M’CHIGEENG—High school productions are usually a few notches above their elementary school counterparts, but Manitoulin Secondary School’s production of the Disney version of ‘Beauty and the Beast’ could stand with confidence alongside most professional company’s offerings. In a simple word, the Friday evening performance attended by The Expositor was outstanding.
It can be expected of parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and friends who tend to make up the bulk of an opening night performance to offer up enthusiastic applause whenever their family member completes their turn onstage. But to anyone listening to the response of the audience to each of the solo and choreographed number, one would be hard put to discern who amongst the roaring crowd were among that personal coterie—could the cast possibly have that many relatives? The audience response was not only enthusiastic, but it was also clearly authentic and well-deserved by the performers.
There is no mistaking the hard work and commitment that these young thespians must have put into this production—raw talent can only carry things so far. While there was plenty of talent evident during the Friday night performance, there was no mistaking the polish that shined above the footlights.
Cameron Meawasige as Belle brought both innocence and charm to the role of the lead character, but it was her vocals during each of her songs that truly captivated her listeners. The same can be said for Zack Hill as The Beast/princeling whose counterpart to Belle was nigh on perfect.
You just have to love a great villain and Taylor Goodfellow’s portrayal of Belle’s unwelcome suitor Gaston brought both comedic flair during interactions with sidekick Lefou and a portrayal of narcissistic indulgence perfect to the role.
Belle’s hapless inventor father Maurice, played by Alex Leblanc, brought the bumbling genius to hilarious life.
Speaking of coming to life, the lovable castle accoutrements, Lumiere (Connor O’Leary), Cogsworth (Garrette Charbonneau), Mrs. Potts (Grace Tuerk), Madame de la Grande Bouche (Idella Tasse), Babette (Pheobe Aeschlimann), Chip (Zayne Raynes) and Monsieur D’Arque (Hannah McDonald) hit their marks perfectly as the servants who were terrified they would never return to being human again.
The chorus, consisting of Evalena Mainprize, Tyrel Sagle, Destiny Peltier, Alston Lentir, Divine Commanda, Carson Stewart, Abby Bush and Saramarie Wassegijig, filled a host of roles throughout the production and it was clear from their confidence, as they went through their various dance routines, that many hours of effort had gone into a flawless performance.
The band behind the music included Mat Fowler on bass, Alex Baran on piano, Michael McCormick on keyboard-synth, Arik Theijsmeijer on keyboard, Bill Elgie on percussion and Chris Theijsmeijer on keyboard/conductor. Although there were no students in the pit this performance, there are a number waiting in the Grade 9 wings who will doubtless be in future productions. The volunteer musicians’ underpinning of the musical numbers was of top calibre.
The production crew included: Heather Theijsmeijer as technical director and MSS musical theatre alumni Courtney Oswald and Katelyn Lentir as assistant technical directors; Courtney Oswald also took on the stage manager role with Katelyn as assistant; lighting design was by alumni Logan Murphy; head of lights was Tanner Hooper-Leblanc; followspot operator was Hailey Ferguson; head of sound was Samuel Pennings, and head of props was Courtney Oswald.
The stage crew consisted of Daphne Carr, Emma Ense, Jordan Goddard, George Michael Lentir, Lily Mack, Amara Wilson-Zegil and alumni Karlee Lentir.
Assistant producers were Jill Ferguson and Connie Freeman. Seamstress was Carol Gilmore, hair and makeup by Val O’Leary and the visual effects team was Caroline Black and Madison Latva-Aro. Set design was by Mike Zegil, scenic design by Madonna Andress, construction by Paul Becks, construction team leads were Corbin Best and Liam Lariviere, while the set construction team included Rylan Carrick, Jack Carter, Jackson Chevrette, Xavier Coleman, Ava Corbiere, Addy Gray, Hailee Harasym, Hailey Hawke, Isabella Hughson, Rylan Lock, Ellie Maxwell, Rylan McGauley, Dustin Meade, Kyle Nodecker, Tieren Noble-Stone, Connor O’Leary, Greyson Orford, Georgia Roy, Josh Selent, Jaymes Simon, Amy Smith and Ethan Witty.
Set painter leads were Madonna Andress and Ruth Hill, while the set painting crew consisted of Pheobe Aeschlimann, Emma Ense and Zack Hill.
They also serve who stand ready to step into a role should the cast member be unable to perform. The understudies included Tyrel Sagle for The Beast, Zack Hill for Gaston, Phoebe Aeschlimann for Lumiere, Dylan Kuntsi for Cogsworth, Zayne Raynes for Maurice, Divine Commanda for Madame de la Grande Bouche, Cameron Meawasige for Babette Pheobe, Connor O’Leary for Lefou and Carson Stewart for Monsieur D’Argue.
There are two performances of ‘Beauty and the Beast’ remaining, a 7 pm show on Friday, February 23 and a 2 pm matinee on Saturday, February 24. Both shows deserve to be sold out.
