Not only is he an actor, but Ken is such a good singer. When you have those sorts of talents, it is hard not to want to do it. Ken is also, if you remember, he built the Tin Man costume. He is very, very crafty. ... He gets to do some dancing in this one, which is not what he would consider his forte.

The intention (of the play) is just as honest as the original story, which was written hundreds of years ago. You don't need to improve on the story. You just need to believe in it. ... While the production is so lavish, the story is so simple, and so honest.

It is just the sweetest story. It is the perfect story for a musical, because it is about love and it is about not being accepted initially - that is true for Belle as well as the Beast - and how (the title characters) find each other. It is a heroic story, but not overblown. I just love it. People might be afraid this is just for children, and it is not. Proof of that are the $100 tickets (when it ran on Broadway) in New York.

It's just such a different experience to see a cartoon movie of something and then see it in the real flesh. We can't do everything they do in the movie, but we do a lot of it. The music pretty much follows the movie and the story is the same.

For this play we've been very lucky. We've received a lot of help and materials from the Flat Rock Playhouse. When they performed this they just came up with this amazing cast of animals made from foam and rubber. These costumes will take your breath away and we're very grateful to have them.

We've got some great people working on this project. Nicole and John, and everyone, are doing really great work. It's going to be very exciting to watch and listen to.