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FLORENCE: High school stages ‘Beauty and and the Beast’

By Geoffrey Wertime, Staff Writer
   FLORENCE — The high school may be new, but the tale is as old as time.
   Starting today, Thursday, Florence High School is holding a series of three performances of its spring musical, “Disney’s Beauty and the Beast,” which is based on the film of the same name.
   Vocal director Ann Croley, a choir and music keyboarding teacher, said she chose the show both due to the large number of available parts, and because, “I thought it was a show the community would enjoy, and would come out and support us for.”
   The story is a take on the classic story in which a young woman, Belle, is taken captive by a beast. In true fairy tale fashion, the beast is really a young man under a curse, who must find love to regain his true form.
   The Disney version of the story also has the beast’s castle filled with living lamps, clocks, and other assorted items.
   Senior Erika Schultes plays one of those servants- turned-objects, the feather duster Babette. Clad in a form-fitting black dress and feathers, the 18-year-old’s role has been expanded from the relatively small one in the film.
   ”It’s a different role than I’ve been used to playing,” she said. “I’ve been a little innocent girl and an old lady, so it’s a nice change to take on something a bit more challenging than I’m used to.”
   She described her character as coquettish but also frustrated due to her need to keep her love interest, the flirty candelabra Lumière, in line.
   ”He’s a flirt and she’s trying to keep him reined in,” she said.
   Both characters speak with a French accent, which Erika said was one of the most challenging aspects of her role.
   ”It was kind of interesting in the beginning,” she said, “but I think it’s worked out.”
   This will be Erika’s fourth show with the school, and she said she takes her responsibility as a senior cast member seriously.
   ”You kind of have to set an example for the younger cast coming in,” she said. “You learn to adapt to different people.”
   Junior Lorraine Perri takes on her first lead role in high school as Belle.
   ”I definitely studied up on the character a lot,” she said, by watching various versions of the story via the Internet. “I try to interpret it in different ways to see which worked best.
   ”I just go with how forward and strong-willed she is, as she’s always sure of herself.”
   A self-described Disney fan, she said her prior knowledge of the role was an aid.
   ”It’s quite like a complex character,” she said, but since the film version of the story is one of her favorite Disney movies, she was prepared.
   She described one scene in which she has to switch moods at a rapid pace, from upset to surprised to angry.
   ”There are a lot of mood swings,” she said.
   Ms. Croley normally serves as both vocal and stage director, as she has in the previous four years, but she said having a child over the summer forced her to cut back on her responsibilities at the school. Stage duties have gone to Christopher McLamb, a working actor who has done directing and coaching work at a number of local theaters.
   But even staff changes aside, she said the experience of directing is ever-changing.
   ”Every year it’s different because you have a different group of students to work with, and they all bring something different to the show, which is fun and exciting,” she said.
   Like Erika, Ms. Croley also noted the cast’s range of experience, saying a lot of the upperclassmen have been acting since middle school.
   ”Then there are a lot of underclassmen who are brand new to the stage, so it’s neat to see them teaching each other and working with each other,” she said.
Performances will be held Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 7 p.m. in the high school auditorium, 1050 Cedar Lane. Doors open at 6 p.m. Tickets are available at the door at $7 for adults and $5 for students and seniors.