M-WHS Drama Club presents ‘Beauty and the Beast' for three nights in March

Central Valley - The Beast roared: “This is my castle and I am the master of it!” Belle, Lumiere and Cogsworth winced as the Beast strode toward them. But around them were not the sights and sounds of a mythical castle but those of props being completed, instructions being shouted, lighting and sound system checks, people moving all about, plus the talking, giggling and critiquing of interested students observing all this in a darken auditorium. This is how a play comes together. In this case, rehearsals for the musical “Beauty and the Beast,” which the Monroe-Woodbury High School Drama Club will present for three nights at the end of the month. In the front of the orchestra pit, the director Stacy Hintze and her side kicks, music director David Crone and technical director Rick Cronk, stood together analyzing, consulting, coordinating, supervising, coaching and then demanding the actors and stage crew get it right each and every time. “Repeat that line…. “Move more slowly…. “Change your voice tone…. “Come together…. “Let’s move people…. “Dance more lively…. “That prop is not in the right spot!” On a recent Friday afternoon, student actors and crew worked hard to get it right: The singing, dancing, moving and saying of their lines while the stage and auditorium around them erupted with noise, movement and distractions. These student actors and crew - 111 in all - started this play production in late December with tryouts and individual rehearsals. Nearly everyday since, they’ve come together as a team after school and now on weekends to learn their lines, music, and stage movements; to build the play’s props and scenery; and to coordinate the lights and sounds needed to make this magical musical come alive in a special way. The curtain rises Friday evening, march 27, on the club’s first-ever production of this Disney musical classic. As Lumiere would so graciously say: “Be our guest, Be our guest.” Jim Grupp provided this story. Beauty and the Beast: The players Here is a cast of the musical’s major characters: Babette: Selena Foerste Beast: Tim Grupp Belle: Jen Titus Chip: Dana Searing Cogsworth: Dominick Pascullo Gaston: Chris Jones Lafou: Carl Storkman Lumiere: DJ Skinner Maurice: Andrew Haviland Mrs. Potts: Sarah McNulty Madame LeBouche: Lissette Kortright Monsieur D’Arque: Cory Damato Silly Girls: Megan Scully, Aisling Meyers, Colleen Bradley and Julia Ambroso Stage Manager: Mike Kling Where and when The Monroe-Woodbury High School Drama Club’s production of “Beauty and the Beast” will be held in the high school auditorium on Friday, March 27, and Saturday, March 28, at 7 p.m. each evening, and then again on Sunday, March 29 at 1 p.m.