It’s the 30th anniversary production of the celebrated Rudie-DeCarlo original musical, an excitingly heart-warming, and definitely un-scary, adaptation of the original French tale, proving beyond the shadow of any doubt that true beauty isn’t in your appearance, but in your heart.

“A delightful musical with a timeless message!” The Argonaut

The internationally acclaimed team of Chris DeCarlo and Evelyn Rudie bring to the stage all the stuff that dreams (and musicals) are made on, molding the magic, romance, and humor of this timeless tale into a production that touches the hearts, and indeed, almost the fingertips, of its audience members, following Beauty on her journey through the world of manners, reading, sensitivity, gentility, and the pros and cons of washing behind your ears.

“The brightest, most intelligent, not to mention goofiest family theatre in town!” LA Parent

Set in a fantasy Medieval milieu "long, long ago," a lovely and spirited Beauty takes charge of her fate and molds herself a most endearing Beast. Ditzy sisters, a befuddled sire, and a flamboyantly foppish suitor strew more than a few thorns along Beauty and her Beast's arduous, and ardor-ous, path, but loves wins out, allowing all to find their happily-ever-afters and proving that beauty is, and always will be, in the eye of the beholder.

“Wonderful theatrical experience!” Between Pages

Based on the original 1740’s tale by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve, arguably the mother of the modern “Harlequin-style” romance, whose charmingly flawed heroes and independently feisty heroines danced their way into the hearts of the populace nearly a century before Jane Austen’s Elizabeth and D’Arcy made their first appearance, this richly humorous production is written and directed by Chris DeCarlo and Evelyn Rudie, and features Pahlig Avakian, Holly Gibson, Michala Peltz, Megan Wright, Theødor Dronen and Devin Ricklef as Beauty’s most adorable Beast, with breath-taking costumes by award-winning designer Ashley Hayes and Graham Silbert, and magical FX that transform the stage into an ornately detailed Medieval castle right before your eyes.

Birthday parties, hosted by gaily-costumed fairytale characters, are available with every performance.

Santa Monica Playhouse programs are supported in part by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Los Angeles County Arts Commission; by the City of Santa Monica and the Santa Monica Arts Commission; by the Ahmanson Foundation and Playhouse PALS.

Saturdays at 2pm, Sundays at 12:30, May 11-July 28, 2024