Exeter Arts this Weekend: Love and Lots More

February 16, 2012

It's love this weekend with the student production of Beauty and the Beast, a fitting end to a week that started with Valentine's Day. Belle and the Beast discover love the hard way, with help from a host of characters – Lumiere, Cogsworth and Madame de la Grande Bouche, to name a few. Directed by Rob Richards of the Theater and Dance Department, the musical boasts a 55-strong student cast and crew, with great costumes, sets, and instrumental music played by Exeter faculty.

"I couldn't help but tell this cast and crew that I love them," writes Richards in the show's Director's Notes. "You will soon discover some of the many reasons why. What you won't see is how hard they have worked, how much dedication, patience, goodwill and resolve they have put into this production . . . It was something of a beast, but one well worth embracing. Beauty always comes through. Thank you for your faith in a very meaningful fairy tale."

Beauty and the Beast runs Friday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at 2:00 p.m. and Sunday at 1:00 p.m. All seats are currently reserved. If you want to try your luck, come to the theater in person a half hour before curtain time to put your name on the wait list. Tickets that are not picked up will be given out prior to curtain.

The Concerto Competition takes place on Sunday from 10 a.m.- noon. Don't miss this annual event in which student instrumentalists perform a concerto movement for a jury of professional artists. The winners perform their piece with the Symphony Orchestra in the Spring Concert in May.

Art lovers can check out the exhibit at Lamont Gallery, "Into the Wood: Antonio Frasconi's Art for Children," which closes on February 22. It's an incredibly vibrant show that speaks to the child in all of us.

And it's not all arts.

Exeter Social Service Organization (ESSO) is in high gear this weekend with a visit to the Cor Unum Meal Center in Lawrence, MA on Saturday. On Sunday, ESSO hosts Kids Karnival, Big Sib Little Sib, and kids' sports lessons.

You can cheer on BIG RED on Saturday with important home matchups for boys and girls hockey, and boys basketball.

The Sustainability Film Series shows Fresh on Friday night at 7:00 p.m.

Student Activities hosts a leadership workshop for students led by Mike Weber on Saturday at 10 a.m.

And for sheer fun, Students of Caribbean Ancestry hold their regional dance on Saturday at 8:30 p.m.

— Nicole Pellaton