After a pandemic hiatus of more than two years, St. James Players is returning to the stage at Showplace Performance Centre in downtown Peterborough this fall with a production of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, the Broadway musical.
Directed by Natalie Dorsett and featuring Whitney Paget and Andrew Little in the starring roles of Belle and the Beast, the family-friendly show will run for eight performances from Friday, November 11th to Saturday, November 19th, with evening performances at 7:30 p.m. on November 11 and 12 and 16 to 18 and matinee performances at 2 p.m. on November 12, 13, and 19.
Assigned-seating tickets are $35 for adults and $32 for seniors or students, now available online anytime at tickets.showplace.org or in person at the Showplace box office from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday to Thursday.
Prior to the pandemic, St. James Players traditionally presented a major production at Showplace every fall, with the last being Mamma Mia! in November 2019, which featured Beauty and the Beast director Natalie Dorsett in the role of Donna.
Beauty and the Beast tells the story of Belle (Whitney Paget), a beautiful and intelligent young woman who feels out of place in her provincial French village where she is being
romantically pursued by local bachelor Gaston (Aaron Robertson).
When her father Maurice (Keith Goranson) is imprisoned in a mysterious castle, Belle’s attempt to rescue him leads to her capture by the Beast (Andrew Little), a grisly and fearsome monster who was once a young prince but was long ago trapped in his gruesome form by an enchantress (Kate Keating).
The only way for the Beast to become human once again is if he learns to love and be loved in return. There is a time limit too: once a magical rose loses all of its petals, all hope will be lost and he will stay a Beast forever.
The Beast’s enchanted household — populated by such beloved characters as Mrs. Potts (Tracey Allison), Lumiere (Keevin Carter), Cogsworth (Seanon Yip Choy), Babette (Elizabeth Moody), Wardrobe (Christie Freeman), and Chip (Indigo Chesser) — watch anxiously as Belle and the Beast grow to understand and befriend one another.
Their feelings grow ever deeper as the clock ticks and petals continue to fall off the enchanted rose. Will they confess their love for one another before it is too late?
Running for more than 10 years on Broadway, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast was adapted from the Academy Award-winning animated film of the same name. More than 20 million people worldwide have heard the show-stopping musical numbers (with music by Alan Menken and lyrics by Howards Ashman and Tim Rice) — including “Belle,” “Gaston,” “Be Our Guest” and, of course, “Beauty and the Beast” — and seen the astonishing sets, lavish costumes, and innovative magic and special effects.
Founded in 1972, St. James Players is a community group dedicated to theatre and music that has entertained thousands of Peterborough residents and visitors with its musical theatre productions over the past 50 years. The Peterborough production of Beauty and the Beast will delight audience members of all ages and is sure to sell out, so don’t delay getting your tickets.
St. James Players production of Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” is sponsored by Harco Enterprises Ltd., with media sponsorship by kawarthaNOW, Learn more about St. James Players at stjamesplayers.ca.
kawarthaNOW is proud to be the media sponsor of the St. James Players production of Beauty and the Beast.
