Singing teapots, dancing flatware, scheming candlesticks, a beauty, a beast . . . and Biola. A perfect recipe for a great alumni evening at San Diego’s beautiful Civic Theatre for the Broadway touring production of Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” on Tuesday, October 26, 2010.

Alumni from across San Diego county experienced the fun and fellowship of a great evening of theatre with fellow Biola alumni, beginning with a “meet and greet” hors d’oeuvres reception at the top floor Starlight Ballroom of the Bristol Hotel adjacent to the theatre. With the roof retracted for spectacular views of the downtown San Diego skyline, Alumni Relations staffers Deannah Baesel, Lauren Alley and Don Bernstein challenged the group with questions about “all things Biola”, awarding t-shirts for correct (and nearly-correct!) answers.

Alumnus Ken Bealo, who graduated in 1955 from Biola’s downtown Los Angeles campus, drove from Escondido to enjoy the evening and connect with fellow alumni.

Said Ken, “My wife and I have been so busy lately with church activities, that she decided to take the evening off . . . but I didn’t want to miss it!” Beth Gwynn, who brought a friend from Spring Valley emailed the Alumni office the next day: “Wasn't the show terrific? I texted my husband this morning and said we have GOT to do live theater more often. Fantastic!”

Would you expect anything less from a Biola Alumni event?