Children's musical Characters: 3 male, 4 female . Set: Exterior and Interior . Unexpected and hilarious twists make this version of the classic an entirely different romp for the whole family. The cast of seven play nine roles: Beauty, The Beast, Father, Mother, Stepsister, Boyfriend, a hound dog, a theatrical entrepreneur and a hopelessly inept tap dancer whose thankless job is to distract the audience during the scene alterations. There is only a single set that ingeniously converts from farm to castle and back again in a few seconds. Underlying the hilarity is a solid message about true beauty.