The theater department invited the community to be their guest November 9-12 for their performance of the Broadway musical, Beauty and the Beast. The show, directed by Mr. David Morgan, became an instant success after selling out of all five shows before the box opened each night. This show featured returning performers and new young leads to take the stage each night. So what does it take to create a show as unforgettable as this one?

Morgan incorporated hundreds of different costume pieces, seven backdrops, a raised platform built for the show, and countless props to bring a taste of Disney magic to the BBCHS stage. But it wasn’t just the set and costumes that made this show what it was, the talented young cast was the talk of the community. Bryce Porter, a junior and lead dancer in the show said, “The young talent and Mr. Morgan’s artistic vision is what made the show such a huge success.” This show incorporated many incredible dance numbers. Two major numbers were “Be Our Guest”, a nine minute song involving energetic choreography, and “Gaston,” a song praising the antagonist and where dancers performed the dance while clicking their beer mugs to the beat.
The show’s focus is on a young arrogant prince, who was turned into a hideous beast by an enchantress. The spell placed on the castle affected not only the prince but also everyone inside it, turning them all into enchanted objects, and it can only be broken when the beast learns to love and is loved in return. A young french girl, named Belle, wonders into the castle searching for her father and slowly falls in love with the Beast.
The program is looking toward a promising future with not only the praise it has been receiving, but also the young and upcoming talent. The cast consisted of 91 students, a mixture of high school and feeder students from the surrounding elementary and middle schools. Many underclassmen were featured as leads, such as Caitlyn Ozee (freshman) as Belle, Connor Stratton (sophomore) as Beast, Maddi Reddy (sophomore) as Mrs. Potts, Stephen Menard (sophomore) as Cogsworth, and countless others in the ensemble. Ellen Stephens, a sophomore and dancer/soloist in Beauty and the Beast, shared, “The program can only go up from here.”
The upcoming shows also directed by David Morgan include the spring play, She Kills Monsters, Lion King Jr. as the Bradley- Bourbonnais Theater Education Program (BBTEP) summer show, and Cinderella for the 2017 fall musical. The program hopes to continue its success and looks forward to future shows.