‘Beauty and the Beast’ The Broadway Musical from Inland Pacific Ballet & Candleight Pavilion

Inland Pacific Ballet in partnership with Candlelight Pavilion proudly presents Disney’s Beauty and the Beast the Broadway Musical, the international sensation nominated for nine Tony Awards, including Best Musical. Based on the Academy Award-winning animated feature, this stage version includes all of the wonderful songs written by Alan Menken and the late Howard Ashman, including the beloved song “Be Our Guest,” along with new songs by Mr. Menken and Tim Rice. This special presentation will take place at the Lewis Family Playhouse in Rancho Cucamonga for six performances only on Saturday, March 2 and 9 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. and Sunday March 3 and 10 at 2 p.m.

When the beloved Candlelight Pavilion Dinner Theater in Claremont closed after a successful 37 years of pairing Broadway musicals with dinner, Candlelight Pavilion General Manager Mick Bollinger let the public know that while they seek a new home in the Inland Empire, Candlelight is returning to producing major shows in 2024 by joining forces with Montclair’s Inland Pacific Ballet.

Candlelight’s late founder Ben D. Bollinger was a choral director and dean of performing arts at Citrus College in Glendora. He created the Citrus Singers, which performed throughout the region in the 1970s and continues today. Bollinger opened the Candlelight Pavilion in 1985. The space featured chandeliers, group tables with linen tablecloths on the first floor and private dining rooms upstairs. It has been almost two years since Candlelight Pavilion, a much-loved dinner theater venue, closed the doors of its long-time Claremont location.

“This is the first time the IPB and Candlelight artistic teams are partnering to bring together the best dancers and finest artistic talent for a joint production,” explains Zaylin Cano, Executive Director, Inland Pacific Ballet. “Longtime Candlelight Pavilion fans are eager to enjoy top notch musical theater once again at a local venue, and we feel audiences will really respond to a new, refreshing take on this fairytale story that brings together Disney’s memorable music and songs combined with a hint of classical ballet in the choreography.

The cast is comprised of Inland Pacific Ballet professional Company members along with beloved artists from past Candlelight Pavilion productions, and artists selected by audition. In addition, the cast is supported by IPB Academy Apprentices/Trainees and students from the IPB Academy musical theater training program, which provides a platform for young people to experience firsthand the professional elements of putting on musical theater performances.

Lissette Garrido will star as Belle. Her recent credits include The Little Mermaid (Ariel), West Side Story (Maria), and Hello Dolly (Principal Dancer), and performances in Germany, China, and New York City where she made her Off-Broadway debut. Jonathan Sharp stars as Beast. Sharp trained at National Academy of the Arts and the School of American Ballet; danced professionally with the Boston Ballet, the Pennsylvania Ballet, and on Broadway in the original casts of The Red Shoes, Carousel, The Rocky Horror Show Live, The Dance of the Vampires, and Fiddler on the Roof. He has taught at Idyllwild Arts Academy for sixteen years, and also has worked with Inland Pacific Ballet in many capacities over the last 20 years including principal dancer, choreographer, Ballet Master and Associate Director.

John LaLonde stars as Lumière. LaLonde performed and directed in many Candlelight Pavilion shows including Aida, Annie Get Your Gun, Cabaret, 42nd Street, Grease, The Music Man, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, The Sound of Music, and many others. Allen Everman will star as Cogsworth. He shared the Candlelight Pavilion stage for over 20 years and has musically directed over 60 musicals throughout SoCal and is a member of the Citrus College music faculty. Debbie Prutsman rounds at the leads as Mrs. Potts. She is known across the southland and the east coast for her work in the musical theater world, having performed leading roles at many of the major theatres from LA to San Diego and beyond.

Disney’s Beauty and the Beast will be at the Lewis Family Playhouse March 2, 3, 9 & 10. Tickets are $86/$72/$60; Children (12 & under) $42/$35; and additional discounts are available for Military, Student Rush, Seniors, and Groups.

For more information and to purchase tickets, visit https://ipballet.org/beauty-and-the-beast/

Inland Pacific Ballet & Candelight Pavilion present Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, Image credit Inland Pacific Ballet