Upper School Theatre Production of "Beauty and the Beast"

“Everybody is very excited,” the show’s director Dr. Kristin Ricci, Master Teacher of the Visual and Performing Arts, said. “We did not expect to sell out the show within three days of opening ticket sales to the public.” 

With such an iconic show underway, a “Tale as Old as Time,” the cast is working tirelessly to bring the beloved story to life. 

“We lucked out to have the right students at the right time able to perform in the show,” she said. “When we choose a show we make sure that we have voices and personalities that will fit the parts, and this year casting was particularly difficult because we have so many people that were great fits for the show.”

Dr. Ricci noted that the show also features three young men doing a phenomenal job playing the parts of Gaston, the Beast, and the Young Prince. 

In order to bring the “poor, provincial town” to the stage, each of the students participating in the show, whether in the cast or the crew, has had an incredible part to play in the set building, led by Ms. Elisa Torres, who is the show’s technical director and set designer. “They built this set faster than ever,” Dr. Ricci said, adding that the Saturdays spent at Oakcrest were fun as the students built the cottages, a castle, and other set pieces. 

For many of the students, this is not their first time in an Oakcrest production, Dr. Ricci said, which has added to the depth and quality of this show. 

“A lot of the kids in the cast have done shows for awhile with us, they are all strong actors and regardless of what role they are playing, they are doing a great job creating their own characters, especially in the ensemble,” she said. “The forks, knives, spoons, and napkins really help the show come alive.” 

On behalf of all the faculty participating, Dr. Ricci said that they all truly love the show itself and have been excited to work on the production. From Dr. Kat Hussmann, science teacher and the show’s choreographer, who has been working on the dances since before the show was announced, to Tom Crishock (Elizabeth ‘20) who is returning to help with the set building despite the fact that he doesn’t have a daughter in the show, to Ms. Elisa Torres, art teacher, who has become an expert at set painting, and Ms. Isabela Wilson ‘19, student life and library associate, who has spent 2-3 hours a day for the past few months sewing and designing costumes, also mentoring Catherine M. ‘25 in the design process as well. 

“I am genuinely looking forward to seeing the big ensemble numbers come alive on stage,” Dr. Ricci said. “The show includes two of my favorite musical numbers and I’m excited to see our entire cast come alive.”