulsive appearance to his gnarly claws, Hegyi truly claimed the role on stage, and his months of preparation paid off.
“My costume is definitely scary… as you saw the Tiktok. It’s scary but I mean I am the beast,” Hegyi commented.
While amazing, Belle and the Beast were not the only characters that defined the show. In reality, the entire cast stole audiences’ hearts. Whether it was Lumerie’s (Vivaan Motwani) comedic relief and extraordinary execution of Be Our Guest, Babette’s (Kellen Philp) heavenly high note in Human Again, or Mrs. Potts’ (Leah Holzer) enchanting rendition of Tale as Old as Time (Beauty and The Beast) which brought almost the entire audience to tears.
“When she sings, Tale as Old as Time [Beauty and the Beast] and then Giulia and Oliver, who are our Belle and Beast, do the little dance in that little scene. It’s just really cute to watch. Leah sings it, and knocks it out of the park.” Ms. Lilikas gushed.
From start to finish, the set design, cast, crew, and tech team made 2 hours and 15 minutes feel like only 30 minutes. Each character added to the entire show, no matter how small the part, and more importantly, even though we audience members were just observers we too felt like a part of the show. Listening to some of our favorite Disney songs like Gaston, Be Our Guest, and so many more made the show feel more nostalgic than we expected. The laughter echoing in the auditorium after scenes like Gaston (Danny Leder) dragging Lefou (Sam Baig) off stage was more refreshing than the drinks at intermission. This performance was a great start to the new year at GRHS.
