Once upon a time, a group of high schoolers
just outside of Fort Worth, Texas,
found themselves living a fairy tale when they performed the musical
Beauty and the Beast.
ALL: (SINGING) Be our guest
Be our guest
KRISTEN: Now, as adults,
they have the chance to make magic once again.
Because the 2007 cast
of Saginaw High School's Beauty and the Beast is reuniting
for one more encore performance.
This is Encore!
(GROANS, CLEARS THROAT)
I've always had a big personality. Always had a big personality.
(SINGING)
As a kid, I would develop characters out of my shampoo and conditioner.
(SINGING)
BRITTANY: Theater just seemed like the obvious choice.
In high school, I thought I was a gift to theater.
(SINGING)
(SONG ENDS)
(EXHALES) It's a lot to do without breathing.
(EXHALES)
In high school, uh, I dated around a little bit.
BRAD: I didn't think I was a lady's man.
I didn't really try to be that way.
I just kind of was that way.
Uh, which one of these would you like me to use?
You can pass them around if you'd want.
I actually am a mentalist. And mentalism is basically mental magic.
It can be stuff from hypnosis to even moving objects with your mind.
It's harder if you...
don't even touch it. It's actually kind of difficult.
Who cares if you can, um, make a rope come back together, right?
I mean, it's cool.
But being able to read someone's mind, that's where it's at.
That's really, really powerful.
What was the name that you were thinking of?
Stephen.
- (INHALES DEEPLY) - (MAN EXCLAIMING)
(MAN LAUGHS)
ZANE: I started playing football in middle school.
And I played it all the way through high school.
Uh, it got me running around,
so I didn't end up being just a giant, fat kid.
I got to hit people without getting in trouble,
but theater is where it was at for me.
Nobody expected me to do it.
As soon as I got into theater, I knew that it was my people
because most the people there were the outcasts.
Theater's really the only thing I occasionally think back on,
just the people and the family unit that we were.
It was where I felt at home.
(COW MOOS)
BEN: I was...
goofy...
awkward. I guess you could say,
I guess it's most high school kids, technically.
But at the same time, I had this arrogance about me
that I thought that I was...
really awesome.
More often, I was a hopeless romantic.
I asked out probably at least a girl or two a day
when I was in high school, trying to find the love of my life.
People were constantly like, "Ben is just too much."
I would either be too much or in a corner sulking
and being the emo kid, uh, whatever it was.
- It's Brad Baker! (LAUGHING) - (CHUCKLES) Hey.
- (BRITTANY SCREAMS) - Hey. Hey.
Oh, it's good to see you.
- When did you get in here? - This is nice. Last night.
- Wow. Wow, that... Wow. - Mm-hmm.
- Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. - Cool.
(LAUGHS)
How do you have 20,000 followers...
- Oh. Oh, yeah. - ...on your Instagram?
- So... - I have 1,000. Is it like cat...
ZANE: I'm just gonna walk up here.
- Oh my God! - I'm sorry to interrupt, guys.
- Zane. - How's it going, Brad?
How's it going, Brittany? Good to see you.
- Oh, hi, Zane. - ZANE: Oh.
- (BRITTANY SNIFFLES) - How are y'all?
Are you crying?
- A little bit? - (SNIFFLES) No.
- What are you doing? - Uh, I'm a machinist up in Colorado.
- You're in Colorado? - Yeah.
- BRITTANY: There you go. There you go. - What are you all up to?
- What do you do now? - Um...
- Magic. Show him. - I do some... I do some magic.
Uh, I do some magic still.
ZANE: Oh!
- BRAD: Uh, let's see. - So, what do you do for a living?
I do magic. I try... I try to do magic for a living, um.
I also do, um, I do murder mystery theater, um, in...
Stop it! Stop everything. I'm sorry, Brad.
- BRAD: No, that's okay. - You're less important right now.
- SHELBY: Hey. Hi. - BRITTANY: Oh, my gosh.
Look at your hair.
SHELBY: In high school, I was very nerdy.
That hasn't changed too much.
Very motherly too.
Other people probably would describe me a little bit overbearing,
a tomboy, a feminist,
and they probably would've called me an overachiever as well.
(BRITTANY GASPS)
- BRAD: God, that is a nice beard, man. - ZANE: Oh!
- I'm really jealous. - BRITTANY: This is su...
BRAD: He's acting all mysterious over there.
Ben, you look like you're about to, like, just pull out a French press.
- BRAD: Dude, I love this theater. - (BEN LAUGHS)
- I'm super happy to see you. - Oh. Yeah. (LAUGHS)
- What's up, buddy? - BRAD: Is that Jordan?
- Oh, my God. - What? What?
- Jordan. - What's going on, guys?
- We need like a procession song. - What's going on, man?
Seeing everyone again in this after so long, uh,
I hadn't really kept in touch with anybody, uh, since graduating,
but everyone is the exact same. Nobody has changed in the slightest.
- What are you doing now? - I work
for the Chickasaw Nation Indian tribe.
It's helping citizens with barriers, with, uh, addiction and stuff like that.
- Oh. - KATHY: Hey.
ALL: Hey!
Hey, guys.
KATHY: In high school, I was very high strung.
I think I was just trying to find where I belonged, I guess.
I know that I did struggle.
- Hey, guys. - BRITTANY: Your hair looks awesome.
ZANE: While I did date Kathy in high school,
I don't see that interfering with us at all.
Will it be awkward? Sure.
We haven't seen each other in ten years. But it'd be awkward
just with everybody that's there.
- DESIREE: Hi. - Hello.
- Oh, my goodness. - ZANE: Is that Desiree?
- Yeah. - DESIREE: Yes.
- I was so stoked. - BRITTANY: Here's the star of the show.
- (CHEERING, LAUGHTER) - Oh, my goodness.
So, in high school, I was known as the girl with the voice.
(SINGING) No sir, not me, I guarantee it!
DESIREE: When I graduated high school, I was trying to do the right thing.
I was going to college when I found out I was pregnant with my son.
And after that, I didn't wanna go back.
Elijah is the best thing that will ever happen to me.
I still am learning every day what I'm doing, and how to do it.
Why wear jelly shoes?
- BEN: No! - BRITTANY: I changed mine.
