Beauty and the Beast
On Tuesday, November 1st, I was very privileged to be able to attend the touring Broadway production of Beauty and The Beast. Ever since I had heard about this event back in my June orientation visit, I was super excited to see this show. I had been waiting forever for it! The entire Emens Auditorium was packed with hundreds and hundreds of people waiting to see this spectacular show. As far as I could see, every seat in the auditorium was occupied. The stage was beautiful decorated for the start of the show, with a shimmering rose as the main focus for all to see. Just a few minutes after eight, the show was just about to start. The anxious murmur of the crowd quickly died down and waited for the wonderful show to begin.
The opening scene followed the storyline of the movie, showing the mean prince refusing to let an old beggar woman stay the night in his castle. The set and transitions were absolutely flawless. Every single costume worn by the performers were intricately designed and just looked amazing. Honestly, the entire show was just breathtaking! I could watch it over and over again and probably never get sick of it. It was just SO GOOD, as Lauren Hunt describes it. I was very surprised by the way Emily Behny played the part of Belle. She was pretty much spot on in her portrayal. As a recent graduate of Ball State University, she definitely made her school very proud! Her voice has got to be one of the greatest set of pipes I have ever heard in my entire life. I wish I could sing that well! Even though Emily portrayed Belle very well, I feel like the show was completely stolen by Logan Denninghoff, who played the character of Gaston. I swear that this character just stepped right out of the movie and played the part. He played it exactly how it is played in the movie and he was hilarious the entire time. The best song sung in the show, in my opinion, was Be Our Guest. The dance numbers associated with this song were amazing. It was so well put together and it turned out to be my absolutely favorite part of the show.
Overall, I was very impressed with the entire production of Beauty and the Beast. I will even admit that I started to tear up during the curtain call, because it was just so fabulous. I am really glad that I was given the chance to see this show. The comedy elements that were worked in to various scenes of the production were very creative. The way Gaston would in a way “beat up” Lefou made the entire audience laugh every time. Andrew Kruep, who plays the character of Lefou, had one of the greatest acting styles that I have seen. He is a very excellent comedic actor.
Seeing this show really made me miss my theatre days. I have been involved in theatre productions since elementary school, and it is one of my greatest passions. I absolutely adore going to see various plays and musicals because I love the entire atmosphere of a production. One of my most favorite places in the world is on stage, and I am very sad that I am not able to be apart of theatre here at Ball State. I always found great joy being up on stage and getting to play a character completely unlike myself. Like I said, Beauty and the Beast really brought me to this realization point, and I hope that maybe I can somehow be involved in more theatre productions later in my life.
Jeannette Walls
On Wednesday night, September 21, I decided to attend the speech in Emens Auditorium given by the author of The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls, with a few of my friends from my dorm. We were all very interested in seeing her talk about her book, seeing as every one of us enjoyed reading the story of her fascinating childhood. After crowding into the packed auditorium to find seats, the atmosphere was very exciting and everyone was ready to meet this award winning author. Jeannette Walls came out to a thunderous applause after being announced by a woman. To my surprise, the author kept cracking jokes about different events in the book. She made us laugh, as well as herself. The most memorable quote of the night was when she was explaining her mother’s reaction to the book after reading it. She said that her mother did not mind anything in the book whatsoever, but disliked how Jeannette described her driving. Her mother told her to tell the truth about her childhood and not to be ashamed when people wanted to know about it. I found this to be very insightful and fascinating. I know that my mother would not appreciate me spilling every single detail of my life if I had grown up in such hardships, or at least, would not handle it as well as Jeannette's mother had.
Speaking of hardships, reading Jeannette’s book and then hearing her speak made me realize just how lucky I was growing up. Now, every child has times where they theoretically “hate” their family and wish that they could have had that one toy they did not receive for Christmas. But Jeannette barely ever grew up with personal possessions. Her prized possession was a small geode that she had collected, and she ended up losing it. Having her family move all over the country all the time never allowed her make lifelong friends or keep anything that she loved dearly. It just made me realize how lucky I was growing up. Especially since I always had food to eat. Whether I wanted to eat it or not did not matter, at least I had it. Overall, Jeannette was a very inspirational speaker. She noted many times that no matter where you come from, what your background is, or what your parents were like, you can succeed if you really set your mind to it. She used herself as the main example. Her success and current life is the perfect proof that no matter what, things can work out for you. If you work hard enough and strive for excellence, anything in the world is possible for you. No obstacle is impossible to overcome.
I was very happy with my decision to go to this speech by this amazing woman. It was not at all boring like I had expected it to be. She was a wonderful speaker that kept us awake and paying attention. And to be honest, seeing her in person, in a way, made her story more real to me. I mean, I know that the story already is real, but just seeing the actual person that went through all of those hardships made it come alive for me. Her story really is an incredible one. I could not even imagine going through everything that she told us about in her book. That kind of childhood seems as if it would scare a person as they grow up and try to distance themselves from the memories. But Jeannette ended up embracing her past and sharing the story with millions of people. This story is one that many people would be ashamed to even mention in a conversation with someone they trust. I look up to Jeannette Walls because she is such an inspiration to everyone.
