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Flat Rock Playhouse, The State Theatre of North Carolina, presents Disney’s Beauty and the Beast on stage through July 25. Other than Disney’s Broadway and touring productions, the Flat Rock-based professional theatre company will be the second in the nation to produce this Tony Award-winning musical. The tale, told by Beauty and the Beast, is an old one, dating back centuries prior to the version penned by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont, upon which screenwriter Linda Woolverton based this script. Alan Menken and the late Howard Ashman created music for the movie, and Menken collaborated with Tim Rice to score additional music for the play. The Disney animated feature won several Academy Awards, including Best Score and Best Song for “A Tale as Old as Time,” and the play was awarded the Tony for costume design. The Playhouse production features a cast of 40 with Asheville, NC, resident Chris Lynn as the Beast and Holly Rone as Belle. The cast also includes returning Vagabond Players Justin Patterson as Gaston, Michael Edwards as Belle’s father, Linda Edwards as Mrs. Pots the teapot, Dane Whitlock as Lumiere the candlestick, Scott Treadway as Cogsworth the clock, and Stephanie Wahl as Babbette the feather duster. Paige Posey, director of last season’s Playhouse hit Singin’ in the Rain exclaims, “This is one show you don’t want to miss!” The production team has been at work for months to create the elaborate sets, costumes, lighting, and effects for the show. Along with the production staff of 23, illusionist Rob Lake, who has worked with David Copperfield, and Specialty Costume Designer/Puppet master Lisa Sturz (whose credits include Walt Disney’s Imagineering, Henson’s Creature Shop and the Ice Capades), was brought in to create the special effects and costumes for characters such as Mrs. Potts, Chip, Cogsworth, and Madame de la Grande Bouche. The play opens with the book-smart Belle dreamily meandering through the quaint French village where she shares a cottage with her eccentric, inventor father. Early on, her father departs with his latest invention to compete for first prize in the local fair. When he doesn’t make a timely return, the worried Belle ventures out to find him. Her journey takes her to an enchanted castle lorded by an evil Beast who is holding her father captive. The selfless Belle trades her freedom for her father’s, and agrees to stay imprisoned in the castle. Though her situation is grim, she is befriended by the enchanted inhabitants of the castle, and learns that the Beast is actually a selfish prince who has been transformed into a Beast until he can learn to love and be loved for his true self. Belle, with the aide of the servants, who, because of the enchanted spell are slowly transforming into the objects and furnishings of the castle, befriends the Beast and tames his wild spirit, allowing him to love and be loved. Disney’s Beauty and the Beast is produced in part to benefit the Park Ridge Hospital Foundation. The play opened June 23, and performances continue through July 25. Performances are Wednesday through Saturday evenings at 8:15 PM, and Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday matinees at 2:15 PM. Tickets are available at the Playhouse by calling 828-693-0731. Discounts are available for students, seniors and groups of thirteen or more. The Flat Rock Playhouse is located in East Flat Rock, NC, just south of Hendersonville, on Highway 25. For more information, please visit their web site, www.flatrockplayhouse.org.
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