<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
<META content="MSHTML 6.00.6001.18542" name=GENERATOR>
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=#ffffff>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Students at the Ballston Spa Middle School are all
abuzz over this year's Launching Pad Productions performance of Disney's Beauty
and the Beast which opens on Friday, January 28th at the Ballston Spa High
School Auditorium.<SPAN
style="mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><?xml:namespace prefix = o ns
= "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></SPAN>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Eighth
Grader, Mark Camilli will play the role of the Beast, opposite Chloe Yettru, a
seventh grader who has been casted as Belle. While this is Yettru's
first performance on stage with Launching Pad, you may remember Camilli from his
roles as the Tinman in <EM><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">The
Wizard of Oz</SPAN></EM> and Mr. Bumble in last year's production of <EM><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Oliver!</SPAN></EM> Gaston will
be played by eighth grader Brian Cecala who for the last two years has been
an ensemble character, and has earned his spot as one of the leads. Lucas
Johnson who played a munchkin in <EM><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">The Wizard Oz</SPAN></EM> and the
title character in <EM><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Oliver!</SPAN></EM> last
year, will be playing Gaston's sidekick, Lefou. Other students
involved in the play include Emily Venturiello (Mrs. Potts), Ally Speshock
(Chip), Lauren Bell (Babette), Scott Brown (Cogsworth), Matt Charette (Lumiere),
and Greg Pelletier (Maurice, Belle's father). The show features over 60
students in the cast and has a crew to help put the show together of another 60
middle school students.</SPAN><SPAN
style="mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">The
production is produced by Joe Shaver who is also a co-director with Matt Lopez.
Assistant Director Gina Valenti, Tech Director Crispin
Catricala, Costume Designer Wendy Matte, Scenic and Lighting Designer Pat
Ferlo, Props Mistress Ann Marie Carter, Program and Web Designer Catrina Kohl
and a slew of faculty, parent volunteers and Launching Pad alumni have been
working hard with the cast and crew to create a very enchanted evening with one
of the greatest love stories of all time.</SPAN><SPAN
style="mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Launching
Pad is encouraging its younger audience to dress up as their favorite Beauty and
the Beast or Disney character. During the matinee performances on January
29 and February 5, children will be able to participate in a costume parade
during intermission and will walk up on stage to meet a few of their favorite
characters.</SPAN><SPAN
style="mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Be
our guest to see Launching Pad's production of <EM><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Disney's Beauty and the
Beast</SPAN></EM> <SPAN style="COLOR: black">January 28, 29 and February 4, 5 at
7:00, with 1:00 matinees on both Saturday afternoons at the Ballston Spa High
School Auditorium. Tickets are $7.00 for adults and $6.00 for students and
seniors and can be purchased at the box office before each performance.
Check out their website for more information: <A
onmousedown='UntrustedLink.bootstrap($(this), "534b1bw1lYYrCYklizBCNc_7woA", event);'
href="http://www.bscsd.org/webpages/launching_pad/" target=_blank><SPAN
style="COLOR: #3b5998">http://www.bscsd.org/webpages/launching_pad/</SPAN></A>. </SPAN></SPAN><SPAN
style="mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>