Act I

On a cold winter night, an old beggar woman comes upon a glorious castle belonging to a young prince. She asks the master of the castle to allow her to stay the night, away from the cold, and in return she will give him a single rose, but the prince is vain and uncaring and turns her away solely for her appearance. As he does this, she warns him not to be fooled by appearances, as true beauty lies within, only to be rejected again. Seeing his horrible heart for what it truly is, she transforms into a beautiful enchantress and turns the prince into a hideous Beast and his servants into various household objects. She gives him the rose to use as an hour-glass. The only way he can break the spell is to learn to love another and earn her love in return by the time the last petal falls. Ten years later, a beautiful young woman named Belle makes her way into town one morning in order to get a book from the local book seller. On the way she expresses her wish to live in a world like her books, full of adventure, while the townspeople note her unparalleled beauty but find her love of books odd ("Belle"). Belle has also attracted the attentions of Gaston (the local hunter and town hero) who admires her only for her beauty and not her intelligence.

Belle, however, is not oblivious to her peers' views of her. She voices her concerns about it to her father, Maurice, an eccentric inventor. He assures his daughter that she is anything but strange ("No Matter What"). The two then put the finishing touches on his invention and Maurice heads off to an invention fair donning a scarf knitted for him by Belle ("No Matter What Reprise").

In the woods, Maurice becomes lost when a pack of wolves attacks him; he finds his way to a mysterious castle on the edge of the crossroads and enters. The servants of the castle include Lumiere, a maitre d' turned into a candelabra; Cogsworth, the head of household turned into a clock; Babette, a maid turned into a feather duster that still seems to retain her flirtatious tendencies; Mrs. Potts, the head of the kitchen turned into a tea pot; and Chip, the son of Mrs. Potts. They welcome him, but the horrid Beast arrives and orders Maurice to be locked away in the dungeon for trespassing.

Back in town Gaston proposes to Belle, which she politely rejects ("Me"). Appalled by Gaston's forwardness, Belle once again voices her need for a life outside this provincial one ("Belle Reprise"). Gaston’s sidekick, LeFou, returns from the woods wearing the scarf Belle knitted for Maurice. Belle realizes her father is in danger and heads into the woods to look for him. She ends up at the castle where she finds her father locked away in a dungeon. She makes a deal with the Beast, Maurice goes free but she remains instead. They agree and Maurice is sent back to town without being allowed to say goodbye. Belle is given a guest room and ordered by the Beast to join him for dinner. She mourns her situation ("Home"), but Mrs. Potts and Madame de la Grande Bouche, an operatic wardrobe, attempt to cheer her up ("Home Reprise").

Back in town, Gaston sulks at his loss of a bride. Lefou and the patrons attempt to cheer him up ("Gaston"), when Maurice rushes in claiming a Beast has Belle locked away; they laugh at him but Gaston formulates a plan ("Gaston Reprise"). Back at the castle, the Beast grows impatient as Belle has yet to join him for dinner. Cogsworth informs him she refuses to come, after a shouting match between Belle and the Beast (which ends in a victory for Belle) he tells her if she cannot eat with him then she will not eat at all. In his quarters, he sulks and notes his fate should the spell not break ("How Long Must This Go On?"). Eventually Belle does become hungry and ventures into the kitchen where the servants offer her dinner despite their master's orders. They treat her to an amazing cabaret show ("Be Our Guest").

After dinner, Belle gets a tour of the castle courtesy of Cogsworth and Lumiere; her curiosity leads her to enter the West Wing, a place the Beast told her was forbidden. Mesmerized by a mysterious rose floating in a bell jar, she reaches out to touch it; but before she can, the Beast stops her and orders her to get out, accidentally shoving her in the process. Appalled that he has touched her she flees the castle fearing for her life. Realizing his deadly mistake, the Beast knows he will be a monster forever, if he cannot learn to love her ("If I Can't Love Her").

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Yasmin was excited to hear that her first production acting with Michi would be Beauty and the Beast.

