Beauty & the Beast is one of my favorite stories. I think it is such a lovely metaphor for reckoning with the savage & civilized parts we're all made of. And even if it was originally a an instructive parable about arranged marriages (this is the word on the street), I also think it holds a lot of significance about the contemporary idea of true love.
I have a lot of thoughts about this story, but it will have to wait for another day, hopefully not too far off. I'll just leave it at this: most of the new show amounts to Beauty & the Beast, and I hope if you're in Portland, you'll come see us Friday night for the opening!