“Beauty and the Beast” production put on by the students of the Oak Park Drama Club had four sold out showings over the weekend of March 10.

This play takes the audience through a tale as old as time, as they watch Belle’s journey from her simple town to her new home at the Beast’s castle. With the help of the crew, the cast appeared on stage among the life-sized sets in full costume, some of which were created by the students, while others were rented.

“Beauty and the Beast had been presented here once before, in 2008, and was a huge favorite with our previous cast,” director and film teacher Allen Hunt wrote to the Talon. “When the new live-action Disney version came out last year, it was decided to revisit this beloved musical once again with all its magical characters and irresistible music.”

According to cast and crew members, working together on productions makes for a tightly knit group. They practiced nearly every school day, and sometimes on weekends, in order to bring all the aspects together to create a final production.

“Some rehearsal days may be stressful, but even through the stress, each day has so much fun in store,” junior Savannah Owens, who played Belle, said.

The orchestra music for the play was provided by the voluntary participation of Oak Park Band members. Music played in the band room was broadcasted to the Pavilion through speakers during each performance of the play.

“There’s just really rich music, high quality composing that made [Beauty and the Beast] a joy to work on. Especially once we got it fine-tuned, it was really good,” music director Zachary Borquez said.

The crew was responsible for building and decorating sets along with choosing and assembling costumes.

“I started crew in freshman year because I always loved the idea of building sets and my older siblings were involved in the drama department when they were in high school,” junior and sound manager Yuval Karoly wrote. “Musicals are always a great way to meet awesome new people because of how many people are in them.”

After finishing with rehearsals, the cast, crew and band were able to share their work with those who came to see the play.

“It’s fun to perform for people and do what you love for other people to enjoy,” senior Olivia Winck, who played Mrs. Potts, said.