Cultural Events
Beauty and the BeastOn Tuesday, November 1st, I was very privileged to be able to attend the touring Broadway production of Beauty and The Beast. Ever since I had heard about this event back in my June orientation visit, I was super excited to see this show. I had been waiting forever for it! The entire Emens Auditorium was packed with hundreds and hundreds of people waiting to see this spectacular show. As far as I could see, every seat in the auditorium was occupied. The stage was beautiful decorated for the start of the show, with a shimmering rose as the main focus for all to see. Just a few minutes after eight, the show was just about to start. The anxious murmur of the crowd quickly died down and waited for the wonderful show to begin.
The opening scene followed the storyline of the movie, showing the mean prince refusing to let an old beggar woman stay the night in his castle. The set and transitions were absolutely flawless. Every single costume worn by the performers were intricately designed and just looked amazing. Honestly, the entire show was just breathtaking! I could watch it over and over again and probably never get sick of it. It was just SO GOOD, as Lauren Hunt describes it. I was very surprised by the way Emily Behny played the part of Belle. She was pretty much spot on in her portrayal. As a recent graduate of Ball State University, she definitely made her school very proud! Her voice has got to be one of the greatest set of pipes I have ever heard in my entire life. I wish I could sing that well! Even though Emily portrayed Belle very well, I feel like the show was completely stolen by Logan Denninghoff, who played the character of Gaston. I swear that this character just stepped right out of the movie and played the part. He played it exactly how it is played in the movie and he was hilarious the entire time. The best song sung in the show, in my opinion, was Be Our Guest. The dance numbers associated with this song were amazing. It was so well put together and it turned out to be my absolutely favorite part of the show.
Overall, I was very impressed with the entire production of Beauty and the Beast. I will even admit that I started to tear up during the curtain call, because it was just so fabulous. I am really glad that I was given the chance to see this show. The comedy elements that were worked in to various scenes of the production were very creative. The way Gaston would in a way “beat up” Lefou made the entire audience laugh every time. Andrew Kruep, who plays the character of Lefou, had one of the greatest acting styles that I have seen. He is a very excellent comedic actor.
Seeing this show really made me miss my theatre days. I have been involved in theatre productions since elementary school, and it is one of my greatest passions. I absolutely adore going to see various plays and musicals because I love the entire atmosphere of a production. One of my most favorite places in the world is on stage, and I am very sad that I am not able to be apart of theatre here at Ball State. I always found great joy being up on stage and getting to play a character completely unlike myself. Like I said, Beauty and the Beast really brought me to this realization point, and I hope that maybe I can somehow be involved in more theatre productions later in my life.
Jeannette Walls
On Wednesday night, September 21, I decided to attend the speech in Emens Auditorium given by the author of The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls, with a few of my friends from my dorm. We were all very interested in seeing her talk about her book, seeing as every one of us enjoyed reading the story of her fascinating childhood. After crowding into the packed auditorium to find seats, the atmosphere was very exciting and everyone was ready to meet this award winning author. Jeannette Walls came out to a thunderous applause after being announced by a woman. To my surprise, the author kept cracking jokes about different events in the book. She made us laugh, as well as herself. The most memorable quote of the night was when she was explaining her mother’s reaction to the book after reading it. She said that her mother did not mind anything in the book whatsoever, but disliked how Jeannette described her driving. Her mother told her to tell the truth about her childhood and not to be ashamed when people wanted to know about it. I found this to be very insightful and fascinating. I know that my mother would not appreciate me spilling every single detail of my life if I had grown up in such hardships, or at least, would not handle it as well as Jeannette's mother had.
Speaking of hardships, reading Jeannette’s book and then hearing her speak made me realize just how lucky I was growing up. Now, every child has times where they theoretically “hate” their family and wish that they could have had that one toy they did not receive for Christmas. But Jeannette barely ever grew up with personal possessions. Her prized possession was a small geode that she had collected, and she ended up losing it. Having her family move all over the country all the time never allowed her make lifelong friends or keep anything that she loved dearly. It just made me realize how lucky I was growing up. Especially since I always had food to eat. Whether I wanted to eat it or not did not matter, at least I had it. Overall, Jeannette was a very inspirational speaker. She noted many times that no matter where you come from, what your background is, or what your parents were like, you can succeed if you really set your mind to it. She used herself as the main example. Her success and current life is the perfect proof that no matter what, things can work out for you. If you work hard enough and strive for excellence, anything in the world is possible for you. No obstacle is impossible to overcome.
I was very happy with my decision to go to this speech by this amazing woman. It was not at all boring like I had expected it to be. She was a wonderful speaker that kept us awake and paying attention. And to be honest, seeing her in person, in a way, made her story more real to me. I mean, I know that the story already is real, but just seeing the actual person that went through all of those hardships made it come alive for me. Her story really is an incredible one. I could not even imagine going through everything that she told us about in her book. That kind of childhood seems as if it would scare a person as they grow up and try to distance themselves from the memories. But Jeannette ended up embracing her past and sharing the story with millions of people. This story is one that many people would be ashamed to even mention in a conversation with someone they trust. I look up to Jeannette Walls because she is such an inspiration to everyone.