- ERIC: Hi, guys. - BEN: I had some.
- Hi. - Hello.
My name's Eric Tucker. I'm gonna be your director for the week.
- DESIREE: Awesome. - Just a little bit about myself,
I'm mostly an Off-Broadway director. And I'm happy to be in Texas.
- DESIREE: Yeah. - Let's meet the rest of the team.
- BRITTANY: Oh, boots. Yeah. - We're in Texas. I had to wear my boots.
- So this is Ameenah. - I'm your choreographer.
I'm Ameenah Kaplan. Currently, I'm the resident director
- for the Lion King North American tour. - I'm Adam. I'm the music director.
And I'm Christopher Eclipse. I'm gonna be your dance captain.
I'm here to make you guys look good.
- Thank you. - (INDISTINCT CHATTER, LAUGHTER)
This feels like getting to live in your imagination.
(VOCALIZING)
BRITTANY: I'm really happy. Like, who gets to do this?
Like, no one, you know?
ERIC: What did you play in the, um, in 2007?
- I was the Beast. - ERIC: You were the Beast?
- ZANE: I was the Beast. - ERIC: Yeah, cool. And who did you play?
- ERIC: You were... LeFou, right. - JORDAN: LeFou. Yes, sir.
- ERIC: You played Belle? - DESIREE: Yeah.
- I was the wardrobe. - ERIC: La Grande Bouche.
- KATHY: Yes. - ERIC: Ben, you were?
- BEN: Lumière. - ERIC: You were Lumière.
Gaston. I played Gaston.
- And Shelby, who did you play? - Cogsworth.
That's fun, right? 'Cause it's normally played by a guy.
- SHELBY: Yeah. - What was the biggest challenge for you
- when you did it that time? - The singing.
- ERIC: Really? - Yeah.
That night, I messed up my big song. The biggest song that I have.
- ERIC: Yeah. - I messed it up.
And if you go back and watch it now, you can see it.
(SINGING)
Who knows, but you might redeem yourself. Brittany, what did you play?
- Ms. Potts. - Mrs. Potts.
- She's the teapot. Yeah? - BRITTANY: Yes.
Can you just tell me a couple of things you would use to describe Mrs. Potts?
- Old. - Oh, no.
My senior year, they announced Beauty and the Beast.
And I was like, "Oh, I'm gonna be Belle? Like...
(CHUCKLES) "...weird choice, but okay." And was not. (LAUGHS)
Desiree came out of nowhere,
auditioned for Belle and got it.
Jealous, me?
No.
ADAM: So, in 2007...
- JORDAN: Oh, no. - ...when you performed
Beauty and the Beast,
one of the biggest hits of the year was "Bleeding Love"
- by Leona Lewis. - Are you the one who chose that song?
- Maybe. - Oh, my gosh!
- BRITTANY: Ah! - I love this song.
- It's too high, man. - FEMALE VOICE: It's too high.
- We can do it in different keys. - MALE VOICE: Yeah.
ADAM: We wanna see you bring your quality to this.
Just so, like, we, as a creative team, can get to know you. Let's try it.
(EXHALES)
(SINGING "BLEEDING LOVE" BY LEONA LEWIS)
Crap!
- Oh, I missed it. - (ADAM SINGING)
(ALL SINGING)
DESIREE: Oh, god.
(SONG ENDS)
- And that's as much as we'll do. - (ALL LAUGHING)
Oh, that's pretty good.
Guys, let's do this, um.
First of all, I wanna introduce you to Ryan, who's our stage manager.
- BRITTANY: Hi, Ryan. - She's gonna pass out some monologues
that we're gonna work on in a little bit.
You'll recognize them.
"Oh, Romeo, Romeo,
"wherefore art thou, Romeo?"
(VOCALIZES) "Thou art thyself not a Montague?"
"Thou art thou self... Thou art thou self..."
ERIC: "Thou art thyself."
- "Art th..." (GRUNTS) - "Thou art thyself not a Montague."
- ERIC: "Though not a Montague." - "What's a Montague?"
- "But soft..." - "But soft..."
(ERIC LAUGHS)
"What light through yonder window breaks?"
"Her vestal lievery is but sick
- "and green." - ERIC: "Livery." Great. Go back.
- "Her vestal lievery is but sick..." - ADAM: "Livery."
Literally, put it in your own words.
Your name's Montague, but that's not who you are.
(ADAM LAUGHING)
Very matter of fact. Good. I love the attitude.
So, Brittany. She's quite a character.
And it's funny because she wanted to play Belle.
And yet, she's such a character actor, so it's gonna be fun
getting Mrs. Potts out of her again.
- Very good first day. It's really good. - DESIREE: Yeah.
- BEN: All right. Is everybody in? - Yup.
- All right. And. - (DESIREE GIGGLES)
- BEN: I don't remember it being this red. - BRITTANY: The school?
- Yeah. The school. - BRITTANY: Yeah.
SHELBY: I remember hating the sign 'cause I was like,
"It looks like mustard and ketchup."
SHELBY: They're not mine. You can keep all of them.
So many pigs in this house.
Yes. And she actually has most of them packed away.
- BEN: Oh, my gosh. - BRITTANY: Are the pigs new?
- Just grab that. And go downstairs... - No.
- ...and I'll meet you there. - Oh, Lord.
(SIGHS) I don't wanna do this.
I hated high school.
I try to block out all these stupid memories.
I don't know how I coped through high school.
There was a lot of bullying
and being picked on and things like that.
But I always had theater to come back to.
It was always an open place
where we could talk about our problems and things like that.
- BEN: Oh, my God. - SHELBY: I didn't realize
we had photos in there.
- ZANE: This is nuts. - SHELBY: That was me in a miniskirt.
- What's up, y'all? - BRITTANY: Zane, you looked so cute.
- You... you're adorable. - BRITTANY: "Zane Schiffner, a freshman,
"is also making his debut."
"He is a part of the football team and hopes to become a teacher
- "when he graduates." - Oh, that didn't happen.
BRITTANY: I like mine. It goes, "Brittany Taylor, a sophomore,
"is a veteran of the stage." (SCOFFS)
- Yeah, right. - Were you?
- Not as a sophomore. - I wanna see.
