Director's Note
“Tale as old as time” does not do justice to the magic of this musical! Disney’s Beauty and the Beast is a story for all ages about finding love in unlikely places, transformation, and the hopes and dreams of many. During a time of fear of the unknown, this musical allows us to fall in love with a beautiful story many of us know well all over again as it is lived on stage.
Our musical centers around Belle, a young woman enchanted by stories of heroism, searching for her place in the small town she lives in with her father. Belle finds solace in getting lost in books while avoiding annoying pursuit by Gaston and his goofy sidekick, Lefou. She and her father, Maurice, are considered outcasts by most of the provincial village, which only encourages them to find company with each other. When Maurice suddenly disappears in the woods one night on his way to a fair, Belle has no choice but to go looking for him. What she finds is anything but ordinary; a castle full of enchanted objects and a stubborn Beast. This story is a classic tale of falling in love against all odds, and Belle and Beast both shift their perspectives as they learn to live together in the castle, with Lumiere, Cogsworth, Mrs. Potts, and more cheering them on! A show filled with beautiful melodies and enormous ensemble numbers, this show will keep you humming long after the curtain closes.
This musical is the first one we’ve opened since 2019, and I could not be more excited for the 120 students involved in the production to debut their hard work! This show is quite a “beast,” musically, technically, and it has so many moving parts. I am proud of my students’ energy as they rose to the challenge. We lost some rehearsals due to snow, which meant morning choreography calls, character work at odd times, and preparing all technical aspects with one less tech build than we had planned. But not even Mother Nature could impede these students tenacity, and we made it happen! Our musical took an indeterminate number of hours to prepare, long tech days, and choreography and music clean-up rehearsals. This show has reinvigorated Freedom Theatre with a passion for the art we create together. I have been amazed by the collaboration and team effort put into this production, and I could not have done it without my right-hand crony and assistant director, Abby Luck.
As always, I am humbled and honored to be a part of such a creative and unique group of humans, and I would like to express my extreme gratitude for the hard work put into this production. The dedicated parent support provided the backbone for us, while the sincere ownership of sharing this story from the actors and technicians provided this show its heart. It took the commitment of every person involved to make this show successful, and I could not be more proud of the work we have done together.
Rachel Novi Wickham
Director of Drama
