Tracee Patterson as Mrs Potts hasn’t much acting to do, but whoa, can she sing, and she does. Babette, played by Aubrey-Kristen Fisher, and Madame de la Grande Bouche, played by Amy Christina Hall clearly enjoy their roles and perform them well. Lee Domenick as Monsieur D’Arque has a nice sense of timing, and brings a different kind of scary to the show than the wolves and the Beast.

This third version runs a little longer than in the past two years, and the increased time seems to be found mostly in the everyone-on-stage numbers such as the “Gaston” song in the tavern scene, and “Be Our Guest” and “The Mob Song”. Since “Be Our Guest” has long been my single favorite song in this show, I didn’t mind, but those bringing young children might be well advised to make sure there’s a potty stop immediately before the show opens, though, since the first act runs a little longer than its advertised 1 hour 20 minutes.

It’s too bad that the Beck has decided not to continue this often-sold-out show, though no doubt that decision will be a boon to some other local theater company looking for a blockbuster Christmas show. Not just one but several crowd-pleasing shows a year on the Main Stage theater is what the Beck needs to support Scott Spence’s good eye for talent and material in the smaller Studio Theater. People love the theater for a variety of reasons, and it’s only sensible to provide Clevelanders with as many options as possible throughout each season. This show has had a couple sell-out nights already early in its run; if you want to see it, you’d be wise to reserve seats.

Fog envelops the area, and the ugly, but gentle, creature reverts back to the dashing prince he once was.

In the Beck Center for the Arts splendid production of "Beauty and the Beast," the scene at the end of the musical is no less magical, jaw-dropping and breathtaking than it was three years ago. The Beck Center first staged a production of "Beauty" about Christmas 2005 and decided to present encore productions in 2006 and again this year.

The same talented, vivacious cast returns, led by award-winning director Fred Sternfeld.

One may argue it's understandable to bring back the production a second time, but a third time or more is overkill.

Try telling that to the little boy sitting behind me Saturday night.

The boy, who might have been seeing the show for the first time, was squealing with delight especially at the antics of actor Josh Rhett Noble, who plays the conceited villain Gaston, who is in love, no OBSESSED, with the beautiful Belle. Noble, looking like movie star Steven Seagal with a ponytail, gives Gaston an over-the-top swagger, flexing his muscles proudly and flashing a smile bearing his teeth.

Every syllable Gaston utters, every move he makes seemed fresh: From the smug expression that drips from his face as he tosses people to the ground to the rough, confident manner in which he hugs Belle.

Each performance feels fresh in this third and final production, directed with the right mix of humor, enchantment and sensitivity by Sternfeld.

As the beast, Dan Folino is as ferocious as he's been the past two years, aided by the sound effect of a roar.

Folino also finds the softer, sensitive side of the beast. Without forcing anything, he pours his heart out in anguish at the Beast's struggle to make Belle like him. And when it comes time for the Beast to be gentle, Folino is as tender as a soft, juicy steak.

Tenderness prevails during the song "No Matter What," in which Belle's strange father, Maurice (an eccentric, but compassionate Bob Abelman), assures her he'll always love her no matter what others think of her.

Natalie Green, as Belle, and Abelman, as Maurice, have tremendous chemistry; they feel completely at ease and appear loving to each other, like a daughter and father who've been close their whole life.

Green shines as Belle, playing the role with grace and conveying genuine sentiment. Her expressive eyebrows and loving voice work especially well for her. You might start crying when Belle's voice breaks as the Beast lay dying at the end.

Energetic supporting cast members each bring their own brand of eccentricity to the various castle inhabitants, who have been turned into silverware and household items, as a result of a spell.

What would a holiday show be without at least one child in the cast? Thankfully, "Beauty" has a lovable character named Chip a little boy turned into a teapot because of the same spell.

Miles Sternfeld, although in seventh grade, could pass for a younger boy, and his face is full of hope and optimism.

Redemption is an element that fits in perfectly with the holiday season, and there's plenty of it in "Beauty."

