“Wow” was the reaction after St. Albert Children’s Theatre Facebook page announced a sellout for their winter musical running Nov. 21 to Dec. 1 at the Arden Theatre.
Every evening show for Beauty and the Beast was sold-out by Oct. 29 and there are barely 100 tickets available for four afternoon shows.
“It was kind of crazy. We knew it would sell well. When we were originally planning the winter show, Beauty and the Beast was not on our radar. But Disney announced that after 2024, it was pulling the show, and we knew it would be years before they would redo it and put it back on Broadway,” said artistic director Janice Flower.
The iconic fairytale’s popularity not only attracted local families snapping up tickets. Internet scammers also flagged it. The Arden Theatre, as with every venue across Canada, is facing a problem of fake accounts advertising ticket sales. On Nov. 6, the St. Albert Children’s Theatre Facebook page posted the following notice.
“The city has seen an increase of comments on our social media posts where fake accounts advertise tickets for sale as part of a scam. We strongly recommend that buyers only purchase tickets from the City of St. Albert at tickets.stalbert.ca. The city is actively deleting these comments and blocking accounts that post the scam comment more than once.”
Flower recommends anyone who purchased tickets and cannot attend to visit the Arden Theatre box office in person and complete a transfer. A refund will be issued as there is a long waiting list of people hoping to attend.
Nearly two decades ago when the children’s theatre company first produced Beauty and the Beast in 2005, scammers were not an issue. At that time, many of the musical’s young actors innocently remembered seeing Disney’s original 1991 animated musical romance and were eager to play a stage role.
Flower credits the lightning-fast sales to young adults and parents who enjoy the spectacular original animation and wanted to share the theatrical production with their children.
“It’s Beauty and the Beast. It’s a timeless story. It’s about looking for the beauty within. Don’t judge a book by its cover. It was published in 1740, but it’s still applicable today,” Flower said.
In discussing the musical, she added it was chosen because it’s a “beautiful” story, and not because it would generate big revenue.
“It felt right to do it at this time. It’s Disney and anything Disney does brings in a good audience.”
One of the big changes in this version is the elimination of a final scene where Gaston storms the castle with a mob of villagers to kill the mysterious Beast.
“I guess they deemed it was too violent.”
Actors handling major roles are Hannah Adamson (Belle), Aidan Spila (Beast), Connor Woods (Lumiere), Mylee Zopf (Babette), Rhonda Kozuska (Mrs. Potts), Lila Ouimet (Chip), Elliot Frankiw (Cogsworth), Chantal Hnytka (Wardrobe), Andrew Wood (Gaston), Jett Skwaruk (LeFou) and David Sorensen (Father).
Throughout the run, Janice Flower (piano), Brian Thurgood (drums), Jeff Johnson (bass) and Kathy Derkach (symphonie) will provide live music.
For more information call 780-459-1542 or visit the Arden box office at tickets.stalbert.ca.
