For two weekends in September, SOAR Regional Arts is presenting the Disney family classic musical Beauty & the Beast onstage at St. Michael Middle School West.

If you’re not already familiar, SOAR is a nonprofit arts program serving the communities of St. Michael, Otsego, Albertville, and Rogers, and they present several theatrical productions throughout the year.

SOAR invited me to enjoy a show during opening weekend with my 6-year-old daughter. Beauty & the Beast is one of my all-time favorite Disney stories, and I recently got to share the original film with my daughter for the first time, so it was such a treat for us to get to see the musical performed on stage.

Here’s what we loved about the show:

The first thing that impressed me about this production is its large, multi-generational cast. The show features over 90 local actors of all ages and levels of experience. While most of the lead roles are played by teens and adults, there are lots of children in the cast, a detail that both surprised and impressed my daughter—”Mom! There are kids in this play!” 🙂

We were also impressed by the show’s costuming. As I mentioned before, there are a LOT of people in this show, some of them playing multiple roles, and the array of costumes was terrific. We were especially delighted by the outfits created for the palace residents—Cogsworth, Lumiere, Mrs. Potts, et al. Their costumes were fairly simple yet totally evocative of the items these characters have been transformed into.

We experienced a wide range of emotion during this play. Several of the moments are laugh-out-loud funny, with handful of humorous “above the heads of kids” drops for the show’s adult viewers. The musical adaptation of this story also features an increased depth to many of the characters, their feelings and motivations. Even though I could probably quote the original film line by line, now seeing it on stage for the first time I was moved and experienced the story in a deeper way than I ever have before.

Age recommendation: In my opinion, this show is best suited for kids ages 5+. There are a few intense moments featuring the Beast and wolves that might frighten younger viewers. Also, the show is 2 1/2 hours including intermission, and I noticed several of the young children seated around me getting antsy during the second act. That said, this show has the potential to be a great first theatre experience for kids, especially those who are familiar with the music from the original Disney film.

It’s your turn!  I definitely would encourage you to consider seeing this play. While not across-the-board awesome, many of the performers are really great, and the stagecraft is high-caliber. With familiar characters and music, children can really engage with the story and experience it in a new way.

Beauty & the Beast will continue to run next weekend, September 20–22, with both afternoon and evening performances. Tickets are available online at soararts.com/tickets.html or at the door. The cost is slightly lower if you purchase online, and you’ll have the luxury of choosing a seat now before all the good ones fill up.

Enjoy the show! 😀

SOAR Presents Beauty & the Beast
September 13–22, 2019
St. Michael Middle School West
Tickets: soararts.com/tickets.html

Disclaimer: I was given two tickets to SOAR’s production of Beauty & the Beast in exchange for writing this blog post. All opinions are my own. All images were provided by SOAR Regional Arts. Photo credit: Justin Cox