YES Theatre is starting a new holiday tradition Dec. 7-9, with its presentation of Disney's “Beauty and the Beast.”
The theatre company has started a new subdivision, YES Theatre Orchestra, which will present concert performances of family friendly classics with a large live orchestra and company each holiday season.
Often when smaller theatre companies present a musical, they're using a “pared down version of the orchestrations” — it's not what you'd hear on Broadway, said Alessandro Costantini, YES Theatre's founder.
YES Theatre Orchestra “gives audiences a really intimate experience with how the shows were intended to be heard, and how they were created,” Costantini said.
“Beauty and the Beast” features 19 musicians and 26 actors, many of them local. Set and costumes will be minimal.
“It's nice we're able to start to introduce musical theatre as a form to these musicians, and give them experience playing these parts,” he said.
The performances are being presented at Glad Tidings Church's 1,300-seat auditorium.
“I want the orchestra performance to be this kind of epic, massive happening,” said Costantini, who will play the part of Lumiere, the candlestick.
“It's a 1,300-seat house. I think it needs to be that big, just because the story is epic, and the amount of people on stage is epic. The sound is going to be huge.”
The concert stars YES Theatre veterans Jake Deeth as Beast and Gabriella Albino as Belle. You might remember Deeth from his performance as Edna in YES Theatre's “Hairspray” and Gabriella as Hodel in “Fiddler on the Roof.”
Beast's character has a lot of depth that's interesting to explore as an actor, said Deeth.
“The character is pretty interesting,” he said. “There's such a journey that one character makes. At the beginning, he is this aggressive, abusive, very controlling and mostly hidden character.
“You even hear it in the music too, that there's a change that happens in him. You pull away, and there is this beautiful, loving creature. As an actor, it's interesting to go on that journey and experience that.”
Performances take place Dec. 7, 8 and 9 at 7:30 p.m. There'll also be a 1:30 p.m. Matinee on Dec. 9.
Tickets cost $42.50 for adults, $38 for seniors and $30.25 for students.
They're available online at yestheatre.com, by phone at 1-800-838-3006 or in person at One Sky on Durham Street or at the New Sudbury Shopping Centre.
