Summer Players to Present A Tale as Old as Time

Director Hisa Takakuwa and Musical Director Erin McNally prepare for Beauty and the Beast auditions.

Auditions are now underway for SCR’s next Summer Players show (August 6-14), and it’s a doozy. After much consideration, Director Hisa Takakuwa and Musical Director Erin McNally have chosen the two-time Broadway hit based on an ancient fairy tale, Beauty and the Beast.


According to Hisa, “We’re doing this show because Erin loves it!”


And that’s certainly true. “I always have identified with this show because the female protagonist is strong and smart,” Erin said, “and because it reminds us that being unique or ‘different’ isn’t a bad thing.”


Hisa is a big fan, too. “Beauty and the Beast has great characters and music to explore,” she said, “which makes it perfect for our Players. Because of the fantasy realm, we have a lot of flexibility with casting choices in terms of age and gender.”


Both agree that it’s a show that’s fun for the Players to perform and for the audience to watch. “ It’s very important that the story resonates with our young cast members and can be told from their point of view,” Hisa added. “One thing that helped convince me was that Beauty and the Beast deals with the power everyone has to change and grow and learn from every situation, good or—at least on first view—bad.”


The New York Times said of the Broadway version of Beauty and the Beast (which is the one Hisa and Erin have chosen) that it “belongs right up there with the Empire State Building.”



“And we agree!” the directors declared.