'Beauty And The Beast' Debuts Thursday At Mattituck High School

MATTITUCK, NY — Seven years after students rallied to revive musical theater at Mattituck High School, a magical production of "Beauty and the Beast" opens on Thursday.

Mattituck High School Musical Theater Company's production of Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" will be performed Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. in the Mattituck High School auditorium.

Tickets cost $12 for general admission and $8 for students and are sold at the door.

"This is a large show for our program, which is only our eighth," said Anne Gilvarry, who is co-directing the show along with Jacob Fowle. "It's the most ambitious show we've done, and we are very excited to present it to an audience."

The greatest joys of watching the show develop has been seeing the theater company take on the most complicated show, theatrically, that it's attempted in the eight years it's existed and how all have worked as a team to bring it to life, Gilvarry said.

"We have such a cohesive cast, a group of students who are so kind to each other and role models for their peers," she said. "They help, they learn, they grow, and they have fun with each other. How can you not root for a group like this to succeed?"

Seven years ago the Mattituck High School Class of 2011 rallied to revive the musical theater program at Mattituck.

"Mrs. Gilvarry and Mr. Fowle stepped up to the challenge and here we are now, one week from opening our eighth production," the group said on its Facebook page. "Happiness is musical theater at Mattituck High School. Will you be our guest for Beauty and the Beast?"

Photo, video courtesy Mattituck Musical Theater Company.