THE Shakespearian line “Parting is such sweet sorrow” rang true for the cast of the Broadway musical Beauty and the Beast.
Emotions ran high on the penultimate night of the beautifully packaged production put on by Naparima Girls’ High School (NGHS) between January 16 and 19 at the Naparima Bowl.
Tears bubbled over as the young actors from surrounding schools took their final bow on the gala night, January 18, before a sold-out audience which included Education Minister Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly, Senator Jayanti Lutchmedial and Zalayhar Hassanali, widow of former president Noor Hassanali.
[caption id="attachment_1135219" align="alignnone" width="576"] Education Minister Nyan Gadsby-Dolly with Naparima Girls principal. - Photo by Yvonne Webb[/caption]
Before the curtains came down, the cast huddled together, hugging one another, in a show of the camaraderie, friendships formed during the past three months and more of rehearsals and performances, that were coming to an end. They broke apart only when musical director Reanna Edwards-Paul conducted the live orchestra in its final song for the night.
For some, especially the form-six students, this was the last time they would feature in a school production.
One of the two actors who played Beauty, Jxaihon Taylor, wept as the cast came out to meet patrons, and had to be comforted by director Victor Edwards.
A visual and performing arts upper-six student majoring in music, Taylor told Newsday the reason for her tears was not only that this was her very last performance as a student of NGHS, but also because musical theatre is what she wants to do for the rest of her life.
“Tomorrow (January 19) is the last show, but tonight (January 18) is my last night.
“Ever since I was a little girl, and I watched my first Broadway musical I said, ‘This is where I needed to be.’
[caption id="attachment_1135218" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Director Victor Edwards, right, with some of the main characters in Beauty and the Beast - Mrs Potts (Jenice Pierre), Gaston (Josiah Ferrier) and Beast (Marcus Mc Donald of Presentation College, San Fernando). - Photo by Yvonne Webb[/caption]
“Growing up, Beauty and the Beast was my favourite movie. Beauty was my favourite princess, so getting to play her in this production is a dream come true.
“Now that it is over, the experience exceeded my expectation.
“Mr Edwards said the moral of the story is: love is transformative. The love of and in this cast has literally brought about a change in me. Having realised how this has changed me, that this is where and who I want to be for the rest of my life, I was overcome by everything, and I can’t stop crying.”
Edwards shared his thoughts about the audience, who were fortunate to see the collective celebration on the gala night when the whole cast broke into tears – and what they must have been left wondering.
“They were not tears of pain or happiness, but rather an overflow of their inner beauty, (and) their coming to terms with the fact that they had created a beautiful thing
