Tale As Old As Time...

Another springtime has come to Sahuarita, which means another school play was performed by the talented kids from Great Expectations Academy (plus several local home-schooled children). And just like last year (when the school performed Cinderella), Lorelai had a role in the show!

This year's production was Disney's Beauty And The Beast. During the early days of auditioning, Lorelai informed me that she either wanted the part of Gaston, or the part of the Beast himself! Sigh...I had to explain to her that the world wasn't quite ready for a girl to play either of those parts. After that, she decided she wanted to be a wolf, because it would be fun to engage in mock "battles" on-stage. Can you tell my oldest daughter is a big huge tomboy?

Lorelai and her buddy Conner, performing their solo lines from "Belle"

In the end, though, Lorelai was cast as the Milkmaid. She had a solo singing line in "Belle," the musical's opening number. She also performed in the ensemble for two more numbers, "Gaston" and "Kill The Beast." Although "Gaston" is one of my favorite songs from the musical (and probably my favorite "Disney-villain" song ever!), Lorelai preferred "Kill The Beast" because (of course) she got to carry a torch and/or pitchfork around while singing. Not only that, but she got to engage in a mock "war" with the palace staff during the play's climactic moment. My action-loving girl...sigh.

Just like the year before, the play was directed by my friend Diana, mother of five (including four GEA students), wife to a bishopric member, and all-around amazing person. She had a co-director this time: her sister Cindy, whose family also lives in our ward, and whose children also attend GEA. Diana and Cindy have a lot of prior performance experience (in fact, Cindy regularly teaches dance classes to local kids), and they are also really high-energy, fun ladies to be around. They did a wonderful (and amazing) job herding around this large group of kids and shaping them into a great performing ensemble.

"Kill The Beast!"

Beauty And The Beast was a more challenging play to put together than Cinderella the year before. For one thing, it had a much larger cast. Cinderella had about 27 kids; Beauty And The Beast had close to 43. There was only one cast for both shows; the main parts weren't double-cast as they had been in years past. This larger cast also had a lot more large-group musical numbers to perform. Most of Cinderella's big numbers were done by soloists or small groups. Beauty And The Beast had several large musical numbers, often with complicated dance routines thrown in. And finally, the music for Beauty And The Beast is more complex; it has busier lyrics and complicated, often overlapping melodies. At least sets and costumes weren't as big a deal this year; many of them were recycled from Cinderella!

"Belle" is possibly the hardest song musically in the whole show, and it's the song that starts the play rolling! The kids worked on that song in rehearsal for months before getting comfortable with it.

When Lorelai and her fellow townspeople moved on to rehearsing "Gaston," the focus shifted more to the complicated dancing. A large part of the number involves several dancers clinking beer steins together in a rapid, rhythmic pattern. When it all came together, it was really impressive.

Even though I didn't attend most of the rehearsals, I was so proud of all the kids whenever I saw what they were working on. I was also very proud of Diana and Cindy for holding everything together and getting the kids to work so hard and so well. By the time the week of the show arrived, everyone looked so confident and excited. The excitement was contaigous!

 

Once again, Susan, the wife of our LDS Bishop, did a lot of work on the costumes, and they turned out wonderfully. And even though GEA's humble production didn't have the same special-effects budget as the Broadway version of the show we watched last December, they still managed to make everything look and sound great

As I did last year, I volunteered to help out backstage for one of the performances. As someone who worked backstage for several plays in high school, I had an awesome time! I enjoy working "behind the scenes" and making sets and props appear onstage as if by magic. And the control freak in me enjoys directing the backstage "traffic," summoning kids to the stage when it's their time to go on. Of course, most of them didn't need any help in this regard; they were old pros by this point!

Lorelai with Sarah, aka "Belle"

 This year, the play brought in a much bigger audience than it had the previous year. I suspect the larger cast, good word of mouth, and more famous play were the main reasons. The play was held, as the previous year, in the Sahuarita LDS Stake Center, and its cultural hall was full both nights.

I was bursting with pride at all the kids and their hard work. I was also thrilled at all the adults who extended a hand to help, and how professional everything looked for a "kid's production." Diana has already told me there will be another play next year; we all look forward to seeing which show she chooses, and how the kids will impress us yet again with their talent and enthusiasm!

Lorelai had a great time doing the play this year. Lots of her friends were in the cast, and she was more prepared for the practice and performance routines. I'm not sure if the play is something she'll do again next year or not. Celeste is getting really jealous at not being allowed to try out for the show (so far, 3rd grade has been the minimum-age cutoff), so we have that to consider. Another factor is Lorelai's desire to try out so many activities (like sports, band, and other after-school clubs). How we juggle it all next year will be interesting to see!

But for now, she can bask in a job well done. Our family had a wonderful time watching her (and the rest of the cast) perform. Grandma Barrett and Uncle Grant were able to attend the Saturday night show, and they were amused and entertained. It was fun to share that experience with some of our extended family.