After nearly two years in the making, the Palace Theater Youth Program is ready to open “Beauty and the Beast” with a sold-out weekend beginning tonight.
In 2020, about 100 students were ready to perform “Beauty and the Beast” in front of live audiences until COVID-19 postponed everything indefinitely.
Opening day landed on Friday, March 27, 2020, the first weekend of the coronavirus stay-at-home order.
“I don’t know how many productions have been shut down a week prior to opening. It was traumatic honestly,” said lead actor Charles Bankhead Haines. “We were sad during that last rehearsal because we didn’t know when we would see each other again.”
Now, almost 16 months later, most of the cast and crew have returned and have been rehearsing at the Palace to finally showcase the beloved musical.
Kyra Gomes returned to Hilo after her first year of college to resume playing the titular role of “Belle.”
“I was a senior in high school when I was first cast as Belle and all of my senior year events, like prom and graduation, were cancelled along with the play,” Gomes said. “It was hard to deal with, but I think the feeling of longing and isolation that the pandemic has brought on just adds more to the story.”
Many of the lead actors took the time away from rehearsals to study their characters, work on their singing abilities and dive into the story.
“The way this show exists now, it’s so big and so good,” Haines said. “Having this much time to sit with our characters is unprecedented, and we’ve been able to develop them in a way we would not have been able to do last year.”
Haines is playing “Beast” opposite of Gomes and is looking forward to the moment the cast and crew get to share the long-awaited musical with audiences.
“For me, when the curtain rises and the lights come on, that makes me feel more at home, more myself, more alive and happier than I do anywhere else,” Haines said. “I’ll probably cry opening night, because we all know what we’ve been through. To share this performance will be amazing.”
“I’m definitely excited to finally perform,” Gomes echoed. “I have such a great support system behind me and it’s my first performance coming back from college. I’m happy all our hard work will get to pay off.”
The musical will serve as the first production for the Palace’s newly created Youth Theater Program.
The program was conceived by Larry Reitzer, “Beauty and the Beast” producer and director, to increase performance and behind-the-scenes opportunities for the community of young, theater-loving adolescents in Hilo.
Reitzer plans to keep the program going and produce a Palace Youth Musical every spring.
“Beauty and the Beast” will run for three weekends beginning Friday, with show times starting at 7 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and 2:30 p.m. on Sundays until closing on August 1.
Tickets and more information on show times can be found on the Palace’s website at https://hilopalace.com/.
Email Kelsey Walling at kwalling@hawaii tribune-herald.com