'Beauty and the Beast' opens April 3
By Kaija Davies
Published March 25, 2019
The Aitkin High School music department is bringing one of Disney’s famous princess movies "Beauty and the Beast" to Aitkin. The cast of 62 high-schoolers is putting in many hours working on this performance to make it one of their best. This will be the 50th year of musical theatre at Aitkin High School. “The audience should look forward to having a strong cast, good music and wonderful dancing,” according to director Mrs. Kelly Blake. “This year the music department brought a new choreographer named Jenn Madill Hagen to help make the show amazing.”
"Beauty and the Beast" tells the story of Belle (Anne Courtemanche), a beautiful and intelligent young woman who feels out of place in her provincial French village. When her father (Jerry Christian) is imprisoned in a mysterious castle, Belle’s attempt to rescue him leads to her capture by the Beast (Woodrow Rian), a grisly and fearsome monster, who was long ago trapped in his gruesome form by an enchantress. The only way for the Beast to become human once again is if he learns to love and be loved in return. There is a time limit, too: once a magical rose loses all of its petals, all hope will be lost, and he will stay a Beast forever. The Beast’s enchanted household — populated by such beloved characters as Mrs. Potts (Sarah Curtiss), Lumiere (Sam Sadlowsky), Cogsworth (Brett Bosserman), and Chip (Jilly Cline) — watch anxiously as Belle and the Beast grow to understand and befriend one another. Their feelings grow ever deeper as the clock ticks and petals continue to fall off the enchanted rose. Will they confess their love for one another before it is too late?
Some of the costumes are rented from the Chanhassen Theatre, but a lot of the costumes are our very own from previous years. Some of the props are also rented from Chanhassen like the carts and the rose. But many props have been purchased from the NorShor Theatre like Belle’s house, the Beast’s Fireplace, Gaston’s hall of antlers, and the Village Pieces.
This performance is going to be different from others because of the limited space the program has to work with. Many other performances of this play have about 30 cast members and working with 62 cast members is a big difference and requires a lot of work.
Sam Sadlowsky gets in his character Lumiere by being an “obnoxiously sexy and confident frenchman.” The cast and crew have put in as much time into the play as a regular school sport, but it is something he enjoys. “The humor that Lumiere has is very fun, but all of the corny Disney stuff is great too,” Sadlowsky said.
Chloie Palkie as Madame de la Grande Bouche plays her character by being “a lot more dramatic, over the top, and a loud opera singer.” She also feels like the cast and crew has put “a lot of work into the musical. Practicing everyday of the week and days that we have off of school as well.” Palkie also very much enjoys the singing and dancing.
Leads for "Beauty and the Beast:"
The Beast/Prince – Woody Rian
Belle – Anne Courtemanche
Lumiere - Sam Sadlowsky
Cogsworth – Brett Bosserman
Mrs. Potts – Sarah Curtiss
Babette - Carolin Friedrich
Madame de la Grande Bouche – Chloe Palkie
Chip – Jillian Cline
Maurice – Jerry Christian
Silly Girls – Jorde Rinta, Alana Huppert, Breena Burgstaler, Hannah Paulbeck, Karly Shereck, Kenzie Fisher
Bookseller - Wyatt Carlson
Enchantress – Jadyne Cline
Narrator – Dave Sadlowsky
Ensemble/Townspeople/ Enchanted Characters - Chorus
Gaston – Jake Kukowski
Lefou – Payton Berg
Monsieur D’Arque/Ensemble – Joe Cummings
Performances are on:
Wednesday April 3 at 2 p.m. - $8.00 per ticket
Thursday April 4, Friday April 5, and Saturday April 6 at 7:30 p.m. - $10.00 per ticket Reserved, $12.00 at the door
Tickets will be available for purchase online at isd1.org and will also be available for purchase in the AHS District Office from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. M - F.
Published March 25, 2019
The Aitkin High School music department is bringing one of Disney’s famous princess movies "Beauty and the Beast" to Aitkin. The cast of 62 high-schoolers is putting in many hours working on this performance to make it one of their best. This will be the 50th year of musical theatre at Aitkin High School. “The audience should look forward to having a strong cast, good music and wonderful dancing,” according to director Mrs. Kelly Blake. “This year the music department brought a new choreographer named Jenn Madill Hagen to help make the show amazing.”
"Beauty and the Beast" tells the story of Belle (Anne Courtemanche), a beautiful and intelligent young woman who feels out of place in her provincial French village. When her father (Jerry Christian) is imprisoned in a mysterious castle, Belle’s attempt to rescue him leads to her capture by the Beast (Woodrow Rian), a grisly and fearsome monster, who was long ago trapped in his gruesome form by an enchantress. The only way for the Beast to become human once again is if he learns to love and be loved in return. There is a time limit, too: once a magical rose loses all of its petals, all hope will be lost, and he will stay a Beast forever. The Beast’s enchanted household — populated by such beloved characters as Mrs. Potts (Sarah Curtiss), Lumiere (Sam Sadlowsky), Cogsworth (Brett Bosserman), and Chip (Jilly Cline) — watch anxiously as Belle and the Beast grow to understand and befriend one another. Their feelings grow ever deeper as the clock ticks and petals continue to fall off the enchanted rose. Will they confess their love for one another before it is too late?
Some of the costumes are rented from the Chanhassen Theatre, but a lot of the costumes are our very own from previous years. Some of the props are also rented from Chanhassen like the carts and the rose. But many props have been purchased from the NorShor Theatre like Belle’s house, the Beast’s Fireplace, Gaston’s hall of antlers, and the Village Pieces.
This performance is going to be different from others because of the limited space the program has to work with. Many other performances of this play have about 30 cast members and working with 62 cast members is a big difference and requires a lot of work.
Sam Sadlowsky gets in his character Lumiere by being an “obnoxiously sexy and confident frenchman.” The cast and crew have put in as much time into the play as a regular school sport, but it is something he enjoys. “The humor that Lumiere has is very fun, but all of the corny Disney stuff is great too,” Sadlowsky said.
Chloie Palkie as Madame de la Grande Bouche plays her character by being “a lot more dramatic, over the top, and a loud opera singer.” She also feels like the cast and crew has put “a lot of work into the musical. Practicing everyday of the week and days that we have off of school as well.” Palkie also very much enjoys the singing and dancing.
Leads for "Beauty and the Beast:"
The Beast/Prince – Woody Rian
Belle – Anne Courtemanche
Lumiere - Sam Sadlowsky
Cogsworth – Brett Bosserman
Mrs. Potts – Sarah Curtiss
Babette - Carolin Friedrich
Madame de la Grande Bouche – Chloe Palkie
Chip – Jillian Cline
Maurice – Jerry Christian
Silly Girls – Jorde Rinta, Alana Huppert, Breena Burgstaler, Hannah Paulbeck, Karly Shereck, Kenzie Fisher
Bookseller - Wyatt Carlson
Enchantress – Jadyne Cline
Narrator – Dave Sadlowsky
Ensemble/Townspeople/ Enchanted Characters - Chorus
Gaston – Jake Kukowski
Lefou – Payton Berg
Monsieur D’Arque/Ensemble – Joe Cummings
Performances are on:
Wednesday April 3 at 2 p.m. - $8.00 per ticket
Thursday April 4, Friday April 5, and Saturday April 6 at 7:30 p.m. - $10.00 per ticket Reserved, $12.00 at the door
Tickets will be available for purchase online at isd1.org and will also be available for purchase in the AHS District Office from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. M - F.