Every spring the theater department puts on a musical. This year they are performing “Beauty and the Beast”. The play is a classic story of loving someone because of their personality not their appearance. The show takes place on March 27-29 at 2 p.m. and April 2-4 at 7 p.m.

The auditions for the show took place in early December. When auditioning, the director looks for people who can sing, dance and act, also people who have exceptional chemistry. In the end, 64 students were cast.

“Auditions are based on a combination of how well they act, how they sing and how they move. And then their chemistry. There’s a lot of factors that actors can control about getting a role, and then there are things that they can’t, such as height difference,”  explained theatre coordinator and director Grif Sadow.

Senior Shae Lane is playing the role of Belle. Belle is a strong and intelligent young woman. This is Lane’s first time performing in a musical.

“I feel a lot of pressure because I’m working with so many talented actors and actresses that know what they’re doing and I feel like I’m still learning so much, but it is quite a privilege to be able to be a leader in such a good production,” Lane said.

It is also senior Conner Jacoby’s first time acting in a musical. Jacoby is playing the Beast. Jacoby is also in choir so he is no stranger to performing and being on stage. 

“I’m pretty confident. I don’t really get too nervous about many things. I would say the acting is harder than the singing portion because I’m in Vagabonds in Concert Choir so it comes a little easier to me,” Jacoby explained.

The classic “Beauty and the Beast” movie was produced by Disney in 1991, it was then remade in 2015. This is the first time the theater department is taking on a Disney production. 

“We have to stay pretty true to how Disney does it, so it’s very similar to the movies. So far, the biggest challenge has been we don’t have the tremendous budgets that Disney has, so it’s definitely scaled-down, but it’s still amazing,” Sadow said.

For both of the leads, it is their first time acting in a school musical. Trying something new can be exciting and scary.

“You really don’t know how much you’re gonna like something until you try it, I mean, you might not like it at all but you just really have to put yourself out there,” Lance said.