Disney's Beauty and the Beast
at Brethren Christian

Reviewed on April 28, 2018

Emily Freeborn
Santa Margarita Catholic
Submitted for publication to Orange County Register

Brethren Christian's Beauty and the Beast emphasizes Internal Beauty
written by Emily Freeborn, a freshman at Santa Margarita Catholic High School

Purple light illuminates the stage, enveloping two figures in its sweet embrace. One is a beautiful girl, the other a monstrous beast. The couple sweetly holds hands and dances, with eyes only for each other that reveal their unspoken love. They pause, pressing their foreheads together, eyes closed and overcome with emotion. Theirs is a tale as old as time, that of "Beauty and the Beast."

Brethren Christian's "Beauty and the Beast" tells the story of Belle, a young woman who is ostracized in her French hometown for her love of books. When her father is taken prisoner by a terrible beast, she agrees to take his place and eventually learns to love her captor, who is the victim of a curse placed on him by an enchantress.

As Belle, Charis Sanders conveys the classic sweetness of the character in her kind angelic smile. However, when interacting with Gaston, she demonstrates Belle's dislike of the man through witty and sarcastic remarks. In "Belle," Sanders gazes off into the distance with bright eyes, demonstrating her powerful voice and expressing her Belle's eagerness to go on an adventure.

Sam Skarin's portrayal of Gaston is cartoonish and comedic, as he poses with his hands on his hips and glances at the audience with a goofy smolder. His height, confidence, and pompous performance in "Gaston" provides a comedic contrast to the awkward, sycophant, dopey nature of his little sidekick Le Fou (Isaiah Vargas).

Babette, played by Jojo Roque, is a perfect Parisian portrait of flirty sass. Teasing Lumiere (Caleb Wang) she speaks with a beautiful French accent, giggling and dancing around the stage. When she hears that Belle is more beautiful than her, she sticks her lip out in a jealous pout and shoots Belle dirty glances when they encounter.

Creative makeup work aids in bringing the enchanted characters to life. Prosthetic fangs, drawn on brown fur, and a curly brown wig are used to transform Freddy William into the frightening beast. A clock hand mustache is drawn on Luke Montgomery using brow gel and is outlined with gold shimmer eyeshadow to make it pop onstage. Gaston was given cartoon-like large eyebrows, which correlated with Skarin's cartoonish portrayal of the character.

Brethren Christian's "Beauty and the Beast" demonstrated the power of love and the importance of seeing the beauty within.

Emily Freeborn
Santa Margarita Catholic
Submitted for publication to Orange County Register

Brethren Christian's Beauty and the Beast emphasizes Internal Beauty
written by Emily Freeborn, a freshman at Santa Margarita Catholic High School

Purple light illuminates the stage, enveloping two figures in its sweet embrace. One is a beautiful girl, the other a monstrous beast. The couple sweetly holds hands and dances, with eyes only for each other that reveal their unspoken love. They pause, pressing their foreheads together, eyes closed and overcome with emotion. Theirs is a tale as old as time, that of "Beauty and the Beast."

Brethren Christian's "Beauty and the Beast" tells the story of Belle, a young woman who is ostracized in her French hometown for her love of books. When her father is taken prisoner by a terrible beast, she agrees to take his place and eventually learns to love her captor, who is the victim of a curse placed on him by an enchantress.

As Belle, Charis Sanders conveys the classic sweetness of the character in her kind angelic smile. However, when interacting with Gaston, she demonstrates Belle's dislike of the man through witty and sarcastic remarks. In "Belle," Sanders gazes off into the distance with bright eyes, demonstrating her powerful voice and expressing her Belle's eagerness to go on an adventure.

Sam Skarin's portrayal of Gaston is cartoonish and comedic, as he poses with his hands on his hips and glances at the audience with a goofy smolder. His height, confidence, and pompous performance in "Gaston" provides a comedic contrast to the awkward, sycophant, dopey nature of his little sidekick Le Fou (Isaiah Vargas).

Babette, played by Jojo Roque, is a perfect Parisian portrait of flirty sass. Teasing Lumiere (Caleb Wang) she speaks with a beautiful French accent, giggling and dancing around the stage. When she hears that Belle is more beautiful than her, she sticks her lip out in a jealous pout and shoots Belle dirty glances when they encounter.

