On Sunday night, more than 150 students starred in the 24-Hour Musical, possibly the most hyped-up and talked-about theater event of the year. A musical produced within the span of 24 hours is an annual Brandeis tradition. Every year, the musical to be performed is kept secret until the 24-hour rehearsal period starts. This year, the musical that was released to the Brandeis community-and to the actors at 8 p.m. the night before the show-was Beauty and the Beast: Tale as Old as Torah to be directed by Jason Dick '14, Melanie Pollock '14 and Katie Doody '14.

As one might expect, the 24-Hour Musical productions are not exactly polished. The performances are understandably full of comedic mishaps due to the short span of time the actors have to prepare. However, the fact that the musicals are rough around the edges is what makes the 24-Hour Musical all the more enjoyable. The audience is encouraged to laugh right along with the actors.

Even though the show was not perfect; it was amazing that such a coherent performance was accomplished in 24 hours. In Sunday night's performance, the actors made their characters come to life. It was also hard to imagine musical numbers could be prepared in such a short amount of time, but nevertheless, the actors put on numerous lively and extravagant numbers, many of which looked as though they had been prepared for months. 

The show started off with some technical difficulties. In the first two scenes, the microphones were not working, but halfway through the third scene, to everyone's relief, the problem was fixed and the actors became audible. Quickly and effectively fixing fumbles proved to be a theme throughout the night. There were entrances missed, lines lost and on-stage collisions, but the actors recovered from all these mishaps beautifully. Actors would improvise lines, wait out awkward silences in order to get back on track or help each other out with cues. At one point, Margot Grubert '17, playing Belle, sang a line three times to get back on cue. The crowd clapped loudly as she once again became in sync with the music.
One of the highlights of the night-and there were many-was in the opening scene when the narrator and rabbi, Jason Kasman '16, told the backstory to the musical: the tale of how a young prince turned into a beast. In the scene, the young prince, Ricky Rosen '14, refuses an unattractive woman in a cloak who subsequently puts a spell on him to transform the man into a beast. Once the woman completed the spell, she pulled off her cloak only to reveal the actor: Senior Vice President for Students and Enrollment Andrew Flagel. The crowd went wild. 

Some of my favorite musical numbers were "Be Our Guest," which included nearly the whole cast, "Gaston" sung by Gaston, played by Levi Squier '14, Lefou and the villagers, and "Beauty and the Beast" sung by Mrs. Potts, played by Miriam Goldman '15. "Be Our Guest" was one of the largest musical numbers and was amazingly executed. The choreography, which included high kicks, was almost in sync, an amazing feat considering there must have been more than 70 people on stage, all in large and bulky costumes. "Gaston" was near-perfect and Bethany Adam '15, playing Lefou, Gaston's extremely awkward and subservient sidekick, barely used her script once during her sizeable solo. In "Beauty and the Beast," Goldman beautifully sang a heartwarming, melodic refrain as Belle and the Beast shared an intimate moment at dinner. 

The Jewish spin on the annual musical is a Brandeis tradition; last year's performance was The Little Mermaideleh and the year before, The Wedding Tzinger. This year, the theme of Jewish culture was definitely not overlooked; throughout the show, there were copious references to both the culture and tradition. Lumier?(c), played by Chris D'Agostino '17, was represented in the shape of a menorah instead of the conventional candelabra. Belle makes her father a kippah and at one point, Cogsworth, played by Ian Carroll '15 suggests that Belle's rations for the night should be some water and a little challah. 

I have to give my most sincere compliments to all the actors. They accomplished a seemingly impossible task-a play in a day. I sometimes forgot that these actors had slept little in the last day because they were so animated and involved in their roles. After the finale, "Be Our Guest," a number which included the whole cast, the audience gave a standing ovation.