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 Dan Folino as “The Beast” and Natalie Green as “Belle” |
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view the company list and biographies, pictures, reviews and features of the Beck Center ’07 encore production
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 Dan Folino as “The Beast” |
| Honors, Awards and Kudos …
“The ’07, ’06 and ’05 productions of Beauty and the Beast are the #1, #2 & #3 best selling shows in Beck Center’s history” “stand out” “record-making” “special” “truly notable achievement” Best of 2006 recap in The Free Times “Last year, amid myriad disappointing and mildly interesting stagings, just Beck’s Urinetown and Beauty qualified as anything particularly special.” “Likewise, at midpoint of 2006-’07, only a pair of pure entertainments – (Great Lakes Theatre Festival’s A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the) Forum and the Beauty revival – stand out as truly notable achievements.” “memorable” Best of 2006 recap in The Cleveland Scene view complete article on the Cleveland Scene website Winner of 8 ‘Times Newspaper Tribute Awards – Outstanding Theatre 06‘ Production – The Company Dan Folino Cleveland Scene – Best of Cleveland 2007 “He was fully clothed and frontally naked. He was a human and an animal. He was himself and his creepy alter ego. And Dan Folino accomplished all these theatrical tasks with his usual professional aplomb. As the hardest-working actor and singer in Cleveland theater, Folino takes on iconic roles and turns them into small wonderments. As the Beast in Beauty and the Beast, he commanded the stage while burnishing his songs with his rich baritone voice…”
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 Natalie Green as “Belle” |
| Excerpts from the Cleveland Scene review … by Christine Howey “splendid” “a spectacular stage experience” “should be required viewing for two groups of people: children under the age of 12, and everyone else. While you probably won’t be convicted of child abuse if you don’t take a young person to see this production, the trial could be long and nasty” “solidly professional” “performers in the major roles who excel in virtually every aspect”“an admirably well-conceived show performed to near perfection. Hard to ask for more on a holiday evening” view the complete review on the Cleveland Scene website |
 Josh R. Noble as “Gaston,” and Kathleen Culler, Sara Carnes & Katie Carr as “Silly Girls” |
| Excerpts from The Plain Dealer review … by Tony Brown “polished” “directed with discipline and detail” “largely a replication of last season’s acclaimed production” view the complete Plain Dealer review
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 Bob Abelman as “Maurice” |
| Excerpts from the Cool Cleveland review … by Marcus Bales “10 + 666 = gr8 fun 4 u” “expertly constructed” “marvelously well-produced” “sinuous staging” “theater magic” “Everyone is obviously having a great time on stage, and the audience is wholly in their hands” “huge fun” “a memorable evening of laughter and song and a few tears” “Oh, just go see it. You’ll be glad you did, even if you want to think you’re a hard old ironist” view the complete Cool Cleveland Review |
 Tracee Patterson as “Mrs. Potts” and Miles Sternfeld as “Chip” |
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Cast of Characters Young Prince – Adam Shimko *member – Actors Equity Association
Understudies The Orchestra
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 Zac Hudac as “Lefou” and Josh R. Noble as “Gaston” with Lauren Skirbunt, David Malinowski and Adam Shimko as “Villagers” |
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Production Staff |
 Tracee Patterson as “Mrs. Potts,” Larry Nehring as “Lumiere,” Douglas Collier as “Cogsworth,” Dan Folino as “The Beast” and Natalie Green as “Belle” |
| Excerpts from the Free Times review … by Keith A. Joseph “a return engagement of last year’s nearly terrific staging” “it’s an answered prayer” “glorious professionalism” “pure bliss”“On Broadway and on tour, Beauty and the Beast played with the synchronized sophistication of an ice show and spectacle that Disney usually reserves for its Caribbean cruises. At Beck, it’s played with a lot less budget, but a lot more humanity” “this production might be just the live lure to entice the kiddies away from their video games” view complete Free Times review |
 Larry Nehring as “Lumiere” |