I can't believe you kept all this stuff.
- I keep nothing. - SHELBY: Here, look with me, then.
Reminiscing does make me miss the simplicity of the time.
I've done the whole, go to college, I even went and got my masters.
I've been in a career for a little bit.
I don't want kids.
I'm engaged, but we're gonna do the married thing some time.
So, what now?
SHELBY: Oh, Ben, you were so cute.
BRITTANY: I wanna see more pictures of me. Why don't you have pictures of me?
BEN: This is something about doing stuff downtown or something?
- Uh-huh - "My name is Brad.
"I wish to do improv in magic."
- Oh! That's so cute! - BRITTANY: All his wishes have come true.
- In downtown Fort Worth. - SHELBY: So, that's great.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
Roll the body. Loosen it up. Loosen it up.
It actually feels like we never had this, like, ten-year break.
(CHUCKLES) It's kind of weird. Like, we all got along immediately again.
- It still feels like high school in a way. - ZANE: You picked the worst row, man.
What are you talking about?
- ZANE: Second row is the worst. - I picked the best row.
- No. Because just in case... - BRITTANY: First is the worst.
- ...they have any gas... - Second is the best.
...it'll go that way.
- Are you planning on this? - DESIREE: Yeah. I'm planning on
the guys having gas.
- Desiree, in her morning planner... - (INDISTINCT CHATTER)
..."The boys will have gas.
- "Sit in front row." - JORDAN: Brittany's gonna get up there...
(IMITATES FARTING)
How do you think the steam's gonna come out of my pot?
- No. No. - (ALL LAUGH)
Literally, the lyrics are, "I'll be bubbling, I'll be brewing." So.
There's no machine in here. This is all natural, baby.
- (LAUGHTER) - (INDISTINCT CHATTER)
- ERIC: Hi, guys. - How's it going?
- Hey, good morning. - Hey, good morning.
ERIC: From today, you're gonna learn a lot of stuff fast.
There won't be a lot of time for repeating it.
So, from this point on,
let's get really focused and really serious about what we have to do.
- This is gonna be stressful. - AMEENAH: The choreography is a lot.
So I just wanna implore you right now to come into the room
- serious and ready to go. - Here we go. All right.
- Everyone, focus up. - JEFFREY: All right, ladies
and gentlemen, let's get to work.
- JORDAN: Whoa. - (BRITTANY SCREAMS)
I'm Jeffrey Smith. I was the director at Saginaw High School.
I had the pleasure of directing this cast
in the 2007 production of Beauty and the Beast.
- You look the same. - (OVERLAPPING CHATTER)
- DESIREE: You have to stop this. - Oh, my God! Where's your hair?
(BOTH LAUGH)
Mr. Smith was such a huge piece of our entire high school life.
And he was, uh, a mainstay for us, and a mentor.
- ZANE: Jeff. It's good to see you, man. - Oh!
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
I miss you, man. I really do.
ZANE: Jeff was who I looked up to in high school.
Seeing how he was with his students and the actors in his shows,
you knew that was somebody that you could trust immediately.
And that he would be there for you and have your back whenever you needed it.
- (LAUGHS) - You're the man.
Wow!
- You actually played Maurice. - I did have to play Maurice, yes.
This is the most stubborn piece of...
- (MAURICE GROANS) - DESIREE: Papa.
I'm about ready to get rid of this hunkajunk.
I haven't quite assigned that out yet.
- ALL: Yeah. - Come on. It's a no-brainer.
- SHELBY: Yeah! - Why would we not do that, right?
- Would you do that? - Sure.
- All right. That's awesome. - DESIREE: Yes!
This group came in when the school first opened,
walked into a brand-new theater. I said, "Okay.
"This department will be what you make of it."
It's one of those once in a lifetime experiences
where these kids built this legacy.
This group was a hundred percent connected and it made for a great ride.
Listen up for a sec. I wanna go around and have everybody
introduce themselves in the room, since we've just added a bunch of people.
Beauty and the Beast is a giant show, so we need a pro ensemble,
- singers, dancers, actors. - Hi, I'm Zane. I'm the Beast.
To fill in the rest of the roles.
Two, three and...
(ALL VOCALIZING)
One.
Two.
Step on your toe and...
heel, that's five...
The choreography we're doing is definitely way more than we did
previously, the first time around.
AMEENAH: Ta-ka-ta.
That's the baby. We're kicking, we cross. We back, we forward.
JORDAN: I consider myself to have good rhythm.
As far as the steps themselves go, absolutely not.
Uh, it's not there for me.
Ah. Ah. Ah.
- Okay. - AMEENAH: I bet you can do that.
- Okay. I bet I can. - AMEENAH: Yeah.
I live in one zone, and that's...
This right here, you know. This is where I live. (LAUGHS)
AMEENAH: Kick, cross, back. Yes! Jordan.
Yes, yes. Jordan! And yes. Jordan!
- Yes, yes. - BRAD: It's... it is kind of overwhelming
- to think about how much we have to do. - Seven and eight.
And just get that foot down
- on the end of seven. - So, boom.
- That's the baby. - Okay.
I'm not the best dancer. I also am a very slow learner.
- So, let's hold. - I think it's gonna take a little while
to get into the rhythm of things.
- Five, six, seven, we jump. - (PIANO PLAYING)
One, two, three, four.
Here it comes. Gaston.
ADAM: Did Eric talk to you at all about the character?
- About, like, he wanna sort of age... - He did a little bit.
...her down a bit.
Yes, yes, yes. 'Cause he's like, "I'm afraid you don't like Mrs. Potts."
- And I'm like... - ADAM: It's not that you don't like her,
it's that you don't... I feel like you don't connect
- with her the way you should. - No, I don't.
This is a dream opportunity.
Mrs. Potts, per se, is not a dream role.
Listen, am I bossing people around? No. Do I clean anything?
- You should see my room. - ADAM: I don't think
- it's about the cleaning... - (CHUCKLES)
- ...so much as it is about, like... - BRITTANY: Well, you...
- The nurturing. - ADAM: The nurturing.
Do you have anyone in your life that you nurture?
- Myself. - ADAM: Any pets?
- No, that's the thing. - ADAM: Any friends?
- I don't have any wombs. - ADAM: Anything?
