Beauty and the Beast

Act One

An unseen narrator tells the story of a young, spoiled prince who lived “once upon a time” in a magnificent castle. One cold winter night, an old beggar woman knocked at the castle door and asked to be sheltered for the night in exchange for a single red rose. Repulsed, the prince turned her away, despite her warning "not to be deceived by appearances, for beauty is found within." Suddenly, the haggard old woman transformed into a beautiful enchantress. Shocked, the prince tried to apologize for his behavior, but she had seen the ugliness in his heart. As a punishment, she cast a spell over him and his castle. He was transformed into a hideous beast, and she left him with a magic mirror as his only connection to the outside world. She also left him with the rose she had offered, and warned that if he did not learn to love another and be loved in return before the last petal fell, the spell, and his hideous new form, would remain forever.

Not far from the