Beauty and the Beast, Behind the Scenes

By Evan Yao

January 22, 2025

After three months of hard work, the cast of Beauty and the Beast invited the Jericho community to “Be Our Guest” at the JMS musical in early December.

Every year, Jericho Middle School holds its annual musical, a project that requires months of preparation and hard work. Beauty and the Beast was no exception, and it contained many components such as dances, harmonies, and acting. Beginning in September, the cast, directed by Ms. Scalera and Ms. Dell’Erba, had only three short months to practice before performing three times in front of an audience that filled the Little Theater. 

During auditions, students from all grades gathered at the chorus room and sang a part of the song “Gaston.” They also acted out a scene from the musical. Everyone who auditioned eagerly checked the cast list of 55 people when it was finally posted outside of Ms. Ballute’s office. Rehearsals took place in room 207 for dance on Fridays, singing in room 230 on Mondays, and a combination of singing and dancing on Wednesdays and Thursdays. 

After the high school play “Twelfth Night,” the Little Theater was open for the cast to rehearse in. On Monday, a week before the show, costumes and accessories were introduced to cast members, and a professional costume designer helped with any adjustments needed for their costume. A few days later, Crew auditions were held. 

The week of the show included an all-day rehearsal on Monday, which brought in some new scenery, as well as sound and lighting. All of these moments brought the cast of Beauty and the Beast together, as they made new friends from all grades.

What does it take to be a strong cast member? According to co-director Mrs. Dell’Erba, the directors look for “someone who can sing, has a loud voice, can act, and…is reliable and dedicated [to attending rehearsals].” These key factors all add up together to create an awesome musical or drama. The cast this year had “students who took up that role successfully.” 

When asked how participating in school musicals and plays positively impacts the students of JMS, Ms. Dell’Erba replied: “It’s great for public speaking skills. Kids who do theater are much more comfortable in front of an audience than others so in interviews for jobs or schools, etc, they’ll be used to expressing themselves, using good diction, having eye-contact, etc.” We all use public speaking at one time or another, and participating in theater clearly has benefits beyond the stage.

From my personal experience, I felt the cast of Beauty and the Beast had a strong sense of community where everyone cooperated and worked together to create the production and make friends. As Mrs. Dell’Erba said, “[Involvement in theater] builds really strong relationships between friends.”

Meeting people from both cast and crew from all grades that share a general interest with each other and having a sense of community in theater is an experience that not many people get to have. Beauty and the Beast truly built a beautiful community.