| Excerpts from the Times Newspapers review … by Roy Berko, member, American Theatre Critics Association “a beaut” “Fred Sternfeld has proven that he is a master at directing mass crowd musicals and scripts of high quality (e.g., ‘MAN OF LAMANCHA’ and ‘RAGTIME’). He has a knack for involving the entire cast, working with the leads to fine-tune the show, and getting audiences emotionally involved.” “see it!” complete Times Newspaper review on Roy Berko’s website |
| Excerpts from the Lakewood Observer review … by Justine Cooper “magical” “amazing’ “there is nothing like live theater. When done well, it transforms you onto the stage and into the story. It evokes emotion. It makes your heart beat faster and makes you forget work, home and obligations. The cast at the Beck did all of the above. When my five year old daughter leaned over with tears in her eyes after the Beast took Belle’s father, I have to admit that I, too, had tears. And I am sure I laughed at least as much as the kids, but glancing over and watching their mouths hang open and hearing their belly laughs were priceless.”“It is impossible to single out one favorite performer – every cast member performed superbly and with humor” view complete Lakewood Observer review |
 Natalie Green as “Belle” and Bob Abelman as “Maurice” |
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Bob Abelman, who played Maurice in the ’06 production, is also a journalist with the Chagrin Valley Times. Click on the links below to view a series of articles he has written that have been published in the Chagrin Valley Times to provide an inside look at the production …
Up Close and Personal With the Beast Zen and The Art of Dancing Dinnerware Seamless Shifts Add to Show’s Quality Making Memories for Star-Struck Little Girls |
 Larry Nehring as “Lumiere” and Douglas Collier as “Cogsworth” |
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view the company list and biographies, pictures, reviews and features of the
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 Kristin Netzband as “Babette” and Bob Abelman as “Maurice” |
| Excerpts from the The Cauldron (CSU) review … by Shane Gleason “told masterfully” “revives childhood memories” “Last year I wrote that “A Christmas Story” on stage was better than the movie, and I will add this production to that illustrious list” “…the Beck Center has, once again, impressed me immensely” |
 Beth O. Cubbison as “Madame de la Grande Bouche” |
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a few comments from our audience… “Even better than last year!” “Amazing show” “Oh my gosh, what a spectacular performance!!! Bravo!!! My daughter and boyfriend loved it so much we are going to try and get tickets to go see it a second time!! My daughter could not stop talking about the play” “Congrats on B & B … It’s a beautiful production” “spectacular” “I was blown away” “The Beck Center is an awesome place to introduce children to the arts as well as to enjoy as adults. Our Brownie troop saw “Beauty and the Beast” last year and it was an incredible performance with an incredible cast. Now my daughter is involved in the Youth Theater and will be on that same stage later this month. It’s an awesome asset to the west side and I am so glad my sister-in-law encouraged me to get my daughter involved there.” “We went to the show Sunday, and enjoyed it very much! What a great production! Thanks for the holiday fun!” “Saw it on Broadway…you guys are better” “I did not have a chance to tell Dan, Tracee and others whom I know, how much I enjoyed this production. “Congratulations on a GREAT show last night! I was with a group of about 8 people who all really enjoyed the evening. Best Wishes for a successful run – you’re off to a great start.” “better than the touring production” “We THOROUGHLY enjoyed the play. Some of the performances were breathtaking. Literally. Thanks for a great, moving and entertaining evening.” “As I told you at Beck Center, your production of B&B was amazing. It was so special to watch it through my kids’ eyes…they were mesmerized!” “I can’t believe you guys topped last year’s” |
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ABOUT THE PLAY: Disney’s first musical brings to life the beloved “tale as old as time” with a burst of theatrical magic. Already a legend as the sixth longest-running show in Broadway history, “Beauty and the Beast” was nominated for nine 1994 Tony® Awards including Best Musical. For a synopsis of the story go to this link: http://disney.go.com/disneytheatrical/beautyandthebeast/story.html |
