Eugene Ciesla
Beauty and the Beast Review In my experience as a student at Willowbrook I have yet to miss one of the theatrical productions. I attended Beauty and the Beast on its opening night, Thursday, November 16. Overall I believe the cast, crew, and all the other people involved in the play did a fantastic job. The performance was a musical so let me recognize the music first. As always, the performers sang and danced flawlessly. The songs were so passionate and intense. I could feel the love when Belle sang with her father. I could feel the despair as the beast sang “If I Can’t Love Her.” The melodies brought out raw emotion from the audience and so greatly portrayed the feelings of the characters. My favorite number was “Be Our Guest” and judging by the audience’s reaction I don’t believe I was the only one. There were different voices being heard, and the main characters were moving along with the rest of the cast. Plates and silverware and other kitchen appliances were singing and dancing and running around. There was so much going on during this moment. Going right along with the actors’ voices was the majestic sound of the orchestra. The pit orchestra consisted of students from both the orchestra and the band here at Willowbrook. The music coming from the pit beautifully crafted the framework of each song and provided much of the interlude between scenes or within them. Although my friends in the band seemed to be hard on themselves for not performing at their greatest, I don’t believe they need to worry because their performance was moving. There were times throughout the night that I caught myself looking at the pit rather than on stage. That is not to say that three wasn’t anything good on stage. The skills of the musical aspects were completely matched by those of the acting. Belle and the Beast were obvious roles that need to be taken by skilled actors. Specifically, these two roles brought out our feelings as audience members. As I recall, my neighbor during the play was sitting on the edge of her seat and fighting to get Belle to understand the Beast. The one actor that drew me in was Gaston. If the play was re-written and Gaston was to marry Belle, not too many people would oppose if it was Jack Corkery’s Gaston. The humor was brought in to this character that, realistically, had some very dark and distasteful views. These