Uh, well, I have a womb, but it's not...
- I'm like, "Why don't you have a womb?" - ADAM: That's all right.
I... I don't have any womb fruit.
ADAM: Womb fruit?
- That sounds horrible. - ADAM: (LAUGHING) Womb fruit.
I guess we're all womb fruit at the end of the day.
How did you like seeing Zane show up with no hair?
Oh my gosh, I almost didn't recognize him because I was like, "Wait, what?"
It's like, "Where's the cue ball coming from?"
KATHY: Zane and I dated. Oh, my gosh, it might have been three years.
So we were dating during Beauty and the Beast.
It didn't end well.
It just got to the point where
I was in college and I was doing these other things and...
he just couldn't handle that I wasn't there all the time.
I mean, it does make me sad that we never could stay friends.
Every one of y'all had something at some point
that y'all needed something.
- I know that's seems really generic. - Right. No, no,
- I... I hear what you're saying. - But I was kind of the support for that,
- and I knew that. - Yeah.
KATHY: In high school, Jeff really became more of like, I guess, a father figure.
The more that I needed someone to help me, parenting-wise,
he was there. I mean, he bought my cap and gown.
I was just doing what I needed to do to make it through high school.
So I wasn't going to go to college and I wasn't going to do anything like that.
But then Jeff was really persistent...
on making sure that I went to college.
I've been just, plum proud of what everybody's been able to do,
- what everybody's done. - I just stayed here.
- I'm such a homebody. - That's not true.
That is not true because you ended up with a master's degree
- in, uh, stage design. - Fine arts, yeah.
- That's no easy feat. - Yeah, that's true, I guess.
DESIREE: You know, my aunt used to tell me that all the time, like,
"Turn your earphones down, your hearing's gonna go out."
- (BEN SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY) - And she says "What?"
She was right 'cause I say "what" all the time now.
- Have you ever had your palm read before? - I have. I have.
- You have? - Yes.
I don't do any kind of like future reading stuff.
- I do character readings. - Okay, that's better.
Okay, so you said this is your dominant hand.
This is my dominant hand. Okay. I don't want
- restrict any blood flow. - Yes, yes.
Um, let's see.
So, I would say that maybe you're not in the best health these days.
It's a little bit more fair skin. I know... You don't need...
you don't need to look up, like, the doctors or anything like that.
- I'm not in fair health? - No, no, nothing, nothing major.
- Like physical health? - Nothing major, nothing major.
- Hold up your hand like this. - Oh, it's not fun anymore.
- Um... - (INDISTINCT CHATTER)
- So, here's another thing, your thumb... - Hmm-mm.
...shows motivation, and the angle actually shows generosity.
The wider it is, the more generous you're supposed to be.
- And see also, you're... - I'm not generous?
- That's what your hand's telling me. - I'm very generous!
I thought... I thought you would be. Um, but I mean, your hand says...
- I'm not healthy or generous? - (LAUGHS) That's...
Hey, no, no, there's some good stuff in here.
- BEN: - DESIREE:
BEN:
- DESIREE: That's not dating. - BEN:
I heard 12 years ago from Brad's ex-girlfriend,
who was my best friend,
she caught them making out behind stage. I didn't believe her.
That was like, "No, no, she didn't make out with Brad.
- "There's no way." - Yo, you and Brittany dated?
- DESIREE: Brad! You dated? - Why didn't you say something?
- Weren't we friends? - It was kind of...
- It was kind of a secret. - Brad is a taken man.
I'm not into that.
Nope. But it was... (CHUCKLES) ...fun in high school. (HISSES)
- So... - (ALL LAUGH)
- I'm, like, nauseous right now. - Don't say anything.
- I am nauseous right now. - KATHY: You need to explain yourself.
- We... - KATHY: You?
- We would... We would make out. - KATHY: What?
- You would make out? - BRITTANY: All the time.
Brittany and I, we kind of had a thing. She would occasionally just pull me aside
and just start making out with me, like, backstage.
And, um, you know, I'm not gonna stop. You know, like...
uh, you know, that was a cool relationship,
I guess. I don't know, um.
I don't know how to word that. I mean, it's kind of embarrassing.
- Am I blushing? Yeah? - KATHY: Yeah, you are.
- BEN: You're hardcore. - BRAD: You know, I don't...
- I... I don't kiss and tell. - DESIREE: Where were you making out at?
- Everywhere. Look at her. - MALE VOICE: Everywhere?
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
ERIC: Okay, guys, spread out a little more. Find your own spot, okay?
Here we go. Your arms hanging. Shake some stuff out a little.
All the stress of putting up this show.
It's getting a little more tense.
ERIC: And then, the next couple days, I think, will really test their endurance.
Really breathe, really relax.
How old were you when you first were doing Beauty and the Beast?
Were you a confident person?
Did people like you? Were you popular?
You are a teenager again.
Open your eyes a bit and take a walk.
How does that 15, 16-year-old self walk around the room?
Were you a football player?
Were you a dancer?
Did you get along with your parents?
Were you a loner or did you have a lot of friends?
Find your own space in the room. Stay in that 16-year old body.
(BRITTANY EXHALES)
What advice would you give to the 15, 16-year old self?
If you could tell that person something that would change their course.
- (SIGHS) - ERIC: Just say it out loud.
Don't listen to anybody else. Just say your own stuff.
Don't do what people think you are supposed to do.
BRAD: Try not to worry too much about what other people think.
Do what you actually wanna do.
First of all, you will not have those braces forever. So calm down.
BRITTANY: Also, sorry, but you will not outgrow your personality.
Things happen.
(VOICE BREAKING) It's gonna be okay.
Don't worry about the way that people view you.
- Don't worry about... - You need to go to prom.
- ...aesthetics at all. - You didn't go to Prom.
- (INDISTINCT CHATTER) - You're not broken.
- (INDISTINCT CHATTER) - (CHUCKLES)
You need to stop trying to be perfect.
And have backup plans.
I don't think I'd change anything, to be honest.
(SIGHS)
ERIC: I'm gonna call out a name.
I want you to ask your 28-year-old self a question,
if you were 15 or 16 and have the answer.
- ERIC: Brad? - Are you acting still?
