Malibu High School’s Drama Department is among the first amateur groups in the country to stage Disney’s Broadway version of the classic fairy tale, Beauty and the Beast.
Disney’s version began in 1991 as a collaboration between the studio’s legendary animators and the composer/lyricist team of Alan Menken and Howard Ashman. Dubbed by many critics the finest Disney film ever made, it went on to be the first animated feature in history to be nominated for an Academy Award as Best Picture.
In 1994, Disney mounted a musical production of Beauty and the Beast on Broadway, which is now in its 11th year.
The Malibu High School production features all of the original film’s wonderful songs and elaborate production numbers including the show-stopping “Be Our Guest,” “Belle,” and of course, the Oscar-winning “Beauty and the Beast,” as well as new songs written just for the Broadway production.
The cast of 6th through 12th graders includes veteran performers from the school’s previous productions of 42nd Street, Les Miserables, and Little Shop of Horrors. The show has been co-directed by Malibu middle- and high-school drama teachers Brigette Leonard and Jodi Plaia. The orchestra is conducted by instrumental music director Bill Bixler, and Malibu resident Dick Van Dyke is the narrator.
A special gala performance of Beauty and the Beast at Malibu High School, 30215 Morning View Drive, will take place on Friday evening, May 13 at 5 p.m. to benefit the Shark Fund. Tickets to the fundraiser include a cocktail party, silent auction, and a personal appearance by Van Dyke. Tickets are $250, $100, $50, and $25 for students, and can be purchased online at malibuhigh.smmusd.org.
Beauty and the Beast will also be presented on Thursday, May 12, Saturday, May 14, and Saturday, May 21 at 7 p.m., and on Sunday, May 15 and Sunday, May 22 at 2 p.m..
Reserved seats for those performances are $15 adults and $10 students/seniors, and can also be purchased online on the school’s website, or at the box office after school.Following the final performance on May 22, children will have an opportunity to meet and be photographed with the cast as Mrs. Potts and Chip host Tea With Belle and Her Friends in the Juan Cabrillo School auditorium. Tickets for the tea are $5, and can be reserved by calling (310) 457-6801, ext. 257
