A current OU student and an OU alumna helped kick off Lyric Theatre's summer season with "Disney's Beauty and the Beast."
Joie Sherman, musical theater junior, and Tara Brown, who graduated from OU in May with a degree in musical theater, performed in the ensemble of "Disney's Beauty and the Beast" from June 27 through Saturday.
Sherman said this was her first time to work for a theater company in Oklahoma. She performed with the ensemble as an enchanted sugar bowl and was the understudy for the role of Babette, the feather duster.
Brown said this musical was her first professional production. Brown performed in the ensemble as a villager and as an enchanted coffee creamer.
Auditions were held for the whole season the first weekend of March, said Amy Russo, public relations and marketing director for the Oklahoma City-based Lyric Theatre.
"There is a strong representation from OU at auditions," Russo said.
"They were pretty intense," Sherman said. She said it was an exciting two-day event.
The first day of auditions consisted of singing one or two songs for the directors, Sherman said. The next day consisted of callbacks for dancing and readings for roles.
Brown and Sherman were cast in the ensemble for "Beauty and the Beast" and for the upcoming production "Fiddler on the Roof."
"It's been a blast," Brown said.
Brown said her favorite part of the experience was the chance to meet new people. She said that at OU, it is a "small circle," but at the Lyric Theatre, she meets people from all over.
Sherman said she also enjoyed meeting new people and getting to work with professional actors.
"It is inspiring for a young actress to hear their stories," Sherman said.
The musical number "Be Our Guest" was both of the actresses' favorite part of the production.
"The audience really got into it," Brown said.
Russo said a total of 12,287 people came to see Lyric Theatre's production of "Disney's Beauty and the Beast" during its run.
Lyric Theatre's production of "Fiddler on the Roof" will be at the Oklahoma City Civic Center July 11 though July 15. Tickets are on sale now.
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