- ERIC: Kathy? - KATHY: Do you have a home?
- Shelby? - Did you get into Harvard?
- Zane? - Did you make it?
- ERIC: Ben? - BEN: Are we accepted?
Did we find someone that loved us?
- ERIC: Brittany? - BRITTANY: Are you going to be
where you feel like your personality fits?
- ERIC: Desi? - Are you happy?
- ERIC: Jordan? - Who did we finally end up with?
(BRITTANY LAUGHS)
Close your eyes.
When you're ready, open your eyes.
And I want you to answer the question you just asked.
Yeah, you are gonna keep acting. You're gonna keep performing.
Yeah, you found somewhere to be.
No, you didn't get into Harvard.
And you should have applied for more than just that.
Happy? We're learning.
You ended up with an incredible woman.
She brings out the best parts of you.
You found a lot of people... (SIGHS) ...who accepted you.
The thing that you were looking for this whole time.
First of all, baby girl, you cry so much more when you're older.
- Which is making up for lost time, right? - (ERIC LAUGHS)
- (SIGHS) - ERIC: Take a seat right where you are.
(KATHY GROANING)
What surprised you? Shelby?
Just remembering those emotions because the memories are one thing,
but the emotion that came with, like, the interactions
or the relationships, those were bigger, grander,
and harder to process. And so you don't try.
- So let's go on to the next thing. Okay. - (DESIREE SIGHS)
ZANE: I'm gonna pre-warn you, man. I'm not good at the cue thing.
I'm not good at the note thing. I'm not good at the...
Whenever it comes to my part.
- ADAM: Okay. So music. - I can't...
'Cause I made mistakes in the last one,
- and I don't wanna do in this one. - ADAM: I know. I don't want you to either.
I want you to nail it. And you only really get the one chance.
(SINGING) No life could be cheaper
- ADAM: Yes! - No...
Wait, wait, wait, I'm sorry.
- Dang it, man. I messed it up. - ADAM: No, that's all right.
No... Oh, my gosh, man. (LAUGHS)
- (SINGING) Let the world be done with me - ADAM: (SINGING) Let the world be done...
Wow.
- All right. - Is that long enough?
- No. It sounded good. - No?
Zane has really impressed me. He's got a big, old voice.
He may not be the best singer in the world,
but neither was Carol Channing.
Oh, this is everything! I just wanna go like this.
The shoes are kick-butt, I love them. (LAUGHING)
Little bow in your hair here.
I've been doing some jump rope, you know, I've been working out a little bit.
I feel like I'm becoming Mrs. Potts.
In my case, the costumes are definitely my friend
Movement is fine, whereas most of our costumes
are so kind of bulky, it might be a little harder to move.
I mean, it wasn't extremely difficult to get into this costume
- because I'm not the one who's doing it. - (LAUGHTER)
(WHOOSHES)
- (MACHINE WHIZZING) - (MAN LAUGHING)
Nice. It's a lot better than having lighters in there like I used to.
- (ALL LAUGHING) - Yeah.
I'm just watching this, like, swell up on my neck.
- FEMALE VOICE: Brittany? I understand... - Yeah?
- ...you've got something going on. - BRITTANY: Yes,
I just started, out of nowhere, do you see, like, rashes
just coming up on my neck and my throat? It's a little itchy.
FEMALE VOICE: Do you have that... Have you had that before?
I mean, I have allergies, like seasonal allergies,
but I haven't ever had this.
- This reaction hasn't happened before? - Like a breakout on my skin. No.
WOMAN: Okay. Well, maybe we need... Oh, we've got a medic here.
- Um, so he's gonna check some stuff out. - (BRITTANY COUGHING)
My neck is like turning rashy
just out of nowhere.
- Let me look at the back of your neck. - Yeah, yeah, yeah.
(SIGHS) I had some allergies.
BRITTANY: I just tried on the Mrs. Potts costume,
but I can't imagine being, like, allergic to the costume.
- (BRITTANY COUGHING) - Fire department's here.
Uh...
Her palm reading. One of the first things I mentioned was that
she might not have been in, like, the best health.
I saw that the color of her skin seemed a little bit off, just in general.
- MALE VOICE: It looks irritated and red. - FEMALE VOICE: Hmm.
(MACHINE BEEPING)
- (GROANS) - MALE VOICE: It's all over with.
No, it's not. It's in there.
DOCTOR:
They had to, like...
put an IV in me and all of this stuff like that,
and it was kind of... by then, I kind of had calmed down.
(BRITTANY GROANS)
- Are you moving it around in there? - There's no needle in there, all right?
Brittany, do you want someone to go with you?
To where? Where? I'm leaving?
You are leaving.
Oh, I don't wanna die. I got lines to learn.
Don't have me crying forever. I cried.
I'm good. I have this... look, easy-peasy.
- I love accessories. - MAN: I want you to look in the mirror.
Just skip to the part where I'm courageous. Thank you.
BRAD: Gaston, he's gotta be big. He's gotta be beefy.
I'm sitting at about 155.
I'm thinking Gaston, 200 pounds, right? At least.
Which means I roughly need to gain about 10 pounds a day.
I've calculated, if I eat, maybe two dozen of these,
uh, per hour, I should be able to make it. So, uh, pray for me.
BRAD: Just trying to bulk up a little bit so I don't have wear that padded outfit,
although I look great in that padded outfit. Let's face it.
(SINGING) No one fights like Gaston Douses lights like Gaston
BRAD: I speak very little French.
I know, "Je m'appelle Gaston."
"Je m'appelle Gaston." I know saucisse.
Sausage, right?
There's "saucisse," sausage, croissant, Gaston.
What else do you need, right?
- Hello, Belle. - DESIREE: Bonjour, Gaston.
Excuse me.
Gaston, may I have my book back please?
How can you read this?
There's no pictures.
Well some people like to use their imagination.
Belle, it's about time you got your head out of these books
and paid attention to more...
- important things. - Indeed.
- Brittany, you're back. You're back. - BEN: Yay.
(ALL APPLAUDING)
- Yeah, you feeling all right? - I'm feeling okay, yeah.
I still have a couple symptoms, but I'm very drugged and ready to party.
- Oh, damn. - (ALL LAUGHING)
Went to the hospital and they monitored me a for a while.
