“Disney’s Beauty and the Beast” is this spring’s musical at Fenwick High School in Oak Park.
“It’s just such a fun show,” said Grace Toriello, 18, a senior from Berwyn who plays Mrs. Potts, the teapot. “Like, when do you get to act like pieces of furniture and random kitchen utensils? It’s just such a unique experience.”
The musical features a combined cast and crew of approximately 75 students. The story is about a French villager named Belle who falls in love with the Beast, a young man who had to earn her true love to break a curse so he could return to human form.
“The moral of the story is the redemptive power of love,” said Roger Finnell, producer and Blackfriars Guild moderator. “It’s such a fun show to do. We have a very talented cast.”
The Fenwick High School Blackfriars Guild performance is staged on April 13 at 7 p.m., April 14 at 7 p.m. and April 15 at 3 p.m. in the school’s auditorium at 505 Washington Blvd. in Oak Park. Tickets are $18 for adults and $12 for students.
Belle is played by Laura Kelly, a junior from Western Springs. This is the first time Kelly has had a female lead in a Fenwick High School musical production, she said.
“It’s been such an awesome experience in terms of learning and connecting with my cast members,” Kelly said. “We work so well together.”
The Blackfriars Guild presents three productions annually.
“The Blackfriars Guild is more than just a theater program,” said Davey Sullivan, 18, a senior from Elmhurst who plays Belle’s father, quirky inventor Maurice. “It’s really a group in which people who are really passionate about something, they all come together. They’re using their talents to the best of their ability, but they’re coming here to be friends. We’re all very proud of the work that we do.”
Liam Mahon, 18, a senior from La Grange in the role of the Beast, has been active in BFG theater during all of his high school years, he said.
“Man, it’s strange to think, this is it,” said Mahon, of the last theatrical production of his Fenwick High School career. “It hasn’t really set in, but wow. … Once a Blackfriar, always a Blackfriar.
There are two directors, Caleb Faille of Rogers Park and Melanie Lamoureux of Hinsdale (who teaches Fenwick choir and drama).
“I love directing theater, and just working with all of the high school students is so rewarding because they find themselves in these wonderful characters,” Lamoureux said. “In a show like ‘Beauty and the Beast,’ they (students) get to live in a way that’s so much larger than life. It’s really fun to see them come out of their shells and bring these inanimate objects to life.”
Faille, a Chicago Public Schools music teacher, said, “It’s never too late to change. You have to pay for your actions, right? And I think a lot of productions of ‘Beauty and the Beast’ today kind of gloss over the fact that he (Beast) really was a bully. In this production, I think you’ll see that he really takes ownership of that and you see that turning point.”
Visit http://www.fenwickfriars.com/student-life/clubs-activities/blackfriars-guild.
Karie Angell Luc is a freelance photographer and reporter for Pioneer Press.
