Scoil Muire agus Padraig

Disney comes to Scoil Muire agus Padraig Swinford.
Since its opening in 1906 Scoil Muire agus Padraig Swinford has had a long tradition of staging drama and musicals ranging from Gilbert & Sullivan Operettas through Stage Musicals like Seven Brides for Seven Brothers & Screen Musicals like Joseph and finally the original High School Musical Grease, the most recent school performance in 2008. This school year students of Scoil Muire agus Padraig present the Disney classic tale Beauty and the Beast on three nights Wednesday 30th November, Thursday 1st December & Friday 2nd December at 8pm in the School Gym.
A word from the Musical Director Ms Costello: "We chose this musical as it is such a bright & colourful one. It has something to offer to all age groups and provides a welcome contrast to the doom & gloom around at present. We're so lucky in Scoil Muire & Padraig to have such a dedicated and enthusiastic group of students who have totally embraced this Disney classic and are singing & dancing through the corridors with a new-found joie de vivre! We hope that audiences will return home with a real feel-good feeling".

Ms Vivienne Moran (Producer & Choreographer): Ms Moran a native of Boyle has been involved in many musical productions both in schools & with various musical societies in the region. She also directed the most recent musical in Scoil Muire agus Padraig- Grease. She says it has been a delight work with such a talented and dedicated group of students on this production.

Storyline of Beauty and the Beast.
The story of the fairy-tale Beauty and the Beast begins in time-honoured Disney fashion! Once upon a time in a faraway land a cold unfeeling Prince was turned into a hideous Beast by an Enchantress because he could not love. To break the spell the Beast must learn to love another and earn her love in return before the last petal falls from an enchanted rose which would bloom until his twenty first birthday. But who could ever learn to love a Beast?
Ten years later Maurice, an inventor from a nearby village, becomes lost in the woods and seeks shelter in the Beast's castle. The Beast imprisons him for trespassing. Maurice's beautiful daughter Belle who dreams of life outside her provincial village finds her father trapped in the castle and offers to take his place. The Beast accepts with a promise she'll remain in the castle forever. In the beginning Belle sees the Beast as nothing more than a monster and he sees her as difficult. Meanwhile the Enchanted servants coach the Beast on how to act like a gentleman and prepare a feast for the pair (Be our Guest). Belle's unwelcome admirer Gaston & his sidekick Lefou do all in their power to prevent the course of true love from running smoothly but after many twists and turns in the plot Belle proclaims her love for the Beast. The spell is broken before the last petal falls from the rose - the Beast transforms back into the Prince, the Servants become human again and they all lived happily ever after in true fairy-tale style.!
A final word from the Principal Mrs Quinn: "The production of a school musical always presents us with an opportunity to showcase the gifts & talents of both the student body and the teaching staff. The musical inevitably involves a lot of hard work on behalf of all involved in its production but it also epitomises all that is best in what we do in Scoil Muire agus Padraig".