OA Music Department's 'Beauty and the Beast' A Hit

Friday night was opening night for Music Department’s Spring Musical. They took on the classic Disney tale “Beauty and the Beast”. The auditorium was packed with eager family, friends, and community members who were waiting for the curtain to open and the show to begin. From the first note played by the orchestra to the very end when the curtain closed, the show was purely magical.

The Beast says toward the end of the musical “I never knew books could do that…take me away from this place, help me forget for a while…” The audience also could not help but be taken away – for the two and a half hour duration, all who watched were captivated by the perfect scenery, colorful costumes, and show-stopping musical numbers.

Director Charlene Lorian Dalrymple said “I am a tough critic and I could not be prouder of these kids.”

Dalrymple began thinking about her choice for the musical in August of last year. She knew this particular show was “so huge” that there would be a lot of preparation, planning, and work to do before auditions were even held.

“We also had a new set designer and new orchestra director to work with”, Dalrymple said.

But, through hard work everything came together.

Audience members were buzzing about how terrific the casting was. Belle, played by Sarah Kawalek, and the Beast, played by Jonathan Raduazzo, each had outstanding voices. The two had chemistry on stage and were great choices for their parts. Larger than life Gaston, played by Jared Wise, suited up nicely for the notorious, self-proclaimed “He-Man” character and had the deep, powerful voice to match.

“Auditions started in December. There are three people who had input into the casting and there are three parts to the audition: singing, reading, and dancing. When we decided who had what part, there was some drama and disagreement, but after a while the cast saw our vision too” Dalrymple explained.

Every actor played his or her individual part with passion, making numbers such as “Be Our Guest” and “Human Again”, where almost every actor was present on stage, play out seamlessly.

As a group Dalrymple agreed “Everyone worked well together. I told them all the time ‘You have to know what you are doing and be prepared with your lines in order to get all the technical aspects perfected the last week or so of practice.’”

All of the actors, from lead sugar cube to the statuesque gargoyles (who could easily have passed for stone statues until they moved) to Belle, gave their roles all they had and fully embraced their parts.

There will be a 7:30 pm show Saturday night and a matinee performance Sunday at 2:30 pm. Tickets are $12 for Rear Mezzanine and $16 for Orchestra and Mezzanine seats.