GNS Presents: Beauty and the Beast

Join us for the timeless tale of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, the story of a cold-blooded prince who has been magically transformed into a monstrous creature as punishment for his selfish ways. To revert into his true human form, the Beast must learn to love before it is too late. In addition to tonnes of show-stopping numbers, this production boasts not one, but two casts! Several lead roles are split between different actors, allowing more students the opportunity to enjoy the challenge of having a major part in the production. The double casting also gave the students the chance to learn their parts together and support one another. Eli Ramraj, who plays the Beast with David Huang, says he’s learned a lot from watching another actor at work. “It’s been fun working with David, who’s been teaching me all the tricks of the trade … He’s a force to be reckoned with.” “I like it—it’s a lot easier getting to watch someone do all the actions and staging,” says Fallyn Denford, who plays Belle alongside Annie McLeod. This year’s production also features fantastic choreography by Learning Strategies teacher Megan Coll. Throughout rehearsals, Ms. Coll has been working tirelessly alongside Director Adrienne Smook and Musical Director Marvin Regier and to make sure everything comes together smoothly. “It’s never been quite this intricate,” says Gaby Girard (Lumière). ”It’s a pretty big step for us,” says Lily Davies (Mrs. Potts), “especially ‘Be Our Guest.’ It has to be big, it has to be impressive, so there’s a lot of dancing and intense choreo that we’re not used to. We’re excited to show people our dancing feet.” Most of all, the cast is looking forward to sharing the magic with the GNS community through this unique take on a classic story. “[This production] reveals the personalities of the characters so much,” says Annie McLeod. “It goes from this two-dimensional cartoon to this amazing, incredible production with lights and sound and action and music and dancing. And I’m really excited for people to see how we’ve worked with it.” Beauty and the Beast opens on March 6 at 7 p.m. and runs on March 7 and 8 at 7 p.m. and March 9 at 2 p.m.