If you take your child to see one show this holiday season, make it the Beck Center's "Beauty."

You'll walk away knowing why this show ran for 5,464 performances on Broadway making it the sixth-longest running show in Broadway history.

The humor, colorful, detailed costumes and special effects will dazzle you and your child, and the lovable characters and timeless themes will leave you smiling.

No matter how many times you've seen it.

The third and final production of "Beauty and the Beast" takes the stage 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays; 3 p.m. Sundays; 2:30 p.m. Saturdays, as well as a 7:30 p.m. performance Dec. 29 at Beck Center for the Arts in Lakewood.

I was in New York earlier this year when I discovered quite by accident that the original stuffed animals belonging to the real Christopher Robin are on display in the New York Public Library. Maybe you thought that Winnie the Pooh and Eeyore and Piglet and Tigger and Kanga and Little Roo were only make believe, but they were the real toys of the real Christopher Robin who was the real son of the author A.A. Milne, who created the Pooh stories. There they were inside the glass case in the center of the children's reading room in all their dog-eared elegance, five timeworn and much beloved toys, whose very survival attests to the child's love of familiar things.

No one is as traditional as a child, as dedicated to the nightly ritual of songs and stories, tooth-brushing and tucking in, as devoted to their peanut butter and jelly, their "basgetti," their hot dog with tater tots. When you have so little history, almost anything can be a precious moment, from a favorite bedtime story to a time-honored fight over who gets the window seat. No wonder marketers fight for the loyalty of these little consumers and families return year after year to see the same stories reenacted with loving care each holiday season.

This is the third year that Broadway has come to the Beck Center in the shape of Disney's Beauty and the Beast. Reasonable prices and professional performers have made this a family event. It's based on an ancient story that has never lost its appeal. It's interesting to see how Disney has managed to update the fairy tale first written down in 1740 by Madame de Villeneuve without losing any of the symbolism.

Like her early French counterpart, Belle is an intellectual who is snubbed for being different. Disney adds a feminist edge by having her pursued by the chauvinistic Gaston. But Belle's heart belongs to Daddy, an inventor by trade, who, like the inept merchant of the original tale, is willing to accept the sacrifice of his daughter's life for his own. (I remember wondering as a child why her Daddy would let her do that, but the original, like the Disney adaptation, passes over this part of the story as quickly as possible.)

Where will Belle find a love to equal her own? Why, in the Beast's castle, of course. Once he learns the ways of love, the Growly One is willing to die rather than keep Belle prisoner against her will. One interesting spin in the Disney version is the anthropomorphizing of the objects in the Beast's house. In the fairy tale, the fire is lit by magic, and the food is cooked and served by unseen hands. Making the objects the Prince's real servants who are condemned to share his fate raises the stakes substantially and makes room for some wonderful performances.

Unfortunately it also introduces numerous production numbers - dancing plates, whirling silverware and napkins - which require Broadway precision to execute. These lengthy numbers slowed down the first act and made it seem noticeably longer than previous years. But this is an almost niggling complaint when viewed alongside the professional skills of the principals and the quality of some of the other big scenes. The town scenes, for example, are spectacular and reminiscent in both scenery and staging of the years when the Metropolitan Opera used to come to town.

This is the final year for Beauty and the Beast, and the creative team of Fred Sternfeld, Larry Goodpaster and Martín Céspedes have made it a triumph. No one is saying just why the Beck is bringing down the curtain on such a sure crowd-pleaser. It may just be the desire for artistic freedom. But if the matinee that I attended is any indication, it's not because of lukewarm audiences. The young families were fully engaged throughout the nearly two-hour performance and rose to their feet unanimously at its end.

Awesome performances are turned in by all the principals, notably Natalie Green who plays Beauty with gutsy grace and Josh Rhett Noble whose Gaston is the guy you love to hate. Dan Folino is a cursedly endearing Beast and Larry Nehring is truly luminous in the role of Lumiere.