Ashton Byrum

Columbia College Chicago Theatre Department faculty member Ashton Byrum, a coordinator of the Theatre Department’s Musical Theatre Performance BFA Program, is directing the musical Beauty and the Beast as the opening production of the 60th anniversary season at the Little Theatre On The Square in Sullivan, Illinois, one of America’s most respected summer stock theatres. In an interview with the Herald & Review newspaper in Decatur, Illinois, Byrum said his directorial focus is on the main character, Belle, and personal discovery. “Her dad has done is best to try and raise her in 1750. She is intelligent, and that is why so many little girls like her,” he said. “She is the heroine, but she is headstrong, smart and literate.”

Beauty and the Beast runs June 7-18 at the Little Theatre On The Square, 16 E. Harrison, Sullivan, Illinois. For tickets, call 217-728-7375 or click here.