(SOLD OUT) Batavia High School Presents Beauty and the Beast

 Batavia High School presents the smash
Broadway musical, Beauty and the Beast,
directed by Dominic A. Cattero, beginning November 3 in the newly opened
Batavia Fine Arts Centre. Performances will be at 7:30pm November 3, 4, and 5
with a matinee at 2:00pm on Sunday, November 6. Tickets are available online at
www.BataviaFineArtsCentre.org and at the box office. Ticket prices start at $11 online and $13 at the box office. 

This heart-warming musical is the
classic love story of Belle (played by sophomore Kelsey Skomer), a young woman
in a “small, provincial town,” and the Beast (played by junior Connor
Frederick). The Beast is trapped, along with his entire staff, in a spell that
has enchanted his castle with dancing flatware and singing furniture. In total,
44 BHS students and 4 Batavia grade school students will fill the stage with
thrills in this beloved fairy tale about very different people finding strength
in one another and learning how to love. The pit orchestra, directed by veteran
BHS music teacher and band director John Heath, features 29 BHS students and
pianist Mrs. Melinda Rudy.

Cattero, a 1999 BHS alum, has directed
27 productions throughout his career thus far. Joining Cattero and Heath on “Beauty
and the Beast” is the same directorial team that collaborated on BHS’ April
production of “Little Shop of Horrors”: vocal director Christina Virgilio, BHS
choral director/teacher; choreographer Tracy Adams; technical director Mike
Baglieri, a 2009 BHS alum; and assistant technical director Michelle Heronemus,
a 2005 BHS alum. “Beauty and the Beast” marks the final time Heath will direct
the pit orchestra for a BHS production. He will retire at the end of the school
year after having led 21 BHS pit orchestras over 19 years.

“Beauty and the Beast” is the
perfect inaugural production to showcase the new Batavia Fine Arts Centre’s state-of-the-art
digital sound board, computerized lighting system, hydraulic pit, and sophisticated
staging equipment, which includes two trap doors and more than 25 fly lines to
hang soft goods, such as curtains, and hard goods, such as a band shell. This
premiere fine arts facility rivals any in the Chicago area with comfortable seating
for 890 and four different venues, including the Main Stage, Courtyard,
Gallery, and Black Box. For more information
about the Centre as well as BHS productions and other events open to the
public, please visit www.BataviaFineArtsCentre.org.

Nominated for nine Tony Awards including
Best Musical, the musical production of “Beauty and the Beast” is based on the
Academy Award-winning animated feature film of the same name. This
family-friendly production has played to sold out houses world-wide and boasts
unforgettable characters, lavish sets and costumes, and dazzling production
numbers including "Be Our Guest" and “Beauty and the Beast”. A
vivacious cast, a fine-tuned orchestra, professional vocal direction and
choreography only serve to put the finishing touches on what promises to be a
delightful, fun-filled and entertaining performance for all ages.