Beauty & The Beast - The Pantomime | Opens This Week

From the producers of MADAGASCAR THE MUSICAL and the smash hit pantomime CINDERELLA, comes BEAUTY AND THE BEAST – THE PANTOMIME, opening in Christchurch this week and in Wellington on 14 December.

For strictly limited seasons in Christchurch and Wellington this December, this production is sure to make you laugh, cry and fall in love with a host of hilarious characters. Oh yes it will!
It’s the perfect build up to the summer holidays for all the family as well as an ideal event for your office do this Christmas. Tickets on sale now via Ticketek and Ticketmaster from $55.65.

Adapted by ingenious writer and director Gregory Cooper (That Bloody Woman, MAMIL, Rumpelstiltskin, Cinderella) this version of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST will have more twists and turns than a snake with an itch!

The story follows Belle (Erin Wells, What Now!) after she is imprisoned in a castle with a hideous Beast (Justin Rogers) and a number of magical characters all entrapped under the spell of the wicked witch. Can the Beast break free from the terrible curse? Will Belle outwit the wicked witch? Can she fall in love with the Beast before the last petal falls from the enchanted rose? Oh, yes they can!

Justin recently provided the voice for Timon in The Lion King: Reo Maori and as Oaken in Frozen Reo Māori. He has enjoyed working across stage and screen with highlights including Shortland Street: The Musical, The Cherry Orchard, The Master Builder, The Last Five Years. He's toured Indian Ink's Mrs Krishnan's Party throughout the United States and Canada multiple times, clocking up over 250 performances as DJ Jimmy J.

Award-winning entertainer, the beloved Ali Harper will play the castle's head housekeeper Mrs Potts. With a career spanning more than 30 years, Ali’s career highlights include Blood Brothers, Mamma Mia!, Legally Blonde, My Fair Lady, Mary Poppins, The Sound of Music, Guys and Dolls, South Pacific, A Shortcut to Happiness, Side by Side by Sondheim, Jacques Brel is alive and well and living in Paris, Calendar Girls, Jerry’s Girls, The Rocky Horror Show,Tell Me on a Sunday, Yesterday and A Little Night Music.

Caleb Jago-Ward (The Voice Australia, Jagged Little Pill, Madagascar the Musical, Jesus Christ Superstar, We Will Rock You, Hairspray and Grease) will play Belle's Sister, Tynes.

Playing Sydney the Wicked Witch of the West is the exceptional triple threat talent, Hillary Moulder who audiences will recognise her from last year’s box office smash-hit production of Jersey Boys as well as roles in Ladies Night, A Streetcar Named Desire and A Christmas Carol.

Playing Alexandra the Good Witch of the South is something Rebekah Head is no stranger to beastie storylines, having starred as Glinda in three separate productions of the Tony Award winning musical Wicked.

As Belle’s father and mad inventor, Maurice, Edwin Beats is a star of stage and the small screen, with theatre credits including Jesus Christ Superstar (Court Theatre), Billy Elliot the Musical (Auckland Theatre Company) and TV credits including Hope & Wire and various sketches for Jono and Ben.

Returning to pantoland is Trubie-Dylan Smith who will play the outrageous Seymour Bottom. His previous Court Theatre credits include The Princess and The Frog (and The Robber!) and The Wind in the Willows. As the artistic director of the Court Jesters he can often be seen appearing in Scared Scriptless. His other theatre credits include He Kura Kōrero (Circa Theatre); The Bald Soprano (Arcade Theatre Company); King Arthur (Rollicking Entertainment Ltd); Red Riding Robyn Hood and Shakespeare As You Write It (New Zealand Playhouse Tour 2018).

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