After nearly five months of blocking, vocal, and dance rehearsals, members of Liberty theatre’s cast and crew performed a beautiful production of “Beauty and the Beast” April 11-13. Over 70 actors, 25 musicians, 30 crew members, a team of costume mistresses, and four directors contributed to the creation of a fairytale-like musical of dancing silverware and enchanted objects.

The process began at the end of December when auditions were held. As everyone anxiously waited for the cast list to be posted, directors finalized the cast. Head director Judith Rivera had been thinking about the rehearsal process as soon as Liberty’s production of the “Wizard of Oz” finished last spring. She is proud of what her students have accomplished.

“The actors are bringing ‘Beauty and the Beast’ off of the pages and onto the stage,” she said. “Our pit is incredible. We have so many talented students here; it is such a diverse school.”

Rivera worked alongside Laura Mainiero, Julie Wydrzynski, Colette Boudreaux and Allen Frank to cultivate this magnificent production. Rehearsals began at the end of December, before winter break and resumed until the last performance. Before opening night, Liberty cast and crew got to perform for BASD middle schoolers involved with theatre. To host and perform for them was a pleasure.

“It was great to inspire future Liberty students and make them want to join theatr,” said Vivek Adury, a senior cast member. “Theatre was a huge part of my high school career; I gained friends, confidence, a strong support group, and a second family. As such, I want other future Liberty students to have similar experiences.”

This show was particularly unique to Liberty Theatre in its use of a dry ice machine, a flight team and pyrotechnists. The crew’s effort was evident as they worked tirelessly every night to magnify a flawless performance. They perfected the lighting, the microphones and even the tape marks on the stage. In this production, there were students flying across the stage, one of which was sophomore Charlotte Samuelson.

“It was such an honor to be able to fly across the Liberty stage in the opening scene of such a great show,” she said.

Even with the talented cast that already existed, “Beauty and the Beast” could not have been complete without the help of the crew and tech team.

Lindsey Sommons, theatre leader and Mrs. Potts in the musical, spoke about her role in the production.

“Being theatre leader is the most stressful, wonderful, scary, rewarding thing I have ever done in my life,” she said. “However, I get to create relationships from every grade and meet everyone in cast.” This was Sommons’ eighth production at Liberty where she has devoted a big chunk of her life to the arts.

Despite how tiresome it can be, Sommons would not take anything moment back.

“The amount of friendships I’ve made and the memories that come with those friendships will forever be in my heart,” she said. “I am 100 percent so thankful I joined Liberty theatre my freshman year even though I was scared... I will always remember my time on the Liberty theatre stage.”

Each actor, musician, crew member, costume mistress and director put in an immense amount of effort into the show. With all four public shows completely sold out, Liberty theatre marked its distinction within the Lehigh Valley. Liberty theatre has become more than an afterschool activity to those involved. It has become a tight-knit group of students who support and cherish each other; hence, their motto, “Spirit of Life, Spirit of Family.”