We don't know what caused the allergy attack.
That's the scariest part, actually.
So put your stuff down. Hang out. Can we just go back from your entrance?
BRITTANY: It was scary initially. It really was.
But when I was given my phone back, I immediately was, like,
texting the cast from the hospital like, "I'm totally fine."
I feel like it's mostly out of my system now.
I'm a little accident prone.
This is not the first time something like this has happened.
(SINGING "A LOVELY NIGHT")
The head crack was definitely worse and better because it was just like epic.
(THUD)
This one was just dumb. Allergies? Like... (SNORTS)
So how was this as a blast out of the past?
- It's been interesting. (SIGHS) - (JEFFREY LAUGHING)
I mean, I did not think they'd bring Kathy.
It's so awkward between me and her, man.
- Still? - Yeah.
I understand that relationship between you and her.
I know she didn't have a dad or a mom.
- She didn't have much of anything. - I know she didn't, man.
I mean, you all were like my family, so,
- I mean, it's like... - I know.
And that's what sucks so bad whenever...
you know, Kathy and I split, man,
- is I just... - JEFFREY: I'll bet.
I stopped talking to you. I stopped talking to everybody.
- Well, but you self-destructed though. - Dude, I loved her, man.
I know. I know.
The relationship I had with Zane is a rather complex one.
The end of his high school career was rough.
He got into a big, huge altercation that got him sent
to the alternative campus, so we lost him for the spring semester.
So he had to graduate separate.
That was just... it was just a rough, rough go around.
You know, that's one of things that I think you influenced me on,
is the way you showed us how to get past all that.
Do what you gotta do, and get it done, and then move on to the next step.
'Cause that's basically... My dad wasn't around.
- Uh-hmm. - I think it's something
that I learned from and I learned to base decisions of my life...
in high school that I wouldn't have known better.
I mean, I would just have been some stupid punk kid
if I played football the rest of the time and never did theater.
We spent so much time with you. I spent so much time with you then.
I mean, you were the father figure there for me, and...
to lose that after Kathy and I split, it was... it was rough.
But it's made me who I am and I'm...
in a really good spot. I love Kelly. I love my son.
Well, I'm proud of you. I think you've done great stuff.
(SIGHS, EXHALES)
Seeing Jeff again was pretty exciting.
Jeff was my emotional support at the school.
I haven't seen him in ten years, and it's been rough
'cause, like I said, he was a good inspiration for me.
He's what I wanted to model my life after.
You were there for me when people weren't.
- Always. - I know.
- ERIC: Hi, Susan. Hi. - Hi!
- Hi, Eric. - Hi. I'm Eric.
- Such a pleasure to meet you. - It's nice to meet you.
- So good to meet you. - Oh, my God.
- Thank you for coming here. - Oh, I'm so excited.
Guys, come down. Let's just sit in these two rows here.
Right in here.
Uh, I just want actually to bring in Susan Egan,
who was the very first Belle on Broadway.
(ALL APPLAUDING, CHEERING)
ERIC: Tony nominee Susan Egan.
- Hi, everybody. - You're so pretty!
(ALL LAUGHING)
You so need to go back and get new lenses.
- BRITTANY: No. - Thank you. I am...
- That's awesome. - ...beyond thrilled to be here.
I can't believe what you guys are undertaking.
- Crazy. Are you nervous? - A little.
- Yeah. Are you in denial? - Yes.
Susan Egan is everything.
DESIREE: (SINGING) Is this home
Is this where I should learn To be happy
Never dreamed
That a home could be dark and cold
The most difficult thing for me this week has been
having the emotion behind the lines.
Whenever there's a question in a lyric, don't sing a lyric, ask the question.
- Is this home? - Yeah.
And actually being Belle and making it real.
Is this home
Is this where I should learn to be
- Happy - (PIANO PLAYING)
Never dreamed that a home
Could be dark and cold
And here's where a strong female lead comes out.
Is this home
And breathe. That's your fuel.
Am I here for a day or forever
- Sing with me. Breathe. - (CLEARS THROAT)
BOTH: Shut away
- From the world until who knows when - From the world until who...
Light bulb! Oh, my God. "Oh, what..."
Yes! A realization.
As my life has been altered once
- It's what? - Changed again
Thank God. And now...
Build higher walls around me
Change every lock and key
Adamant.
- Nothing lasts - Nothing lasts
This is strength.
- Nothing holds all of me - Nothing holds all of me
She's found herself. She is not sad.
My hearts far...
- Where is it? - Is that?
- Far - Far away
Where? Where, where, where?
Home and
Free
(SONG ENDS)
This song has a happy ending.
- Not a sad... - Not a sad one.
- No. - Okay.
Can I bring up Brittany for just a sec?
Can we do a little Mrs. Potts work while Susan's in the room
'cause that would be amazing.
- She's my favorite character... - Come on.
- ...in the whole play. - BRITTANY: Really?
- Listen to her talk about Mrs. Potts. - I would love that.
All my entry lines are like, "Who wants tea? Who wants tea?"
- Yes. - And so I'm having a hard time
- making it unique and... Action. - Okay.
But what has just happened to her is grossly unfair.
- Yes. - And so don't you find
that sometimes people overcompensate when something's really bad?
- Yes. - So I'm gonna be falsely,
- really overly cheerful. - (LAUGHS)
- BRITTANY: That sounds awesome. - Okay?
- Yeah. So... - Let's try that.
- I identify with that. Okay. - SUSAN: Okay.
So I would say, um, come in loud, and strong, and fast.
All right.
Nothing like a nice spot of tea to make a day a little brighter.
Susan Egan is super cool.
You are the mother of everybody. You're the one who keep...
- Tell... this... - Cogsworth and Lumière,
- you have to be driving forward... - That feels good.
- ...because you drive the action... - Okay.
...almost all the time.
The one moment you get to sit and enjoy the work that you have created
- is when you sing "Beauty and the Beast." - Yeah.
Getting any notes and any attention from her
at all was just like, "This is magic."
- Uh-huh. That's it. - Ooh!
- JORDAN: You call those moves? - BRAD: I do call these moves.
JORDAN: You call those moves, Gaston?
Yes, sir. That's it.
