Cass Griffin says that moment is when Tony Fletcher’s character of Beast sings “If I Can’t Love Her,” the big finale at the end of Act 1 and Tony can’t quite choose between Cass’s Belle’s “A Change In Me” or “Home”.

The lead cast members say the show, that opens tonight, is ready and are looking forward to delving into their characters, lapping up the colour of the stage and costume and bringing out the very best in the music to their audiences over the remainder of the month.

“There are some big songs, some real show stopping moments and I have never worked with such a large cast and that in itself is an incredible experience,” said Tony of the eve of the Beast’s debut.

Cass grew up on the animation, watching it daily and listing it as her Disney favourite even now.

Fortunately, for the audience’s sake, the stage production of Beauty and the Beast features many more musical moments for Belle then the screen version and Cass is enjoying every single song.

The Newcastle University drama student graduates at the end of the year and says the opportunity to perform with SATS and on stage in Newcastle has given her an avenue to develop the practical side of her theory-based uni studies.

SATS has also given her a chance to be on stage with friends.

Tony agrees.

“The last few months have really been so much fun, we are all really good friends so rehearsals have been really enjoyable, the accents and practice has been a lot of fun,” Tony said.

When it comes to costume, demands on Tony far outweigh Cass’s responsibility of just looking her beautiful self.

A mask with additional glue and fur has been adapted to impersonate Beast, not an easy thing to apply, wear or remove and then comes the most difficult news of the show that Tony has had to come to terms with.

After all his hard work trying to win Belle’s love, Tony is replaced by the humanised Beast played by Hugh Smith who gets to kiss the girl at the end of the show.

These lead roles are vastly different to those the pair took on last year in the Newcastle Theatre Company’s Jekyl and Hyde but both say they will seize every chance they get to be on stage.

“We have been rehearsing together since last October, travelling together and practicing our lines and it can get a bit hectic but it is so much easier when you are rehearsing with friends,” Tony said.

Tickets for Beauty and the Beast are now on sale at Video Ezy.