Beauty and the Beast Jr. put on by GHA

by John McCurdy, Editor: jmccurdy@atljewishtimes.com

Students, faculty and staff of the Greenfield Hebrew Academy invite the community to “be [their] guest” for a production of “Beauty and the Beast, Jr.” Four showings spread across three days offer opportunities to see the performing talents and rehearsal rewards of many GHA middle schoolers.

Director Mira Hirsch, in her fourth year at the Academy, chose this musical – an adaptation of an adaptation of an adaptation of a version, of sorts, which traces back to Disney’s hit 1991 animated feature and further back to French novelist Jeanne Marie Le Prince de Beaumont’s La Belle et la Bête – for several reasons.

“I look for a play with strong roles for a large number of students, great music and content that is appropriate for the youngest members of our community yet still resonates with middle schoolers and even adults,” Hirsch said. “’Beauty and the Beast, Jr.’ fulfills all of those criteria; it’s a classic fairy tale with themes that are very relevant to young performers and young audiences.”

For their auditions, students performed songs from musicals of their choosing previously prepared and read lines from the upcoming show. Cast in lead roles were Zoe Aaron as Belle and twin brothers Brett and Kevin Feldman as the Beast and Gaston, respectively.

The Feldmans, in eighth grade, have a history of terrific performances – this will be the pair’s fourth show with Hirsch as director. Other students caught the irony of the protagonist/antagonist set-up, and Hirsch laughs about it now.

“It didn’t immediately strike me that they would actually be doing battle with each other on stage,” she admitted. “Luckily, I don’t think there’s a lot of real sibling rivalry between them, but it is humorous that they get to engage in this onstage conflict.”

Shows begin with a Feb. 1, 4:15 p.m. open-seating affair, followed by official “opening night” on Feb. 2 at 7:30 p.m. (reserved seating). Two performances on Feb. 5, open-seating at 11 a.m. and reserved at 3 p.m., close the schedule.

With professional choreographers, music directors and set, costume, lighting and properties designers all assisting, it seems the only aspect that qualifies this production as “junior” is the age range of the performers.

“I have come to expect a high level of discipline from these young actors,” Hirsch said. “These students are working with some of the best theater talent in Atlanta, and they rise to the environment that is created for them.

“I direct them with the same level of detail and precision that I would a professional cast, and I’m constantly amazed at their ability to take that direction and run with it. They are terrific!”

Order tickets at tickets.ghacademy.org or by calling (678) 753-4442.