ECC presents the magical tale in their usual magical way, employing volunteers galore for a wonderful presentation.  Their lovely & comfortable facility, hospitable ushers, passed refreshments and accommodating staff seem to make each of their events become enchanted evenings of theatre.  Their young actors surely must feel that they are part of something special- and they are.

Director Elaine Sohrweid’s version of “Beauty & The Beast” gathers a bevy of almost 60 young people, the oldest in the cast just completing 8^th grade.  The dancing, by longtime ECC choreographer Pat Selby, is kept simple but is effective, and it appears the kids in the cast all enjoyed learning it. 

Spirited performances were too many to mention, but there were a few standouts.  The role of Belle was played by sweet-voiced Stella Gordon.  Peter Hassinger was the Beast, who had some good acting moments.  Charlotte Emm as Lumiere and Michael Dyer as Cogsworth made an enjoyable pair, and Faith Lierheimer was a darling Mrs. Potts.  Dylan Reed was wonderful in the often overlooked but vital role of Maurice and Bryan Cole made a fun LeFou.  The show really belonged to Chas Lederer as Gaston, with his down-pat vacant expressions.  The other shining star to mention was young Kevin Atkinson, as the always-in-character bookseller, who brought so much to even the smallest role.  That’s what it is all about, Kevin- keep up the great work!

The 2 standout numbers from the show were “Gaston” and “Be Our Guest”.  Many of the costumes were delightful and there were innovations with “humans as set pieces” galore.  Just of few of the features were

enchanted chairs that were actually used to sit on, a wilting rose, a wonderful table, and a clever version of Maurice’s invention.  Best of all, though, were the antlers Gaston used in “all of his decorating”.

Performed April 26 - May 5, 2007.

Tammy Franklin
National Youth Theatre