The fall musical is a common activity for people to attend if they want to watch the Drama Department’s hard work and dedication. This year is proving to be no different. Mr. Mike Cervantes is back for another year of directing, starting off with this year’s fall musical, Beauty and the Beast. This  is Mr. Cervantes’s second year since his return to the Drama Department and he is wasting no time when it comes to getting down to business with the musical. Originally there was a bit of a snag though when it came to what musical to decide on. 

“Ms. Kelli Swehla and I had a running battle going on all  last summer, as well as a bit of last year about what was going on this year. I had my idea and she had her idea and basically we were 180 degrees apart. Eventually, Swehla just said, ‘Let’s do Beauty and the Beast,’ and we said, ‘Yeah! Let’s do that!’” Cervantes said. 

After Ms. Swehla and Mr. Cervantes   decided on Beauty and the Beast, another problem developed. 

“The problem with the musical was that it has a lot of strings in it and Xavier has no string program. Ms. Swehla knew some people that would come in and play strings for us though, and when we got over that hurdle, everything else was fine,” Cervantes said. 

Once all of the problems were addressed, it came time for auditions. The first round of auditions for the leads happened during the summer as well as those for incoming freshmen were held Monday, July 22 and Tuesday, July 23. The second round of auditions for the rest of the cast happened Wednesday, September 4 and Thursday, September 5. 

So far, the cast has  shown enthusiasm for the upcoming musical. 

“I’m looking forward to the musical this year, I think it’s going to be really fun and I really like our cast,” senior Devin Muresan said. “I’m also nervous though because the character I play, Gaston, is not what I am like in real life, so it’ll be interesting playing a counterpart to myself, so to speak.”

Excitement and nervousness aside, Cervantes says this musical is shaping up to be a good one. He says the audience will be excited by the effort that has been put into it.

 “The set for Beauty and the Beast is going to be more extensive. We want it to look like a Disney show more than anything, so it’s going to be very artistic and I think people will be wowed by it,” Cervantes said. 

Cervantes hopes that the musical will be one to remember and a general consensus among the cast and crew is for people to go see it when it comes out. Cervantes’ final thoughts about the musical were, “When tickets go on sale, get them early. This will be a very very popular show. I know it will sell out. Right now we have three showings but I’m trying to convince administration to go for a fourth.” 

Students can see  Beauty and the Beast performed on November 15, 16 and 17.