WHS StageDogs Present: Beauty & the Beast

The Westerly High School StageDogs will present their spring play, Beauty and the Beast, in Babcock Hall Auditorium on April 5th, 6th, and 7th. 

This year's spring play is based on Beauty and the Beast, a classic Disney fairy tale about a young woman named Belle who sacrifices her life for her father and falls in love with a beastly prince whom an enchantress has cursed. 

The curse can only be broken if the prince learns to love and be loved in return. When Belle is trapped in his kingdom, they spend time together, developing a deep connection. This breaks the curse and transforms the Beast back into a prince.

The StageDogs have been working extremely hard to perfect this play. The process has been going on since auditions in December, and since the casting came out in January, they have been rehearsing to put on the best show for the audience this weekend. 

In the play, Dylan Tallardy portrays the male protagonist, The Beast. Tallardy talks about the unique aspects of the play and how ¨the set makes our musical unique¨ as it is ¨not the usual set you would see in the making of Beauty and the Beast.¨ He also mentions how the costumes differ from a typical set from a company called Theatre by Design. 

On top of the unique things the audience will see from the costumes and sets, Tallardy also mentions how ¨the transformation from the Beast to the prince ¨ will be something he is excited for the audience to see. From his perspective, his favorite scene in the show is ¨when Amy and I are dancing along with the lights and costumes."

Tallardy also speaks on bringing his character to life as he had to work a lot with Amy White on ¨stage chemistry and interactions.¨ Playing The Beast is challenging as it implies you have to raise your voice, and he conveys that ¨the hardest part of being the Beast is having to yell at everyone.¨

During the fairy tale, the Beast falls in love with Belle, and Tallardy admires how ¨the Beast learns to love,¨ as he feels it shows how the Beast has evolved throughout the show and storyline. 

In the play, Amy White will portray the female protagonist, Belle. White shares how her favorite part of preparing was ¨seeing the final product of ¨Gaston" when they dance using metal cups.¨ She includes how she is not in that scene, but it ¨feels rewarding seeing the ensemble work together.¨

The character Belle is complex as she is full of emotions from her life's events. White talks about how Belle's having ¨a wide range of emotions ¨ makes it harder to portray her. 

White has to ¨embody these emotions in such a short span.¨ Since the fairy tale happens over a few months, it is hard to switch emotions so quickly. She says, ¨I am sobbing on the floor one minute and not even 30 minutes later, cheering and dancing.¨

White had many challenges ¨trying to live up to the audience's expectations.¨She is aware that the audience has a ¨version of Belle that they will expect before they see the play." White elaborates that ¨it might not be my portrayal of Belle.¨ All actors and actresses have different ways of embodying emotions and make different acting choices, along with singing voices. 

White acknowledges how her portrayal may not be exactly what the audience expects, but she hopes ¨they fall in love with my Belle as much I have.¨ As the StageDogs rehearsed the play, she watched her character develop and became excited for the audience to see it as well.

This production is being put together by the director of StageDogs, Mr. Zemanek. He chose the play Beauty and the Beast as ¨it has always been one of my favorites, and after the challenge of Clue, I wanted something more simple.¨ 

Though it may be simpler than previous shows, the play also has many challenges. Zemanek speaks on how ¨between the sets, costumes, and effects, there are many demands.¨ 

Zemanek is excited to put on this show at Westerly High School. The audience can expect to see ¨an adaption of the Broadway play." The StageDogs have ¨rented the costumes from Broadway,¨ he adds.

Along with renting the costumes, the house manager, Mrs. Tallardy, has also been working hard to get the costumes perfect for the big performance! 

As many viewers will have only seen the Disney movie, not the Broadway show, Mr. Zemaneck mentions how the audience will ¨hear songs they have not before.¨

As the director, he had to work with the actors to bring out their best performances. He explains it as ¨a process in which I see what the actors and actresses have at the beginning, and I then give them pointers and bring in other students who have experiences in singing to work with them.¨ 

Beauty and the Beast contains many complex songs with challenging notes to hit. Mr. Zemaneck took the initiative to help his cast reach their full potential. He also acknowledges how hard the cast has been working on the play and how he appreciates their time and effort!

Good luck to our StageDogs on their play this weekend!