Cappies Review: Osbourn High School's 'Beauty And The Beast'

MANASSAS, VA—This tale as old as time was beautifully produced by Osbourn High School.

Beauty and the Beast was adapted from Walt Disney Pictures' Academy Award-winning 1991 animated musical film of the same name and ran on Broadway for 5,461 performances for 13 years, becoming Broadway's tenth longest-running production in history. It tells the story of a cruel prince who has a curse cast upon him and turns him into a hideous beast until he finds true love, and of Belle, a local townswoman who doesn't quite fit in but can't seem to shake the town's arrogant bully, Gaston. After the Beast imprisons Belle in his castle, the two begin to fall in love and the spell is finally broken.

The show was led by the sweet yet independent Belle, played by Izzie Lucas. Her gracefulness and smooth voice fit the character exceedingly well and displayed the appropriate range of fright melting into love for the Beast. Lucas displayed real compatibility with co-star Steven Moran, who played the other half of the star-crossed couple, the Beast. The two worked well together and portrayed the growing relationship convincingly. Moran depicted the intimidating yet kind Beast through visible physical and facial emotions despite the hindrance of heavy makeup and costuming.

Ben Counts, as Gaston, who consistently produced raucous laughter from the audience with all his swagger and arrogance, never missed a single beat, especially in his song "Gaston" which left the audience cheering for more. Counts played especially well off his hilarious sidekick Jordan Drake as Lefou. Drake demonstrated immense physicality and hilarity with every step on stage with a never-wavering character.

In the castle, the quintet of household objects, Cogsworth, Lumiere, Mrs. Potts, Babette, and Lady Grande played by Emma Elston, Charlotte Thomas, Sage McAndrew, Megan Reed, and Yathzelly Ortega respectively, each displayed wonderful talent specific to their character. Elston's comedic high-strung behavior as Cogsworth and Thomas's hilarious laissez-faire attitude as Lumiere were well juxtaposed and they played off each other appropriately. McAndrew's beautiful vocals as Mrs. Potts in "A Tale as Old as Time" and amazing motherly tendencies left the audience swooning. Reed's comedic sexiness as Babette and slick dancing played well along Thomas. Ortega's over-the-top personality and extravagance as Lady Grande produced a successful comedic effect.

The technical team showed impressive talent with many handmade costumes and complimentary makeup. The marketing and publicity team sold lightup roses and even planned a Mrs. Potts' Tea Party on Saturday for the younger fans of the story, showing an awareness of their community.

The set was beautifully constructed, and the lighting and art team used projections to create the huge library in the castle. The pit orchestra displayed near professional skill with this challenging score.

Overall, Osbourn High School's production of Beauty and the Beast was lovely, hilarious, and admirably executed.

Review by Sophie Calandra of South Lakes High School