It was such a romantic story, at least in her eyes. To her, it was probably one of the first Disney cartoon films that showed a strong, independent princess. Snow White was overtaken by an apple. Aurora had to wait around until a guy kissed her before her life began. But Belle on the other hand defiantly read books, refused advances from the superficial town hero, faced down and refused to eat with a horrific beast, fought off feral wolves, ventured out alone to save her father, and a myriad of other feats.

Romantic story, strong independent female, and an odd-looking creature. If that couldn't sum up Michi and Yas, she didn't know what would.

It's really, really easy to go around practicing your lines when your long-time girlfriend is part of the cast as well. Michi may be used to performing on stage, but never as much of a character! Backstage she could be seen doing her best to prepare for her role while sporting a rather nice diamond on her ring finger.

"We're doing Beauty & the Beast next....a good chunk of the chorus and main cast will be people transformed into animated household objects, as well as the titular Beast." Mataya had smiled across the desk at Raul, a hint of challenge in her look. "Costuming is handling most of it; you'll help some with that, but I really need you to focus on turning Josh into the Beast."

The half-dwarf raised an eyebrow back at her. "I'm not familiar with the show, but in the folk tale, doesn't the Beast eventually turn back into a prince?"

"Yep. So we need something that can be quickly removed. We can use magic if we have to, but I'd like to keep as much physical make-up as possible. Think you're up for it?"

A matching smile spread across Raul's face. "Just watch me."

* * *

In the end, they only needed an adhesive enchantment on the cowl to keep it in place for the Beast's mane and horns, which fell away with a whispered word from Josh while Anya—as Belle—was sobbing over him. The fangs were also easily removable, so that from the audience's perspective, it was a seamless transition live on-stage.

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Saila could scarcely believe that it was her third season with the Shanachie. The mercurial teen could scarcely believe that it was her third season at anything.

She marveled at the fact that there were more friends now than strangers among the staff, that even though neither Sabine nor Craig had accompanied her into her third season, she didn't feel lost or confused about almost anything anymore. The theater had become one of the few constants in her strange little life, as much a part of her as Hex or her wolves. No longer just a child flying by the seat of her pants, winging it as she went along, Saila had truly become an Actress. She'd found a semblance of home.

***

"I'm a....tea pot," the girl had murmured as she pored over her script, flipping the pages until she'd found her feature song. "That's new." She had reassuring smiles for their newest cast members, and perhaps most especially the young boy who was playing her 'son'. 'Guess what, Babe?' she'd told Hex when she got off rehearsal one night, a playful smile on her lips. 'It seems I have a son now.' Saila thought she might never get tired of giving her 'Ol' Man' periodic heart attacks like that.

Hex. Her thoughts turned inevitably to the Hellion as she memorized the words, working her way through the new choreography. She thought about their life together so far, the adventures they'd been on, the new decisions they'd so recently made. She thought about the jokes they'd shared, the nicknames they'd given each other, and every time she sang the show's most famous song, it was his smile she so could so-clearly see in the back of her mind.

***

Tale as old as time True as it can be Barely even friends Then somebody bends Unexpectedly

Just a little change Small to say the least Both a little scared Neither one prepared Beauty and the beast

Ever just the same Ever a surprise Ever as before and ever just as sure as the sun will rise

Ever just the same Ever a surprise Ever as before Ever just as sure As the sun will rise

Tale as old as time Tune as old as song Bittersweet and strange Finding you can change Learning you were wrong

Certain as the sun Certain as the sun Rising in the east Tale as old as time Song as old as rhyme Beauty and the beast

Tale as old as time Song as old as rhyme Beauty and the beast

Beauty and the beast

Determined to make her first role (and starring one at that) a success, Anya spent hours upon hours in learning her lines and practicing her songs. She thought it might be challenging to slip into the role of Belle, but channeling her fierce independence and ability to see through the surface of people helped her to find that piece she needed to make a command performance.

Of course, it helped that her co-star was handsome regardless of any makeup made to make him otherwise.

She hoped that the audience got past her youth and inexperience and was appreciative of the effort she put into her performances. Anya was truly happy to have such faith placed in her, and did not want to let any member of the cast or the theater or the audience down.

Regardless, this was an experience that the young woman would treasure forever.