Durango High School students prepare for a dress rehearsal of “Beauty and the Beast” at the school’s theater on Wednesday evening. From the left, sophomore Braden Helfich plays LeFou; sophomore Athan Garza is part of the ensemble; junior Egan Lindsay plays Maurice; and senior Tiffany Harris plays Codsworth. To the right sitting is DHS sophomore Tierney Brennan and far right is DHS freshman Anna Fenberg.
Shaun Stanley/Durango Herald
Durango High School senior Rebekah Fowler rehearses the character of Belle in the school’s performance of “Beauty and the Beast.”
Shaun Stanley/Durango Herald
Durango High School students prepare for a dress rehearsal of “Beauty and the Beast” at the school’s theater Wednesday evening.
Shaun Stanley/Durango Herald
Durango High School junior Curtis Salinger has make-up applied as he prepares to rehearse the character of The Beast in the school’s performance of “Beauty and the Beast.”
Shaun Stanley/Durango Herald
Durango High School students prepare for a dress rehearsal of “Beauty and the Beast” at the school’s theater Wednesday evening. From the left, sophomore Braden Helfich, who plays LeFou; sophomore Athan Garza, who is part of the ensemble; junior Egan Lindsay who plays Maurice; and senior Tiffany Harris plays Codsworth. To the right sitting is sophomore Tierney Brennan and far right is freshman Anna Fenberg. Photo by Shaun Stanley/Durango Herald.
Durango High School senior Rebekah Fowler rehearses the character of Belle in the school’s performance of “Beauty and the Beast.” Photo by Shaun Stanley/Durango Herald.
Durango High School students prepare for a dress rehearsal of “Beauty and the Beast” at the school’s theater Wednesday evening. From the left is ensemble member freshman McKenzie Belt; sophomore Athan Garza; freshman Anna Fenberg; sophomore Sophie Hughes playing Gas Girl; Caroline McClung with the sound/mic crew; senior Tiffany Harris playing Codsworth; senior Shane Minerich playing Gaston; and senior Kasen Jessing, a member of the sound/mics crew. Photo by Shaun Stanley/Durango Herald.
Durango High School junior Curtis Salinger has make-up applied as he prepares to rehears the character of The Beast in the school’s performance of “Beauty and the Beast.” Photo by Shaun Stanley/Durango Herald.
Durango High School senior Shane Minerich rehearses the character of Gaston in the school’s performance of “Beauty and the Beast.” Photo by Shaun Stanley/Durango Herald.
Durango High School students prepare for a dress rehearsal of “Beauty and the Beast” at the school’s theater Wednesday evening. Gabriel Parker, a sophomore at Animas High School holds the foot of Shane Minerich, a senior at Durango High School playing the part of Gaston. Behind the two are sound/mic crew members Caroline McClung,left, and Mia Rodri.<br>Photo by Shaun Stanley/Durango Herald.
Durango High School senior Grace Wolf-Cartier applies make up to Curtis Salinger, who plays The Beast in the school’s production of “Beauty and the Beast.” Photo by Shaun Stanley/Durango Herald.
Durango High School senior Rebekah Fowler rehearses the character of Belle in the school’s production of “Beauty and the Beast.” Photo by Shaun Stanley/Durango Herald.
Durango High School senior Rebekah Fowler rehearses the character of Belle in the school’s production of “Beauty and the Beast.” Photo by Shaun Stanley/Durango Herald.
Durango High School students prepare for a dress rehearsal of “Beauty and the Beast” at the school’s theater Wednesday evening. Photo by Shaun Stanley/Durango Herald.
When the curtains go up, Durango High School Troupe 1096 will be ready.
The troupe’s production of “Beauty and the Beast” will open tonight, and as they were putting the finishing touches on the show this week, it wasn’t nervousness that filled the air as much as excitement to finally perform in front of an audience. All around the theater and spilling out into the lobby at DHS, kids were working on their stage makeup, scenery, sound and lights.
“I am so stoked!” said senior Rebekah Fowler, who is playing Belle. “It’s been the past couple of days that I’ve really been able to envision having an audience, and it’s really feeling real for the first time.”
Her co-star, junior Curtis Salinger, who is playing the Beast, agreed.
“I’m so excited,” he said. “Our costumes are awesome, and we’ve only done one show so far because it’s Wednesday ... I just can’t wait for everything to be put together.”
Staging “Beauty and the Beast,” the story of a woman held by a beast in his castle, did present some challenges for the troupe.
Theater Director Ben Mattson said that in order for them to be able to stage “Beauty and the Beast,” they had to get creative.
“Obviously, there’s expectation with ‘Beauty and the Beast’ – it’s so iconic and it’s Disney’s ‘Beauty and the Beast,’ and so early on, we decided that the only way we could realistically build this show ourselves without renting things was to kind of create our own style with it and be really smart in our choices,” he said.
And when you look around at what has been accomplished in a few short months, it’s pretty obvious everybody put in a lot of work.
“It’s not just the students; lots of family members have come in to help,” Mattson said. “We’ve been spending 12-hour days on Saturdays for the last couple of months to get it together.”
Senior and head of the properties crew, Abbi Andersen, said she and her team had their work cut out for them as far as finding all the props.
“It was very challenging because when you’re on props, you have to make sure that everything you do is time-period,” she said. “This show is set in the 18th century, so we had to find stuff that related to the 18th century. It was pretty tough.”
And for Mattson, after all the hard work, it’s all falling into place.
“I think it’s going to be amazing. It’s been a dream, really,” he said. “I think the best part about it is ... there’re so many good parts, and they’re all sort of interconnected. Just the scope of this show is so huge, to see what was in my head realize itself is sort of amazing, but (it’s) bigger and better than I ever would have thought of it on my own; it’s such a community effort.”
katie@durangoherald.com
If you go
What:
“Beauty And The Beast,” presented by Durango High School Troupe 1096
When:
7 p.m. Nov. 4, 5, 10, 11, 12, 17, 18. There will also be a matinée at 2 p.m. Nov. 12.
Where:
Durango High School Theater
Tickets:
Tickets are $15 and may be purchased online at http://troupe1096.weebly.com/
For More Information:
Visit http://troupe1096.weebly.com/ for information about the troupe and ticket details and availability. Please note this show will likely sell out.
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