BOUNTIFUL — With a cast of 114, more than 200 costumes and a set that can be taken apart into little pieces, when Jeanne McGuire talks about directing her latest show, you might think she means some grand half-time Aerosmith performance with a throng of pompom-waving kids.
Actually, McGuire plays Cecil B. DeMille to students at Viewmont High School — the first high school in the state to put on the musical "Disney's Beauty and the Beast."
"We try to use a lot of kids in our shows," McGuire said. "Doing a show with 30 students would be fun, but this way we get to involve more kids. . . . It's also challenging using a lot of kids because it can't look like you just brought the choir and plopped them down on the stage."
Viewmont's production of "Disney's Beauty and the Beast," which runs March 3-12, is the second version to hit the state, following Pioneer Theatre Company's regional premiere of the show in December. Now that the rights to produce the musical can be had, high schools and theaters around the state are scrambling to add it to their upcoming seasons. (PTC is even contemplating bringing it back for next season because tickets sold out so quickly.)
Other shows, such as "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" and "Forever Plaid," have been successfully produced numerous times all over the state, and with "Beauty and the Beast's" name recognition, catchy music and family friendly fun, this show seems poised to join that pantheon of perennial local favorites.
For those who grew up on the Disney cartoon version, being a part of the production is a dream come true.
"It's exciting because this show is a big part of our childhoods," said Brian McKenna, a student who is helping build the sets.
Brian Gardner, who plays Gaston, agrees. "It's a timeless show. Every kid sees this movie so it's cool to be a part of it."
For Viewmont students, "Beauty and the Beast" marks the third year of putting on a "mega-musical," as they call it. Their first foray into the mega was "Les Miserables," which had a large cast and even a rotating stage. A year later it was "The Secret Garden" with 96 cast members.
What makes it work, McGuire said, is the parental and community involvement. "We have almost one parent helping per cast member involved. The parental help exploded with 'Les Miserables,' and it's been there ever since. We also get help from the school's metal shop . . . the ceramics department and from alumni who want to be a part of it."
One mother, Shelly Davis, has been working on Viewmont musicals for the past 12 years, with one child after another going through the program. "It's stimulating and inspiring to see our children get involved in something so artistic," Davis said. "There also is a real esprit de corps that develops between the kids and between the parents as well. People love this program and they want to support it."
Then, pointing to Shauna Robins — who was sitting in the midst of piles of fabric and coat hangers, hunched over a sewing machine — Davis added, "She put in 50-60 hours last week alone."
Robins, in fact, has one of the more daunting jobs, working as the head of costuming. Everyone in the 114-person cast has two costumes, one as a person and the other as an object, from cheese graters to napkins to one of almost anything to be found in the kitchen.
This means that when "Be Our Guest" rolls around there will be enough plates and utensils dancing around onstage to cover a Friday dinner rush at Chuck-A-Rama.
Robins, whose son Brad is playing the Beast, said she had never done anything like this before, having just worked on publicity for the past musicals. McGuire compares doing the costumes to trying to build an army of miniature floats for a parade.
"The most difficult things," said Robins, "are the round pieces and the unique parts that come with the costumes, like having to make a moving pendulum or dresser drawers that open and close."
On this day of dress rehearsals, Robins is pleased to see that what Mrs. Potts is rigging, so she can shoot steam out of her arm, seems to be working. And Lumiere's flames — colored papers that are blown by miniature fans — seem to be doing the trick as well.
Living out every little girl's princess dream by getting to don Belle's ornate yellow gown is senior Lindsay Woodward. After having not acted in a play since junior high, Woodward made the leap — actually more of a hop — from the pit orchestra where she played the piano to starring in the show onstage.
"I played in the pit orchestra for two years and watched the rehearsals, and wanted to do something new for a change so I tried out this year," Woodward said. "This is a dream role for me."
Even with kids running in and out looking for bits of their costumes, parents in the corners putting leaves on trees and the constant hum of drills and smacks of hammers ringing all around, McGuire seems surprisingly calm. With only a short time left, things are coming together, and McGuire and company have worked hard to turn this beast of a show into a beauty.
As for next year's musical, McGuire says she hasn't decided yet but will keep an eye out to see if anything exciting from Broadway is opened up for local theater groups to perform. One imagines that she hopes Andrew Lloyd Webber will finally open up "Phantom of the Opera" to the masses, just so she can get a shot at staging a masquerade ball to end all masquerade balls . . . and, of course, the mother of all falling chandeliers.
If you go
What: "Disney's Beauty and the Beast"
Where: Viewmont High School, Bountiful
When: Through March 12
How much: $8 for adults, $5 for students (4 and older)
Phone: 402-4200
E-mail: p_thunell@hotmail.com