A tale as old as time. On March 2, 3, and 4, Beauty and the Beast shared the beloved story of a misunderstood girl who finds love with a beast in a world of critics. According to Samantha Haldeman’s director’s note, the goal of this show was to remind people of the courage and bravery that we all have inside and a reminder to express your true self because the real beauty is found within. That message was clear this weekend when the production of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast finally got to spread its wings. 

The show sold out across the board, giving an eager audience four spectacular showings. This musical brought in an audience of all ages, full of family, friends, and students. The cast also did an amazing job at including younger audiences, allowing for a photoshoot after the show.

The performance followed the Broadway version of the fairytale, bringing a few songs forward that many are not familiar with. These unfamiliar additions did not disappoint with Robby Santana’s solos of “How Long Must This Go On?” and “If I Can’t Love Her,” as well as Audrey Pavlica’s solo songs of “Home” and “A Change In Me,” among others.

The show provided an unforgettable interactive twist as many of the ensemble were speaking to the audience in character before the show even started. This allowed for a good laugh from many, bringing smiles to everyone’s face as the Silly Girls ran around looking for Gaston, or a townsperson asked if anybody would like to receive a shoe shine.

In every show, mishaps are doomed to happen; with this being said, MTPA did an amazing job at getting past those difficulties. Wardrobe malfunctions, missing cues, broken mics and more, the performers did their best to get through, and that work paid off. Most wrong turns were easily overlooked or not noticed at all.

As well as the performers seen on stage, an infinite amount of work goes on behind the scenes as well. The work especially of the pit, costume, makeup, set design, sound, and lighting crews. These aspects, all run by students, were on-point at all shows this past weekend. The pit orchestra , providing all music for this year’s production, blew away the audience, creating an environment filled with magic, suspense, love and friendship. The costume, set and makeup crews showed their incredible talents when bringing this story to life, making the show full of color, laughter, and good times.