Who doesn’t love adventure, romance, and dancing dinnerware? Disney fans are in luck — Penn State Thespians created its own rendition of ‘Beauty and the Beast’ for its spring musical.
The classic tale has once again re-emerged into the international spotlight with the release last week of director Bill Condon’s live-action ‘Beauty and the Beast’ starring Emma Watson.
In the story, a beautiful, intelligent young woman named Belle dreams of a life far more rewarding than the one her provincial small town can provide. But without a reasonable escape plan and her eccentric elderly father to take care of, Belle’s dreams of moving beyond her hometown seem nearly impossible, until her father becomes a prisoner in a mysterious castle. When Belle sets off to find him, she discovers a terrible beast inside the enchanted building. Belle offers her own capture in exchange for her father’s freedom, and so begins the whirlwind tale of Beauty and the Beast.
Director and Penn State senior Max Levine has been with the Thespians since his freshman year. Though this is his first time directing a show with the Thespians, he’s directed two other shows with No Refund Theatre and acted in several plays throughout his tenure at Penn State. And when it came time to face the task of choosing his cast, Levine couldn’t complain — for him, the actors were a dream to work with.
“As a director, I’ve always believed that 80 percent of the job is making sure you pick the right people and that absolutely held up this time,” he said. “The actors helped me through every aspect of this process because it’s a gigantic ordeal, but they stuck with me every step of the way.”
Freshman Melissa Elliot stars as the lead of the musical. When she first began rehearsals, connecting with Belle came easily. In fact, she felt as if the beginning of her own experience at Penn State was almost like the start of Belle’s journey in the musical.
“Belle is such an iconic character and she just has so much spunk and life in her that I think it’s very easy to connect with that,” Elliot said. “Especially as a freshman in college where this is all new to me, it was really easy to put myself in Belle’s shoes as she’s experiencing all of these new and exciting adventures for the first time too.”
Showtimes are at 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday in Schwab Auditorium on the University Park campus, with a matinee showing on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. Tickets can be reserved in advance here, but must be purchased them at the door. The tickets are $4.98 for students, $4.99 for children under 12, and $12 for community members. For more information, check out the Facebook event here.