Oh, okay. Bringing it.
JORDAN: That's the baby right there.
- That's the baby. - Check out one of these.
- Oh, that's hot, Brad. - Yeah. Thank you.
- Yes. That's the baby. - Thank you. Yeah, I appreciate that.
- Let's go. - Yeah.
(SINGING) Tie your napkin 'round your neck, cherie
And we provide the rest
(SINGING) Beauty and the Beast (VOCALIZES)
I know my all my lines, but I don't always know when they happen.
- ADAM: Okay. Cast, are you with me? - ZANE: Sure, for now.
ADAM: All right. We're going to start this play from the very top of the show.
- I need to be talking in a British accent. - DESIREE: The entire time.
- I know. - ADAM: If you're offstage,
please stop speaking.
BRITTANY: I'm gonna be Gaston and you just be...
ADAM: Brittany, that's you. (SHUSHES)
ADAM: Today is the wandelprobe, which is meant to be
all the music in the show with the action, with the dialogue.
WOMAN: Once upon a time, in a land far away...
We've never done these things,
even in a rehearsal room, with piano half the time.
As punishment, she transformed him into a hideous beast.
Let's hold please. I have no vocals in my monitor.
Well, that's a problem.
I have trouble hearing and seeing the cast.
I'm watching them on a tiny TV monitor right here
and I'm just hearing them out of a little speaker.
(SINGING) There goes the baker With his tray like always
And they're seeing me on a television monitor at the back of the theater.
(SINGING) Every morning just the same Since the morning that we came
- Ugh. Why does it sound off? - Adam. Adam.
- I can't hear the music. - At all.
So can they hear the music?
- I can't hear it. - ADAM: So we are literally
staging the show as the wandelprobe.
AMEENAH: Oh, my God. Oh, my God. They're dancing on top of the chair.
Move the chair! (CHUCKLES) Move the chair...
ADAM: I would call it a hot mess is what I would call it
if I had to come up with a name for it.
Yeah. Sort of... sort of...
ADAM: "Vocal-to-vocal stumble through disaster"
doesn't trip off the tongue as nicely as "wandelprobe."
Ma chère mademoiselle, it is with deepest pride
and greatest pleasure that I welcome you here tonight.
Now, let us pull up a chair as you relax and enjoy...
Or we won't pull up a chair, but whatever.
- I don't know what's gonna happen. - No, no, we don't need that.
- (SINGING) Be our guest... - ADAM: Hold.
ADAM: Hold, please.
Uh, Ben, you gotta wait. We got a little plink after that arpeggio.
This poor cast.
I mean, the amount of information they've had to absorb...
(SINGING) Be our guest
- Be our guest - Be our guest
- Put our service to the test - Put our service to the test
- Tie your... - Tie your napkin 'round your neck, cherie
And we'll provide the rest
Soup du jour Hot hors d'oeuvres
Why, we only live to serve
It's tough to watch something that you want it to be perfect
and it's never gonna be in less than a week.
(SINGING) It's a guest, it's a guest Sakes alive...
AMEENAH: And somehow Chip is now the star of the show...
- ERIC: I know. I know. - ...instead of Belle.
ERIC: Can't see Belle. (LAUGHS)
AMEENAH: I can't take it. I have to move them.
I'm gonna move you downstage.
- Move her. - (BRITTANY SINGS INDISTINCTLY)
Take your chair.
(SINGING) Clean it up! We want the company impressed
The way you overcome stress or nerves about a performance
is just to rehearse it so many times that you can do it in your sleep.
But this, we've never done it.
- (LAUGHS) - (FEEDBACK)
(LAUGHS)
But we're gonna do it anyway, and that's the power of theater.
ADAM: Was that right timing of all that?
- No... No. - ADAM: No? Okay. I wondered.
(LAUGHS) Oh.
ZANE: When she smiles at me, I get all choked up.
My heart starts pounding and I can't breathe.
- Good. Excellent. - That's good?
So go back to that one that you were on,
the "Something There" one.
(SINGING) No passion could reach me
ZANE: My goal for the performance today would be,
take this once in a lifetime opportunity and show people, especially my kid,
that you don't have to be what everybody expects you to be.
You can do whatever that you wanna do.
Follow your heart. Follow what makes you feel good inside.
In the original production that we did of Beauty and the Beast,
Gaston gives Belle a portrait of himself.
For you, Mademoiselle.
Oh, a miniature portrait...
of you, you shouldn't have.
You know, I had forgotten all about us giving this to Mr. Smith.
Kind of just as like a, "Hey, you know...
"thank you for being our theater director."
Yeah, I had no idea that he still had this.
I guess, um...
you know, you go through so much as you get older
and there have been times, you know, where you're like,
"These people probably don't remember me, you know, or they...
"if they did, they probably didn't think highly of me."
And, uh...
you know, like, uh...
uh, seeing this...
really makes you realize that's not the case.
They thought highly of you, and that you meant something to them.
I'm so glad this is a thing that's happening.
- (CHUCKLES) - Like... like who gets to do this?
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
The last time I did this, I was 16 years old,
and now I am 27.
I still feel like I have all the same energy there.
All the excitement behind it.
Have a good show. Kill it. Kill it. Super proud of all of you, guys.
- That's the baby. - Baby.
- That's the baby. - That's the baby.
AMEENAH: Enjoy. Enjoy yourselves.
The alumni definitely seem to have show-day energy.
They're nervous, they're bubbly, and, frankly, they're focused.
BRITTANY: This is the closest I can imagine to being pregnant.
They're going over lines. They're talking about blocking.
They're making sure they remember things.
- "And above all..." Beast says, "What?" - "What?"
ALL: "You must control your temper."
I kind of have like a Johnny Cash thing going on right now.
I'm trying to not...
Let's go out there
- and let's knock people's socks off. - I agree.
Before we open the house, I just want to say it's your show now.
Have a blast. Enjoy.
Eric, you're the best director we've had all week.
- Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. - (DESIREE LAUGHING)
- We're touching butts. - We are touching butts.
- It's like, "I don't know." - Well, I guess these are more like hips.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
(ORCHESTRAL MUSIC PLAYING)
(SINGING) Little town It's a quiet village
Every day like the one before
Little town, full of little people
Waking up to say
- Bonjour! - Bonjour!