Creative makeup work aids in bringing the enchanted characters to life. Prosthetic fangs, drawn on brown fur, and a curly brown wig are used to transform Freddy William into the frightening beast. A clock hand mustache is drawn on Luke Montgomery using brow gel and is outlined with gold shimmer eyeshadow to make it pop onstage. Gaston was given cartoon-like large eyebrows, which correlated with Skarin's cartoonish portrayal of the character.

Brethren Christian's "Beauty and the Beast" demonstrated the power of love and the importance of seeing the beauty within.

Adam Rooney
Fullerton Union
Submitted for publication to OC Cappies Facebook

Be Their Guest at Brethren Christian
written by Adam Rooney, a junior at Fullerton Union High School

In "Beauty and the Beast," Belle, a bright, beautiful girl, is taken prisoner by a beast in his castle. Despite her fears, she befriends the castle's enchanted staff and learns to look beyond the beast's hideous exterior, allowing her to recognize the kind heart and soul of the real prince that hides on the inside.

Charis Sanders shines as Belle. Her voice was very powerful yet it had a sweet nature to it. No matter the scenario, she never failed to deliver and strong, chilling performance. She comfortably relates to the other performers onstage, especially her counterpart Beast, played by Freddy William. Throughout the show, the relationship formed between Sanders and William was truly Disney magic. Sanders brings a sense of youth, adventure, and innocence to the show. She conveyed a young and lighthearted persona on stage that leaves you excited and involved in the story.

Commanding the stage is Freddy William as the Beast, a prince, cursed to remain a beast unless he learns to love and earns love in return. He skillfully embodies a natural character, in which no aspect of his portrayal is overdone. William brings to life the transformation the beast undergoes, turning from a cold character to an open, sweet one.

Supporting couple Gaston, played by Sam Skarin, and Le Fou, played by Isaiah Vargas, equally entice. With his bubbly personality and over the top energy, Vargas steals the spotlight as he tries to please Gaston any way he can. They were always exciting to see on stage together, and both delivered some great vocals and had great chemistry with one another.

The ensemble does a fantastic job of keeping the energy up throughout the show and keeping the audience engaged. The entire ensemble works together to bring the production to life. A standout moment was the song, "Be Our Guest" where the whole ensemble delivers powerful vocals, choreography, and high energy. They were always in sync and masterfully executed choreography. And each character found great comedic timing with this song, making it even more enjoyable.

Brethren Christian combines wonderful acting with suburb vocals to recreate Disney magic on stage.

Adam Rooney
Fullerton Union
Submitted for publication to OC Cappies Facebook

Be Their Guest at Brethren Christian
written by Adam Rooney, a junior at Fullerton Union High School

In "Beauty and the Beast," Belle, a bright, beautiful girl, is taken prisoner by a beast in his castle. Despite her fears, she befriends the castle's enchanted staff and learns to look beyond the beast's hideous exterior, allowing her to recognize the kind heart and soul of the real prince that hides on the inside.

Charis Sanders shines as Belle. Her voice was very powerful yet it had a sweet nature to it. No matter the scenario, she never failed to deliver and strong, chilling performance. She comfortably relates to the other performers onstage, especially her counterpart Beast, played by Freddy William. Throughout the show, the relationship formed between Sanders and William was truly Disney magic. Sanders brings a sense of youth, adventure, and innocence to the show. She conveyed a young and lighthearted persona on stage that leaves you excited and involved in the story.

Commanding the stage is Freddy William as the Beast, a prince, cursed to remain a beast unless he learns to love and earns love in return. He skillfully embodies a natural character, in which no aspect of his portrayal is overdone. William brings to life the transformation the beast undergoes, turning from a cold character to an open, sweet one.

Supporting couple Gaston, played by Sam Skarin, and Le Fou, played by Isaiah Vargas, equally entice. With his bubbly personality and over the top energy, Vargas steals the spotlight as he tries to please Gaston any way he can. They were always exciting to see on stage together, and both delivered some great vocals and had great chemistry with one another.

The ensemble does a fantastic job of keeping the energy up throughout the show and keeping the audience engaged. The entire ensemble works together to bring the production to life. A standout moment was the song, "Be Our Guest" where the whole ensemble delivers powerful vocals, choreography, and high energy. They were always in sync and masterfully executed choreography. And each character found great comedic timing with this song, making it even more enjoyable.

Brethren Christian combines wonderful acting with suburb vocals to recreate Disney magic on stage.

