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Mountainview High School students are inviting South Canterbury audiences to be their guests this week as they bring a classic Disney musical to the stage.
For their annual production, the school’s MPR (musical production) students will be performing the much-loved musical Beauty and the Beast.
The musical opened last night and will run until Saturday with a show each night at 7pm as well as a 1pm matinee on Saturday afternoon.
The classic tale tells the story of Belle, a kind and intelligent young woman who is taken prisoner by a beast living in an enchanted castle.
As she gets to know him, and the castle’s unusual inhabitants, she begins to see beyond appearances and discovers that there may be more to Beast than she first believed.
Director and MPR teacher Catherine Smith said the production was part of the unique musical production course at the school.
“It gives students from year 9 to year 13 the chance to do acting, singing, dancing and on-stage movement.
“A lot of the students have also made props and costumes as part of the NCEA unit standards, as well as taking on lighting and sound design.
“It’s all on our updated theatre equipment that we’ve got too, which is really cool because it means our tech team gets to have real world experience.”
She said getting to perform a musical like Beauty and the Beast was a great way to connect with the community.
“Especially when we host primary schools and bring them in to watch as well.
“We really often just look at our student body and what would be a suitable musical for them and their skills to develop for the following year.
“We thought this was a good all-rounder with lots of character roles, lots of dancing opportunities, and tons of ensemble work for our large cast.”
She said audiences would be in for a treat.
“They can expect a production where students are giving it their all and enjoying the whanaungatanga together of being in a school production and sharing that joy on stage.
“The characterisation’s been really fun. There are those really big characters like Gaston and Lumiere, which have been really fun for the kids to explore.
“What’s also important about this show is that we actually have a live orchestra, which is made up of students. It’s one of the few places in Timaru where you can come and actually get live music, not pre-recorded.”
The production is being held at the school’s auditorium and tickets can be bought from the iTicket website.