Burlington High School Delights Audiences with Performance of Beauty and the Beast

Audience members at Burlington High School's performances of Disney's Beauty and the Beast were treated to a spectacular performance that captured the tension, humor and heart of the classic story.

Samantha Goober took the lead as Belle, a young woman who dreams of a life of adventure away from her small village. Her plans for the future or interrupted, however, when her father, played by Adam Tigges, is captured by the Beast, played by Shane Ryan, after he attempted to take refuge in an enchanted castle deep in the woods. All three played their roles extraordinarily well, using song, expression and dialogue to capture the audience and draw them into the story.

The supporting cast also rose to the challenge. Zavan Ovian as the French candlestick Lumiere and Patrick Hanafin as the human clock Cogsworth kept the story moving with spot-on humor and offered context with well-delivered backstory and witty observation of events. Jennifer Gregorio as Mrs Potts (human tea-kettle) and the young Scott Czerwinski as chip (tea-cup) brought home to the audience the plight of the castle denizens cursed to turn into inanimate objects. Maria Perfetti as Madam de la Grande Bouche and Futaba Shioda as Babette also gave strong performances that brought the story to life.

For the bad guys, Paul Neves as the arrogant and self-involved Gaston and Eddie Gelberg as his dim-witted and cowardly lackey Lefour were both very funny and convincing. Daniel Feldman as the unscrupulous and creepy asylum owner Monsieur D'Arque was believable horrible.

The entire cast featured dozens of students. The chorus, is great costumes, gave high-energy performances. The staging, lighting, sets and music all worked to present a great show.

The production was directed by Music Department Director John Middleton-Cox.

Check out our photographs of the performance and a video of the beloved song "Be Our Guest."