You can see "Beauty and the Beast" on the big screen, where the beloved 1991 Disney animated feature has been re-released in 3-D to a whole new generation of moviegoers.

Or you can see Belle, the fearsome but ultimately sensitive Beast and the swaggering Gaston portrayed live by a whole new generation of actors - namely some 60 young people at the Sharadin Bigler Theatre, formerly Ephrata Performing Arts Center.

"Disney's Beauty and the Beast Jr." is still the story we all remember, complete with dancing candlesticks and singing teapots in this classic tale of a girl who finds herself hiding in a magical castle presided over by a most misunderstood monster.

In addition to the Disney movie, "Beast" became a Broadway smash starring grown-up stage actors.

But the typical performer in this production is anywhere from 5 to 16 years old, said director and choreographer Irving Gonzalez.

"No adults," he said of his energetic cast, which was clearly having a good time at a recent rehearsal. "It is fun."

"It's a 90-minute youth-oriented version of the celebrated Broadway production," Gonzalez said.

Local children from nearby Berks County will be hitting the boards, backed by a two-story castle set depicting the Beast's fabled lair.

Gonzalez, a veteran performer, is making his directorial debut. So are many of his young charges.

Hannah Smith, who plays Belle, is 15 but has "always wanted to do acting since I was little," she said.

This will be her Sharadin Bigler debut, but Smith has acted at Ephrata Middle School, Ephrata High School and American Music Theatre. Smith will share the stage with Austin Trynoski, the Beast.

Of course, in any production, it's sometimes more fun to play the bad guy, and Quinn Corcoran, 16, is looking forward to tackling the role of Gaston, Belle's foolish, egotistical suitor.

"He's part comic relief and part villain," said Corcoran, a student at Governor Mifflin High School in Shillington. "[It's] one of my first chances to play evil. I'll be messing around, being all full of myself."

Taking to the stage runs in the family, Corcoran said.

"My mom and dad (Patricia and Michael Corcoran) were very much involved in theater."
Gonzalez said he's enjoying being a theatrical mentor.

"We wanted to give them the opportunity and the skill," he said.

"There's not a lot of ‘kids for kids' shows."

"Beauty and the Beast Jr." opens Friday, Feb. 3, at Sharadin Bigler Theatre, formerly Ephrata Performing Arts Center, 320 Cocalico St., Ephrata, and runs through Feb. 12. For tickets and showtimes, call 733-7966 or visit ephrataperformingartscenter.com.

By Stephen Kopfinger, Sunday News Correspondent