“Beef ragout, cheese soufflé, pie and pudding en flambé!” The lyrics of “Be Our Guest” echo off the walls of the auditorium. A line of sophomore girls stand on stage with their eyes fixated on their choreographer as they memorize the tiniest details of their dance. “Five, six, seven, eight, left foot! Right hand! Now do that again.” Each girl has a firm grasp on a large, wooden eating utensil painted in gold. It is a two-hour-long rehearsal of dancing, singing and memorizing lines. Welcome to a typical rehearsal.

For this year’s musical, the choir department will perform the classic Disney tale of Beauty and the Beast. The preparation for a show like this is a rather daunting task. Hours upon hours of rehearsals and as well as practicing every move of each character are just some of the elements that add up to create a show that goes beyond the average high school production.

“Every day there are usually choreography and music rehearsals going on in addition to blocking,” assistant choir director Jenn Goodner said. “We usually spend about six to eight weeks working on the musical. It’s pretty intense.”

The choir students have had the opportunity to work at a very high level and their focus on the elaborate details is what will pay off in the end.

“I’m excited to be a part of such a professional production,” sophomore Mike Holland said. “The effects and the choreography as well as the raw talent of the students will create something wonderful for the audience.”

For many of the acts in Beauty and the Beast, such as “Be Our Guest,” choreography plays a prominent role. Fortunately, the students have the opportunity to work with Robin Lewis, a professional choreographer who was the dance captain for the Broadway production of Beauty and the Beast. He has incorporated much of the choreography from the Broadway production into the school musical.

“His experience with the show is so completely engrained in his head,” Goodner said. “He knows it backwards and forwards. We are pretty lucky in that respect.”

The students have also found Lewis to be enjoyable to work with even though he pushes them hard in rehearsals.

“Working with Robin is really tough work, but the final product will be worth it,” sophomore Shannon Breeland said. “I look forward to the performances and having the opportunity to work with upperclassmen.”
Select students will be playing the roles of the most beloved characters of the story including Belle, the Beast, Lumiere, Cogsworth, Chip, Gaston, Mrs. Potts and many more.

“It is hard work, but so much fun to play Belle in the musical,” senior Devon Chandler said. “People go to watch athletes at their games and Hyline in Zenith. This is my chance to show the school what I’m about.”

There will also be many enchanted objects, townspeople and of course, Gaston’s fan club.

“I am a silly girl along with Meredith Furst and Priscilla Leake, which means we follow around Gaston all the time and are his obsessed little fan girls,” senior Mary Morris said. “Literally a quarter of our lines are the three of us crying because Gaston is getting married. The rehearsals can be kind of intense, but everyone in the cast is really on top of what they need to do which makes the whole process a lot easier and more entertaining. Plus, [Goodner] is with us all the time and she’s an amazing director. She tells you what you need to know to improve your character without being mean or condescending. Also, Robin is absolutely amazing to work with. You can tell he really cares about what he’s doing because he demands a lot out of us, but he is still extremely patient and accommodating when we aren’t picking up choreography all too quickly.”

Along with choir, the TEC department is busy at work preparing for the musical as well. Certain effects such as lighting, smoke, streamers and even pyrotechnics, which will involve fire, will take hours of preparation to execute properly and safely. They must build the entire set from scratch.

“The stage setup is usually not too difficult,” TEC junior Callie Wendlandt said. “The construction of the base structure is always the hardest. When building, there are many strange angles that must be correct or certain pieces will not line up properly. Also, the set is just so large that its size is an obstacle in itself. One last hurdle is that we built the castle in several pieces, with many different experience levels working on each piece.

“Since the musical is our largest PAC show set-wise, the designing for Beauty and the Beast began last semester and early this semester. To create such a large production, preparation on the set was started more than six weeks before opening night. The week before the first show, we will have seven-hour rehearsals every night until show time.”

There is a lot more to Beauty and the Beast than what meets the audience’s eyes. It takes weeks and weeks of time to prepare a show that only lasts a few hours. It requires a lot of commitment, patience, goal setting and hard work to pull off such an enormous performance and the choir and TEC departments are raising the standards to a whole new level this year.
“I really enjoy being with my friends and just watching all of our hard work reveal itself in a complete package,” Callie said. “Watching the show from the wings is an ample reward for all the hours I have put in.”