 |
|
| St. Ambrose Academy sophomore Matt Marsland, and junior Kayla Zimmerman run through the ballroom dancing scene as “Beauty” and the “Beast”. (Catholic Herald photo/Kevin Wondrash) |
MADISON — It’s a “tale as old as time,” as the song goes.
With an opening night of Thursday, April 25, students at St. Ambrose Academy in Madison will present their production of Beauty and the Beast.
It will be the first time the school will produce a full-length musical production with full orchestra. In past years, the musicals have been so-called “junior” versions, with piano accompaniment only.
Faith and beauty
Gina Pignotti, the show’s producer and dean of students, said “There were numerous reasons we chose this show, but one of them is because of our diocesan theme for the Year of Faith: Evangelization through Beauty.”
The Beast has a change of heart through his encounter with Beauty. The players in the performance get to portray that.
Junior Kayla Zimmerman plays Belle, the “beauty.” She said, “Belle goes and evangelizes in her way, when she gets into the castle, and she converts the Beast and everybody there.”
Her co-star, sophomore Matt Marsland, the “Beast,” added, “Belle has to go and reach inside him and find the true beauty and bring it out. It really ties in nicely with the ‘Year of Faith.’”
Along with the faith lessons, there’s still the thrill of bringing a modern Disney classic to life.
“It’s every little girl’s dream. Belle is my favorite Disney princess. When I found out that I was Belle, I was pretty excited,” said Zimmerman.
While not exactly a dream-come-true, playing the Beast is still a memorable experience. “It’s really interesting to try to play the beast and really get into how he’s feeling about situations instead of just seeing it from the outside. I get to feel what he’s feeling,” said Marsland. He also added, “I have to extend the worst parts of me and I can be the Beast.”
In addition to parent volunteers, many young adults in the diocese are helping out with the production. They include many with previous musical and acting experience from St. Maria Goretti, St. James, St. John in Waunakee, and other parishes.
Bringing the story to life
All the familiar characters from the 1991 Disney movie will be in the show: “Lumiere,” the talking candlestick; “Cogsworth,” the clock; “Mrs. Potts,” the teapot; and more. The students had a lot of fun becoming closer to the roles as they tried on their costumes for the first time about two weeks before the show.
The movie’s poignant dancing scene between Belle and the Beast will be done on stage as well. The scene is a step-up from their gym class balloon-dancing unit.
“It’s a lot fancier that what we would normally do, but we learned it really quickly,” Zimmerman said.
It’s been a group effort to get everything set for opening night, and the young stars are ready. “I think it’s gone really fast, I think that we have a great show and everyone’s going to do really well,” Marsland said.
The performances will be held at 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 25; Friday, April 26; and Saturday, April 27, at the Performing Arts Center at Oregon High School, 456 N. Perry Parkway, in Oregon.
Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for children ages 4-14, and $30 for an immediate family ticket.
For more information, visit www.ambroseacademy.org