By: Erin Moore

This weekend, Highland Park’s theatre department will be performing the stage adaptation of the Disney classic, ‘Beauty and the Beast’. 

These performances include tonight at 7PM, tomorrow at 2PM, and tomorrow at 7PM. Yesterday, the cast and crew opened at 7PM and had a morning performance which was attended by students from two nearby elementary schools and students who had classes during that time with either Nancy Michael or Melissa Warhol, both of whom have been heavily involved throughout the process of this show.

Tickets can be purchased at the door, and payments of cash, card, or check are accepted. The prices are $5 for students and seniors, $10 for adults, though students of Nancy Michael get in without charge.

This production has been in the works since the Winter One Acts ended in late January, and has taken up over a quarter of the school year. The musical is the biggest production of the year as it includes dancing, singing, and the music of the pit orchestra on top of the typical theatre elements in a play.

‘Beauty and the Beast’, in particular, is a difficult show due to the costumes, props, and sets necessary to make the magic of the plot come to life. While this show has taken a great deal of effort from every part of the tech crew and each member of the cast, it has become a wonderful production, and the audience is what makes the process worth it and what allows for future productions to continue, so please attend! 

Following the musical, auditions for the spring play, ‘Love/Sick’, will occur on April 22nd and 23rd, and performances will take place on May 9-11 at the typical times (7PM each night and 2PM on Saturday).

For more information on how to get involved in theatre, contact a friend who is already involved, contact Nancy Michael, find audition posters prior to a show, or look at the @hptheatrearts Instagram page!