Friday Night’s Performance of ‘Beauty and the Beast” Was Magical

Last night I was magically transported back to pre-Revolution France in the magical tale of Beauty and the Beast at the Paradise Center for the Arts in downtown Faribault.

If you have kids or grandkids you're probably already familiar with the tale of the selfish prince who was transformed into a beast because of his cold-hearted ways and must find true love in order to reverse the spell, from seeing it on the big screen in both Disney versions. Last night it was brought to life on the stage of the Paradise Center for the Arts, which ended in a standing ovation.

The main characters that you've grown to know and love over the years were brilliantly portrayed during last night's sold out performance. They each had their moment to shine in the spotlight and did not disappoint the audience. The singing and music was spot on and I was impressed by how flawlessly each actor fleshed out their characters and how seamlessly the wonderful sets were brought in to create every scene. It was amazing how they handled the transformation scene at the end and, being a lighting and effects nut, I've got to find out how they did it.

I highly recommend you make the time in your life to see this show in it's final weekend. There are matinee performances at 2PM today (6/24) and tomorrow (6/25) but I suggest you call ahead for tickets because opening night's show was sold out along with both last night and Thursday night's performance which also ended in a standing ovation.

I hope the Power 96 ticket winners from this past week enjoy this afternoon's show as much as I did. If you like to find out more about available tickets, they're available through ParadiseCenterForTheArts.org or by calling (507) 332-7372 or stop by their box office at 321 Central Ave. in downtown Faribault, open noon-5PM today.