Isabel Hadley
Pacifica Christian
Submitted for publication to OC Cappies Facebook

Brethren Christian's Beauty and the Beast: A Tale as Old as Time
written by Isabel Hadley, a senior at Pacifica Christian High School

Who could ever love a beast? Perhaps the bookish beauty from a provincial town.

When Belle's inventor father goes missing, she stumbles on the castle of an arrogant prince turned beast. At first a furious prisoner, Belle begins to warm to the Beast, and he melts for her even faster. With the help of a group of household items, fun music, and just a little bit of magic, Brethren Christian's ‘Beauty and the Beast' finds a happy ending for this timeless love story.

Senior Charis Sanders plays the titular "beauty," Belle, with a winning charm and a melodic voice. She seamlessly combines the wide-eyed naivete Belle possesses with her steadfast wisdom and courage, bringing both strength and softness to the role.

Freddy William's interpretation of the Beast is beautiful. He starts with the character cold and feral, with a booming timbre in his voice, but as Belle begins to break down his walls, William's voice softens, his posture straightens, and he becomes truly gentle. William also embraces the lesser-known comedic side of this iconic character, never missing a beat or letting a funny line fall flat.

Sam Skarin is hilariously wicked and full of bravado as the villain, Gaston. His permanent smoldering grimace and constant flexing brings the notoriously vain character to life. Lefou (Isaiah Vargas) is his sidekick, and Vargas completely commits to being the blundering punching bag of Skarin's cocky Gaston. Vargas is consistently funny, but also professional, projecting his squeaky voice clearly through multiple mic snafus.

Luke Montgomery excels as the tightly wound Cogsworth, with his staccato movements and twitching face bringing the character to life. His relationship with Lumiere (Caleb Wang) is delightful, and the two juniors play the classic comedic duo with a perfect give and take.

On the technical side of things, "The Prologue," a short introductory video setting the scene for the show and telling the backstory of the Beast, is a wonder. Shot and edited by Ethan and Luke Montgomery, the brothers used green screens and silhouettes to create a magical prologue that set the bar high for the rest of the show.

With music, magic, and a message, Brethren Christian's Beauty and the Beast reminds us that true beauty is found within.

Isabel Hadley
Pacifica Christian
Submitted for publication to OC Cappies Facebook

Brethren Christian's Beauty and the Beast: A Tale as Old as Time
written by Isabel Hadley, a senior at Pacifica Christian High School

Who could ever love a beast? Perhaps the bookish beauty from a provincial town.

When Belle's inventor father goes missing, she stumbles on the castle of an arrogant prince turned beast. At first a furious prisoner, Belle begins to warm to the Beast, and he melts for her even faster. With the help of a group of household items, fun music, and just a little bit of magic, Brethren Christian's ‘Beauty and the Beast' finds a happy ending for this timeless love story.

Senior Charis Sanders plays the titular "beauty," Belle, with a winning charm and a melodic voice. She seamlessly combines the wide-eyed naivete Belle possesses with her steadfast wisdom and courage, bringing both strength and softness to the role.

Freddy William's interpretation of the Beast is beautiful. He starts with the character cold and feral, with a booming timbre in his voice, but as Belle begins to break down his walls, William's voice softens, his posture straightens, and he becomes truly gentle. William also embraces the lesser-known comedic side of this iconic character, never missing a beat or letting a funny line fall flat.

Sam Skarin is hilariously wicked and full of bravado as the villain, Gaston. His permanent smoldering grimace and constant flexing brings the notoriously vain character to life. Lefou (Isaiah Vargas) is his sidekick, and Vargas completely commits to being the blundering punching bag of Skarin's cocky Gaston. Vargas is consistently funny, but also professional, projecting his squeaky voice clearly through multiple mic snafus.

Luke Montgomery excels as the tightly wound Cogsworth, with his staccato movements and twitching face bringing the character to life. His relationship with Lumiere (Caleb Wang) is delightful, and the two juniors play the classic comedic duo with a perfect give and take.

On the technical side of things, "The Prologue," a short introductory video setting the scene for the show and telling the backstory of the Beast, is a wonder. Shot and edited by Ethan and Luke Montgomery, the brothers used green screens and silhouettes to create a magical prologue that set the bar high for the rest of the show.

With music, magic, and a message, Brethren Christian's Beauty and the Beast reminds us that true beauty is found within.