SCHUYLKILL HAVEN, Pa. — It's a "tale as old as time" and a story that Eliza Kline from Schuylkill Haven has always dreamed of telling.
"Years ago, if I could pick what show would be my senior show, I would have said 'Beauty and the Beast.' Well, I got really lucky," Kline said about playing the lead of Belle in this production.
She and dozens of other performers throughout Schuylkill County are a part of Artist in Motion's community production of Beauty and the Beast.
A musical that encourages others not to judge a book by its cover is a tale T.J. Fitzpatrick is very familiar with, playing the Beast once before.
"What made it a little more special for me now is that my son is in it because he's never seen me in a show," or been in a musical before, Fitzpatrick explained.
The father and son decided to take a leap of faith together.
"I said, 'If you audition, I'll audition.' And that kind of encouraged him to do it. Now, I kind of get to play both roles. I get to still go out on stage, but I also get to see from a parent role and watch him have fun," he said.
For the past three months, they've bonded with other dancers and actors they've never performed with.
"We have some performers that are in Beauty and the Beast, and this is their first show. We have some seasoned actors that have been in every one of our productions, as well as other community productions," director Andrew Umphrey said.
Regardless of how many stage credits they have, the crews on and off stage agree a musical this big has its challenges.
"In this, you're singing, and you have a big costume, and you have to tell a story with your faces even more," said Danica Frederick, who plays Chip, the talking teacup.
"It's a lot of really hard emotional moments, so I've really had to tap into that so I can kind of feel it, so it doesn't look so fake," Kline added.
But the big payoff isn't just selling out the Blue Mountain High School auditorium.
"Pushing them out of their comfort zone and getting everyone involved has been one of the benefits of just the learning experience of it all," explained Umphrey.
Kline and the rest of the cast hope to give the audience a magical musical theater experience.
"Whenever you see a high school put on a production, and you're like a young girl or community theater, you think it's Broadway," Kline said.
The same feeling she got as a child sparked her love for performing.
Beauty and the Beast runs through Sunday at Blue Mountain High School.
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