There goes the baker with his tray Like always
The same old bread and rolls to sell
Every morning just the same Since the morning that we came
- To this poor provincial town - Good Morning, Belle!
My heart rate just went up so high, realizing that they're actually,
the show has already started. I'm not even ready.
Hello, Belle.
(SIGHS) Bonjour, Gaston.
Excuse me.
May I have my book back, please?
How can you read this?
- There's no pictures! - (AUDIENCE LAUGHS)
- (MAURICE SNEEZES) - LUMIÈRE: Oh, monsieur.
You are soaked to the bone.
Come, warm yourself by the fire.
COGSWORTH: Just make sure you do not put him in the master's chair.
(EXHALES)
- Oh, no, no, no. Look. - (AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
- Oh. - COGSWORTH: This is gone on far enough.
MRS. POTTS: Coming through.
How would you like a nice pot of tea, sir?
BEN:
I know someone's there. Who are you?
- The master of this castle. - Then you're the one responsible for this.
- (COUGHS) - Release, my father at once.
I do not take orders from anyone.
Get out.
(SINGING) My hearts far
Far away
Home and free
(SONG ENDS)
(AUDIENCE APPLAUDING)
Nothing like a nice warm pot of tea to make a day little bit brighter.
- But you're... - Mrs. Potts, dear.
- And who are you? - Madame Grande de La Bouche.
Well now, what should we dress you in for dinner?
- Let's see what I've got in my drawers. - (AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
(SINGING) No one's big like Gaston A king pin like Gaston
No one's got a swell cleft in his chin Like Gaston
As a specimen, yes, I'm intimidating
My what a guy...
- Thanks. - That was great.
Everybody's having a great time out there.
- Good. - I feel like...
They're just like laughing and smiling.
- Gaston! - Gaston!
- (EXCLAIMS) - Yeah.
(SONG ENDS)
(AUDIENCE CHEERING AND APPLAUDING)
If there's anything we can do to make your stay more comfortable,
- anything at all - Well, I am a little hungry.
(SINGING) Be our guest
Be our guest Put our service to the test
Tie your napkin around your neck, cherie
And we provide the rest
Soup du jour Hot hors d'oeuvres
Why we only live to serve
- Try the grey stuff - It's delicious
Whoa don't believe me, ask the dishes
- They can sing, they can dance - DISHES: Ah
After all, Miss, this is France
And the dinner here is never second best
Go on unfold your menu
Take a glance and then You'll be our guest
Oui, our guest, be our guest
It's a guest, it's a guest
Sakes alive Well I'll be blessed
While the cups do their soft-shoeing I'll be bubbling, I'll be brewing
I'll get warm
- (WHISPERING) Be our guest - Be our guest
- Be our guest
ALL: Course by course
One by one
Till you shout "Enough I'm done"
Then we'll sing you off
To sleep as you digest
Tonight you'll prop your feet up
But for now let's eat up
Be our guest
Please be our guest
(SONG ENDS)
COGSWORTH: Good show!
Good show, everyone!
You're the most beautiful person on Earth.
You Disney princess, you look so pretty.
- Don't cry. You have makeup on. - Okay.
(SINGING) No spirit could win me
No hope left within me
Let the world be done
With me
(SONG ENDS)
- Yes! - (AUDIENCE CHEERING)
DESIREE: I have to go.
- (WOMAN SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY) - Come on, come on, come on.
- I'm stuck. - She's stuck.
Go, go, go, go, go, go.
(SINGING) Tale as old as time
Song as old as rhyme
Beauty and the
Beast
(SONG ENDS)
(AUDIENCE APPLAUDING, CHEERING)
No.
Please, don't leave.
I love you.
(SINGING) Belle, look into my eyes
Belle, don't you recognize
The beast within the man Who's here before you?
It's really you!
(AUDIENCE CHEERING)
(LUMIÈRE LAUGHS)
- Mrs. Potts! (LAUGHS) - Oh! (LAUGHS)
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING, CHEERING)
Lumière, come here.
- (CHUCKLES) - COGSWORTH: Madame, you look marvelous!
- Oh! - Yes!
Certain as the sun
A-a-ay
Rising in the east
Tale as old as time
Song as old as rhyme
Beauty and the Beast
A-a-ay
(SONG ENDS)
(AUDIENCE CHEERING AND APPLAUDING)
I got applause.
I always sang "Beauty and the Beast" every night in high school,
hoping that I would get applause, never got applause.
So I'd be like... Beauty and the Beast
Off to the cupboard now with you, Chip.
You're gonna make me cry. I love you. I love you, I love you, I love you.
- I love you more. - These are beautiful.
It was fantastic.
- Yeah? - Yeah. Yeah.
Uh, I like the chemistry and everything.
- I freaked out. - It was amazing.
- No, it was fabulous. - Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- No. - Well...
We've been to all her practices when she was in high school
and all her performances.
And so to see her do something 12 years later and...
- (INDISTINCT CHATTER) - I'm getting emotional now.
I transformed from the Beast to being back to a dada and...
this is where my passion lies, man, my family and my son.
Believe it or not, it was fun.
I mean, it wasn't, up until the minute we performed.
I mean, it was.
It's amazing, you all coming together after all this time.
SHELBY: I feel very grateful to meet people from high school again.
To get to be onstage.
Like, I work in an office. This is not what I do.
I really do love it, and I've missed it.
And this made me realize that a lot. (GIGGLES)
Do I go home now? Do I just sleep and pretend this was just a big dream
and move forward? I don't know.
You were really good. So good.
It's reinvigorated my whole love of the stage. I love it.
It's very bittersweet that it's done because it's been a special week.
Being together, reconnecting with each other,
finding out who we are now, talking about who we were then.
And I don't wanna leave some of these guys.
It's kind of my family.
Oh, guess what? I didn't fall.
- ("BLEEDING LOVE" BY LEONA LEWIS PLAYING) - (KATHY SINGING)
(BRAD SINGING)
(JORDAN SINGING)
(BEN SINGING)
(ZANE SINGING)
(BRITTANY SINGING)
(SHELBY SINGING)
(DESIREE SINGING)
(CAST SINGING)
(SONG ENDS)