Lila Gallagher
Staff Writer
Costa’s Drama and Tech Department celebrated the opening night of the spring musical, “Beauty and the Beast,” on April 22.
On April 22 at 7:30 p.m., the Mira Costa Drama and Tech Department held the first of what was meant to be eight performances that would end on April 30. Due to an outbreak of COVID-19 within the show’s cast, all performances after April 23 were put on pause.
“Currently, everything is pretty much on hold, and our Wednesday show is officially canceled,” said junior Ashley Calza, who played Belle in the production. “We are looking at other options, but we don’t really know much as of right now.”
According to Calza, the cast hopes to return to the production’s planned performance schedule after Wednesday. After near-daily rehearsals that have taken place since January, the cast, crew and orchestra wants their hard work to be seen and appreciated, according to Calza.
“We weren’t supposed to have any rehearsals this week, but we were supposed to have a Wednesday show, a Thursday show, a Friday show and two Saturday shows,” Calza said. “We are really hoping we can still have these, but we don’t know what’s going to happen yet.”
Leading up to the performance were several months of work on costumes, set design and technology that brought the performance to the stage. Over 20 students worked on stage design, props, and costumes with help from Costa parents and volunteers.
“I’m on the costumes team, and there were definitely some times when things didn’t go as planned, as I’m sure happens with every show,” senior Charlotte Estrin said. “There’s always something going on, and you just have to be innovative to get on with the show.”
Calza starred in the role of Belle alongside Junior Dean Spurgeon as the Beast; junior Jack Searer as Lumiere; senior Logan Rice as Gaston; and others who worked together to recreate the 1991 Disney classic, which first opened as a musical on Broadway in 1994. The cast of Costa’s production was accompanied by a pit orchestra composed of members of Costa’s Orchestra program and Costa Band alumni. Because Costa band students were on a trip to Washington, D.C., during tech rehearsals for the production, pit orchestra director Michael McCormick recruited alumni from Costa’s previous graduating classes.
“To perform with vocals and acting at such a high level was extremely gratifying, and I think just playing for the community really made the whole experience worth it,” senior violinist Cara Susilo said. “The performance we ended on was by far our best one yet, so I know personally, I was very satisfied and grateful to have this chance.”
This school year, the Drama Department has put on two main productions, “Alice in Wonderland” as the fall play, and “Beauty and the Beast” as the spring musical. For seniors in the Drama program, this show will be their last with Costa, many of them having participated in the Drama Department for all four years.
“Knowing this is my last musical with Costa makes these eight shows even more special,” said senior Gigi Panzarella, who played Madame de la Grande Bouche.
During the week leading up to the production, cast, crew and orchestra members rehearsed from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. Additionally, Drama and Orchestra members had individual rehearsals in the weeks before tech rehearsal.
“We have been in vocal and dance rehearsals since the beginning of January,” said senior Lauren Kay.
The show ran for approximately two and a half hours and was directed by Jonathan Westerburg. The choreography was headed by Christopher Albrecht. According to Panzarella, the experience of rehearsing and working with other participants in the show was gratifying in itself.
“Since freshman year, every rehearsal, show, or even just regular days in Drama have made the best memories, and I hope we can end on a great note,” said Panzarella.
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