whipping out his mirror at every opportunity. He had command of the stage. Hayley Cheetham as Belle was coy, shy but also had a steely strength of character when faced with the Beast, Michael Mills. The duet between these two performers was one of the highlights of the show for me: some tender harmonies were created as the characters become closer. A shout out to Emma Kavanaugh for the Beast ‘s make-up! The use of prosthetic nose, horns and teeth, as well as the general makeup, really helped create the character. The transformation scene between Jake Smeeton, as Prince Louis, and Michael’s beast character was well done and nicely masked by the others on stage. In a small cast, players often have to double up parts as members of the chorus and to play other principal roles, and here Rob Livesey, Debbie Lewis, Jessica McEvoy, Mandy Jones and Nadya Kearsley helped move the scenes forward. The entire evening was full of fun, fun, FUN! Just what we, the audience, needed, and very much appreciated by the audience.
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