Minooka’s production of Beauty and the Beast was a spectacular show. This musical captivated the audience’s hearts and won them over with emotions.

Beauty and the Beast was produced by head director Glenda Smith, vocal director Randall Benware, choreographer Patricia Grawey-Beeler, and assistant director Anthony Babich. 

The musical lasted 2 and half hours with a 10-minute intermission. During the last show, Ms. Smith and Ms. Grawey-Beeler had a curtain call for their directing careers. After 31 years of directing musicals together, they both plan to retire from their respective roles. 

The cast and crew practiced for countless weeks and put their heart, sweat, and tears together for three beautiful performances from March 14-16.

The cast did an excellent job working through scenes, the set was beautifully crafted and the costumes were outstanding.

For Beauty and the Beast this year, there were many standout performances including seniors Sam DiLorenzo as Belle, Lucas Dela Cruz as the Beast, Hayden Pearson as Gaston and  freshman Sam Thomas as Maurice.

DiLorenzo made a great impression for Minooka musicals to come. Her vocal range is all over the scale and she made singing look so flawless. It is impressive how she can hold her notes and her performance was on the top of her game. She set the bar very high for future productions. 

Dela Cruz’s performance of the Beast was captured in the most natural way possible. Between his subtle talking and shouting at fellow cast members, he embodied the Beast in his natural ways. It was a real performance from him, and it was emotionally captured well.

Pearson’s performance as Gaston was incredible. In junior high, he performed in a production of Beauty and the Beast, so he was set up with knowledge of the role. His “Gaston” dance with the ensemble was astonishing — the banging of the cups in a line dance style was beautiful. It drew viewers in and made them enjoy it even more. Seeing the cast all dance and have fun was an amazing experience to see.

Even though it was Thomas’s first year doing the musical at the high school level, he brought all the components together to put on a great performance. He embodied his characters and genuinely had fun while doing so. He made it look effortless and shined like a star as Maurice.

The crew worked countless hours painting, building and assembling. That resulted in a set that turned out to be unique and special to this musical. The castle set itself was beautiful, the hand-painted murals made everything look so realistic, and it drew audience in. 

Painter Kaylin Cundari painted for many weekends and with her skill, the set looked perfect for Beauty and the Beast. The scenes with the houses for the village blended in naturally with everything else, and the cast made it work even better. Overall, I think the set was very well handcrafted and it meshed well with the musical.

The costumes, hair, and make-up were out of this world. I thought they fit every character perfectly and it helped the cast embody the character. Examples I thought were fitting were Mrs. Potts, Lumiere, Belle’s yellow ball gown, and both the Beast as a beast and as a human. They brought the sense of Beauty and the Beast and made it a reality for many people. The costumes, make-up and hair are like icing on the cake, they only make it so much better. I truly applaud the people who worked on them because they were beautiful and made the musical more unique.

Overall, Beauty and the Beast was an amazing production from cast, crew, to directors. This was made to be a fun, but yet serious musical, and many audience members enjoyed that. I would recommend this to anyone because it was very entertaining, and who doesn’t like to watch a high school musical?