Franklin Classical School students will take the stage in the school’s production of Beauty and the Beast on March 26, 27, and 28 at the Generations Auditorium at 408 Church Street in historic downtown Franklin.
Evening shows are slated for March 26 and 27 at 6:30 p.m., with a noon show added on Saturday, March 28 due to high demand. Advance tickets may be purchased online at our.show/fcsbeautyandthebeast, at a cost of $9.50 for adults, $6.50 for non-FCS students, and only $1.50 for children under 5 and FCS students and faculty. Tickets will be available at the door for $10, $7, and $2, however, seating is limited.
Though the original Beauty and the Beast is a French fairy tale first published in 1740, the story is most well known as one of Disney’s most popular animated films. In 1994, the Disney story premiered on Broadway, entertaining audiences with the love story of a handsome prince cursed to live as a fearsome beast until his true love can see beyond his fierceness to his sensitive soul. Aided by enchanted servants, the Beast wins over Belle, a bookish young woman who must fight off the advances of boorish Gaston, the real beast of the tale. Beauty and the Beast features music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice, and book by Linda Woolverton. The Franklin Classical production of Beauty and the Beast features senior Molly Smith as book-loving Belle, senior TC Harlow as the kind Beast, and senior Josh Austin as the boastful Gaston.
Smith (Belle) has graced the FCS stage in numerous roles, including Newsies, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and as Juliet in the 2019 fall production of Romeo and Juliet. In addition to participating on the FCS debate team, her Destination Imagination team won third place in the Service Learning Challenge at 2019 Global Finals. A talented vocalist, pianist, and artist, Molly Smith is planning to study the classics in college this fall.
TC Harlow (Beast) most recently trod the boards at FCS in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, as well as in Newsies. He has served as captain of the football and soccer teams at FCS, and was chosen an MVP for soccer. Named an Academic All-American by the National Athletic Association of Private Schools in 2019, Harlow plans to attend the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, to participate in ROTC and study nursing.
In addition to playing Jack Kelly in Newsies on stage at FCS last spring, Josh Austin (Gaston) was chosen as the 2019 Class 1A Defensive Player of the Year by the United States High School Football Association, and the Overall MVP for the 2019 Chick-fil-A Extreme All-Star Game. Also an NAAPS Academic All-American, and with several years of graphic design experience already in hand, Austin plans to study business and marketing at Lipscomb University in the fall.
The FCS cast is rounded out by Lower and Upper Division drama students at Franklin Classical School, who take the stage in such beloved songs as “Be Our Guest” and “Human Again” as they tell Disney’s “tale as old as time.”
“We have an amazing cast of 39 students from 7 th through 12 th grades, and I’m extremely proud of their hard work and dedication, as well as their support for one another,” says Franklin Classical School drama teacher Melissa Austin, who starred as Cosette on Broadway in Les Miserables. “We hope our audiences enjoy our performances of Beauty and the Beast as much as we will enjoy presenting this beautiful story.”
Franklin Classical School is a K-12 Christian classical school, located in historic downtown Franklin at 408 Church Street. For more information, contact FCS at 615-528-3777 or visit FranklinClassical.com.
