a tale that surpasses time

Liberty University Acquires Rightsto the Fall'sMost Popular Show

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It was a movie most .students could remember from their childhood Singing dishes an d talking candlp.stir-ks brought the magical world of mak e believe to life through Disney's t portrayal of "Beauty and the Beast."

Liberty University brought that same magic and excitement to life with the national collegiate debut of "Beauty and the Beast." It was a performance enjoyed by both young and old Th e audience was captivated as the characters lit up the stage with their playful banter and enchanting storyline Th e show's musical numbers included favorites such as "Be Our Guest" and "Tale as Old as Time". Th e show was filled with triple threat actors that could act, sing and dance

"Beauty and the Beast" was the longest running play in the Liberty University Theater's history. Liberty was the first college to acquire rights to produce the play All the costumes had to be specially mad e by a company from Oregon With all but one performance being completely sold out, the production proved to be a favorite amon g the campus and local community

A successful show did not com e without sacrifice. Th e cast endured a grueling practice schedule, meeting six days a week for a month to learn lines and dance routines, while the stage crew worked day and night designing sets, creating costumes and perfecting the sound quality and lighting.

Kerrianne Rice wh o played Babette, had an extra task put before her as she tried to master a French accent. "It was difficult to learn the French accent so I rented an old French movie called "GiGi" and watched it over and over again until I mastered it," Rice said Despite all the work and time required of everyone involved, the cast kept a great attitude. "It got really stressfu trying to figure out ho w things were going to com e together. But eventually I realized that this isn't a stressful thing; I ge to com e dress up and play onstage with som e of m y friends," said Joi Bowling, wh o played Mrs. Potts.

Audiences young and old cam e from campus, the Lynchburg community and even from out of state to be captivated by a timeless tale as Liberty University unveiled the magic of "Beauty and the Beast." DBgBeikaCmid

Students performing as townspeople sing together during the opening number of the show Cast members stayed after allof the performances sothat younger audience members had the opportunity to meet their favoritecharacters

-Photo by Deanna Wall

Aaron Bennett and Kerrianne Rice,playing characters Lum iere andBabbette,take center stage during Act1 Lu was arguably the audi favorite character beca| hisover the top mannerisms

-Photo by Deanna Wall

Jen McCarron sings with passion andenthusiasm during the infamous song"Be Our Guest." Inaddition to the songs from the Disney movie, the musical also included songs written specifically for the musical. Photo byDeanna Wall

Students excitedly pose with Jars of Clay band member Matt Odmark after the concert Theband proved tobeahuge hit among students andprospective students with 2000 attending the concert -Photo by Meggan Moran

Liberty Opens itsDoors to Visiting High School Students

Iwing October, November, February and April, a surplus of high schoo students from around the country gathered on the campus of Libert; University to participate in one of the school's largest recruiting tools College foraWeekend (CFAW).

Liberty students accepted the fact that,for two long weekends (Thursday througl Sunday) during both semesters, theirrooms would be more crowded than usual,the Vine Centerwould be filledtocapacity and theReber-Thomas Dining Hallwould be overflowinj withstudents.

"I thinkCFAW is fun," saidSophomore Lauren Campbell."I don'tmind how crowde thecampus can get, and ifwe hostweekenders inour dorm thenwe getfreestuff!"

Although some Liberty studentssupported and even enjoyed College ForA Weekend other studentsthought theidea ofCFAW needed some altering

"Liberty's campus is already crowded enough," said Sophomore Tim Griffen "I doesn't help the situationwhen you bring hundreds ofhigh school students intothemix."

Regardless of Liberty students' opinions,CFAW continued to play a large role in prospective student'sdecision tocome toLiberty.

"Icame forCollege foraWeekend inthe Fallofmy senioryear inhigh school and loved it,"said Freshman Jonathan Brummel."Icould see thatthiscampus truly had a hear forthe Lord and I knew thatifI came toLiberty forcollege thatit would be exactly like experience atCFAW was,but all yearround."

Weekender Stuart Smith, a senior in high school from Florida, wa: thrilledwith theambiance ofLiberty'scampus.

"As soon asI stepped footontoLiberty'scampus and saw all the peop therewho have the same beliefsasme,and are so much likeme,Iknev thatLiberty was theplace forme,"said Smith.

Activities during the CFAW weekend of Octobe included going to Scaremare, a late skate a Funquest, two hockey games inRoanoke,aJars o Clay concert in the Vines Center and the theatre production of"Beauty and theBeast."

"The most amazing partofCFAW forme wasthi Jars ofClay concert," said high school Senior am Virginia resident Jessica Whiddon. "I have lovet JarsofClay ever since Istarted listening to music Iloved being inaroom thatwas packed with othe people my age who love Jesus just as much as do."

Whether itwas the concerts,the activities or tb atmosphere thatdrew them,prospective students founi out what itwas like to be a Liberty student. Student continued to host high school visitors in their aiding inthe fulfillment ofthe Chancellor's goal tose 25,000residentialstudentson campus inhis lifetime