I am in awe over the talent from tonight's show at CHS. If you haven't seen ‘Beauty and the Beast,’ you need to go! Amazing talent!”Amy Roberts Handley
CULLMAN – On Friday and Saturday, April 8-9, the Cullman High School theater and choral departments presented Disney’s Broadway musical “Beauty and the Beast.” The production was a huge success and drew standing ovations at each showing. Rave reviews were given for the student actors, as well as the directors, music and set design.
The “tale as old as time” tells the story of beautiful Belle, a young woman in a provincial town, and the Beast, who is really a young prince trapped in a spell placed on him by an enchantress. In order to break the evil spell, the Beast must learn how to love and to be loved before time runs out.
Sara Helms played the part of Belle to perfection while JonLuke Long was the perfect grizzly Beast. Burly and full of himself, Gaston was played by none other than Duncan Warner. Everyone in the play was magnificent and left the crowd wanting more!
“I am in awe over the talent from tonight's show at CHS,” said Amy Roberts Handley. “If you haven't seen ‘Beauty and the Beast,’ you need to go! Amazing talent!”
The show was directed by Wayne Cook, CHS theater director, and Sarah Jane Driskell, CHS choir director. Together they were a team and helped the students create magic up on stage.
“This is the first year Ms. Driskell and I have worked together,” said Cook. “It’s been a really good situation working with her. We work really well together.
“We announced we were going to do ‘Beauty and the Beast’ back in the fall and we auditioned students before they went home for Christmas break,” he continued. “We started working on it right after Christmas and it’s been pretty steady from January on. It was a major undertaking, but there was so much support and encouragement towards producing it because everybody loves the story,” he smiled.
According to Cook, there were around 125 students involved in the production of the show in various capacities. A lot of the students have acted before; some were involved with the school’s drama production last year, and some had done other things as well. Cook was able to use some students from Cullman Middle School, which was new and exciting for the young students.
“The kids have been working so hard,” Driskell explained. “It’s kind of a culmination of all the arts; we have singing, dancing and acting. They are all so talented in those areas, so it’s been easy working with them; they are such talented kids.
“This is my first year at Cullman, I love it,” she grinned. “I am both the high school and middle school choir director, so I got a chance to bring some of my middle school kids who wanted to do the play in as well. The middle school administration let us do that, and I think it’s a great opportunity for them to get experience. The choir kids are really involved in it, and I think they did a great job, but it’s more than just the choir department, there are kids that are in it from all over that love it.”
“I am so impressed with the Cullman High School production of ‘Beauty and the Beast!’ JonLuke our boy has become…a BEAST,” said Jeff Steele. “Magnifico!”
“Beauty and the Beast” was amazing and shows what kind of remarkable talent we have here in Cullman. It would be wise to keep an eye on these kids from now on… Because trust me, you are looking at some future movie stars, for sure!
View a full photo album at http://qrne.ws/beast.
