After months of preparation, Waseca Junior and Senior High School will perform a musical for all ages.
“Beauty and the Beast,” based on the broadway classic, is set to open on Thursday, March 21 at Waseca’s Performing Arts Center and will run through March 24.
The production, which is based on the 1994 broadway play, which itself was based on the 1991 Disney film, will be Waseca Theater Director Anna Pollock’s first family-oriented production she has done since taking over the role in 2021.
“It’s something I’ve been wanting to do since grabbing the excitement and awe of theater was something that I experienced so strongly as a kid,” Pollock said about a family-oriented production. “I want to pass that on.”
Auditions for the musical took place in the middle of January, and while the cast is excited to perform, rehearsing the production was not easy.
“It’s been a little challenging, because this is such a heavy dancing musical, and it’s also a play,” said junior Nathanael Andrs, who plays Cogsworth. “There’s a lot of speaking, and we’re used to doing jukebox musicals where it’s just from one song transition to the next.”
The last two musical productions Waseca did were “Mamma Mia!” and “Legally Blonde: The Musical,” both jukebox musicals. Andrs noted that Legally Blonde had a very small amount of talking in it so performing Beauty and the Beast is a little different.
Because of the amount of talking in the musical, junior Ashton Jenzen noted that there is a lot of counting the cast has to do to get the timing of lines and songs correctly.
“There’s almost overlay music in everything, so to time it with dialogue and singing, it’s a lot,” Jenzen said.
Jenzen also pointed out how the costumes, especially hers could be challenging at times. Jenzen wears a wardrobe costume as she plays the character Madame de la Grande Bouche in the musical.
For the music, all the songs from the movie will be performed as well as songs made just for the musical. Even if members of the audience are familiar with the movie but not the Broadway musical, they will hear songs for the first time at the performances.
To go along with the big musical numbers, the musical allows for a lot of sets for the production.
“This is our most set-heavy show I think we’ve ever done,” Andrs said.
While the school used similar set pieces from the Legally Blonde and Mamma Mia! shows, they built three more doors and built a stairs set piece for Beauty and the Beast.
“We seem to add more elements each production, and I think we’re really pushing the limits on this one,” Pollock said. “it’s a massive show and deserves a big, beautiful set!.
The school is set to perform the musical March 21-23 at 7 p.m. and March 24 at 2 p.m. There will also be a meet and greet for kids aged 10 and under before the Sunday showing at 12:30 p.m. They will be able to meet with some of the cast from the musical on the balcony lobby of the Performing Arts Center.
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