From Disney to Redondo, a childhood favorite for many, Beauty and The Beast is this year’s spring musical. It will be performed in the RUHS theater on March 15-17 and March 22-23. According to RUHS Theatre Director Melissa Staab, Beauty and the Beast is the RUHS theater program’s “largest scale production” of all time, even using pieces of the set from the real Broadway show.
Having “such a big cast,” Beauty and the Beast has created a community that is “so amazing to see unified in one space,” according to junior Stage Manager Victoria Vasquez.
“Since Mama Mia, we’ve just been growing and growing,” Vasquez said. “We have a Disney choreographer we’ve worked with a few times, but this is our first Disney show in a long time. We’re all very excited.”
Vasquez explains her role as a stage manager, and how despite it being a sometimes “stressful” job requiring “so much time and dedication,” she loves it.
“As a stage manager, you help run rehearsals, and once the show starts, I’m up in the booth calling queues. We’re supposed to know every moving part of the show,” Vasquez said. “It for sure can be stressful, but that’s why we have dress rehearsals, so I can do anything as many times as I need to and get it in my system. But I mean, I love my job.”
Playing Belle, senior May Le describes how the work that the rest of the crew has put in, such as the costume crew, has contributed to her love playing the role.
“I love [Belle’s] songs and I love her parts in the songs, it’s really beautiful music,” Le said. “The costume crew and costume designer did an amazing job. Everything looks so pretty, and I feel like a little pretty princess which is really cute.”
Junior Zara Schwar hadn’t previously thought about auditioning for a musical, but her interest was piqued since Beauty and the Beast is one of her childhood favorites. As a clarinet player since sixth grade, she decided to audition for the orchestra rather than the cast.
“Beauty and the Beast has always been one of my favorite Disney movies, so the soundtrack inspired me to try out for the orchestra instead of the cast,” Schwar said. “I’ve never been in an orchestra, so it’s exciting to join for the first time.”
As a member of the orchestra, who is not seen by the crowd, Schwar wishes that the orchestra received more recognition for their role in the musicals. Vasquez feels similarly about the rest of the backstage crew, believing that “tech deserves a lot more recognition.”
Junior Zara Schwar hadn’t previously thought about auditioning for a musical, but her interest was piqued since Beauty and the Beast is one of her childhood favorites. As a clarinet player since sixth grade, she decided to audition for the orchestra rather than the cast.
“Beauty and the Beast has always been one of my favorite Disney movies, so the soundtrack inspired me to try out for the orchestra instead of the cast,” Schwar said. “I’ve never been in an orchestra, so it’s exciting to join for the first time.”
As a member of the orchestra, who is not seen by the crowd, Schwar wishes that the orchestra received more recognition for their role in the musicals. Vasquez feels similarly about the rest of the backstage crew, believing that “tech deserves a lot more recognition.”
“What I liked about last year for Les Mis is when they all went on stage, the band included, at the end of the show. I thought that was really smart because then the people could see the orchestra and not take it for granted,” Schwar said.
Although he doesn’t feel that he connects on a personal level, senior Diego DiPasquo—who plays Cogsworth—believes the made-up characters make the show “really fun.
“It’s a Disney show, so it’s a lot of larger than life characters,” senior Diego DiPasquo said. “I love the show, but I don’t specifically connect with the characters. It’s a bit harder to do that because the characters are much less realistic [but] much more fun to be portrayed on stage.”
As a senior, Beauty and the Beast will be DiPasquo’s final high school musical, and he describes it to be his “favorite production we’ve ever done.”
“We’re doing it in nine weeks instead of ten weeks. So the pressure is high,” DiPasquo said. “We’re going out with a bang for sure.”
Staab claims that seeing the RUHS production of Beauty and the Beast on stage makes it “feel real,” regarding the show being a production she’s been wanting to do for years.
“It’s something the entire community can come to, from little kids to grandparents,” Staab said. “Disney has a certain feel and a certain touch, so we’re really going all out to give everybody that real, full Disney Broadway experience.”
Staab feels that being able to direct Beauty and the Beast is “really special,” growing up loving the movie and Broadway show in the 90s as a little girl with brown hair and brown eyes.
“There’s something about those stories and those songs you’ve heard a million times, but now you’re like, oh my gosh, they’re here on our stage,” Staab said. “When I watch my favorite story being told on stage and hearing all the beautiful singing and the dancing, just seeing everything come together, I’ve cried tears of joy so many times because it’s beautiful and magical.”
